The Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is back in Kuching, a small city in the eastern parts of Malaysia. Every year in July, since its commencement in 2005, throngs of people from all over the world have flooded the rainforest of Borneo for  3 days of dance, music and a celebration of the diversity of the two.

The festival is one of the largest music festivals in South-East Asia, and the largest in Malaysia, with an expected turn-out of at least 30,000 people this year. The festival activities include music and dance workshops in the daytime, craft booths, local food stalls and live entertainment at an open air main stage in the evening. The wide range of acts from the world over are the main highlights of the RainFest, featuring performances ranging from reggae rhythms to French chanson to Latino music.  The event gives the crowd a chance to experience the music of traditional instruments from nearly every continent at its best. This highly anticipated event has also been named as Songlines Magazine’s Top 25 Best International Festivals for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, putting it alongside other more well known festivals like the Chicago World Music Festival and Oslo World Music Festival.

This year’s line up includes Trio Joubran (Palestine), La Zikabilo (France), Khusugtun (Mongolia), Kanda Bongo Man (Congo), Danyel Waro (Reunion Islands), String Sisters (Scotland/Ireland/Sweden/Norway/USA), Cankisou (Czech Republic), Zee Avi (Malaysia/USA) and Samuel Dass and Prakash (Malaysia), among others from various countries such as Spain, Brazil and Burkina Faso. Some of the acts also provide workshops, which means that festival-goers can experience playing the traditional instruments themselves. Not many people can say that they have played a balafon before. Dance workshops will also see the crowd doing the Brazilian carimbo or the Bollywood bhangra in the Sarawakian traditional longhouses – talk about a fusion of cultures!

Along with the acoustic music, dancing in the tropical rain is also part of the festival’s annual tradition – it does not disrupt the festival in any way and is almost expected every year. The blend of tourists, locals and performers dancing in the big, muddy pit is a sight to behold – a real cultural mixing bowl. Held at the Sarawak Cultural Village in the outskirts of Kuching, the venue also gives visitors an insight into the Sarawak culture and lifestyle that they would not otherwise experience in the city.

From those who want a change from the music on your local radio, to those looking for a place to spend their summer vacations or for those who just want something different, this might just be the thing for you. This year, the Rainforest World Music Festival will be held on July 13-15.

Image Courtesy of   flykr

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