The most eagerly awaited music festivals in Malaysia, the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) and Borneo Jazz Festival (BJF), are back once again, albeit as hybrid events.

The Rainforest World Music Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is also featuring in 2022 as a hybrid event for the first time since the beginning of the music festival in 1998, while the long-running Borneo Jazz Festival also makes its post-Covid return as a hybrid event.

RAINFOREST BEATS

This year, the Rainforest World Music Festival, themed “Legendary Rainforest Celebration” is to be held from June 17-19, 2022 and will take on a hybrid format, with the physical concert taking place at Sarawak Cultural Village, while viewers can also livestream it from their homes via an online viewing platform which will be launched at a later date.

With the objective of bringing the world back together with music, RWMF will be welcoming back a host of international performers from Canada, India, USA, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, China, Bhutan, and South Korea among others, with Majlis Seni Sarawak mixing traditional Sarawakian music with international flavours opening the three-day show in a first-time musical collaboration with Sarawak Tourism Board (STB).

Malaysia Airlines has been named the official airline partner of the RWMF. The collaboration, which is also a continuation of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG)’s partnership with STB will see Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and Journify offering unbeatable deals comprising flights and three-day event pass to drive visitors and drive footfall to Sarawak.

The collaboration is vital to re-build the tourism industry, stimulate domestic and international travelling, and help support industry players’ value chains such as travel agents, product owners, local artisans, and business partners.

Malaysia Airlines and Firefly will have early bird deals that offer customers up to 15% and 10% off discounts on flights on selected Malaysia Airlines including from London, Australia, and some ASEAN destinations and Firefly’s recently launched jet operations from Penang to Kuching.

The sales run from April 25 until May 14, 2022 for travels June 1 until June 30, 2022. These tickets are available exclusively for those who purchase the three-day RWMF pass through the airline’s respective websites and they will be required to include a unique promo code to enjoy the great discounts on air tickets.

Learn more about the popular festival by visiting the official site, rwmf.net.

JUNGLE JAZZ

Meanwhile, the Borneo Jazz Festival (BJF), one of Southeast Asia’s longest running-international jazz festivals, is well-known as a platform to bring musicians of diverse cultural backgrounds together to celebrate jazz music and empower the local community. 

In collaboration with No Black Tie Presents, Malaysia’s foremost jazz promoter, the music festival themed “Jazz in The Jungle” will be held from June 24-26, 2022, also in a hybrid format to reach out to the greater jazz-loving community worldwide. The physical concert will take place at Coco Cabana, Miri, while viewers will also be able to livestream blocks of their performances from home.

The 18th edition of the BJF will see musicians from USA, Hungary, Singapore, France, Malaysia, and more lighting up the stage with a unique diaspora of sounds. From Afro-Caribbean rhythms to new-age instrumental jazz, Boogie Funk to Asian and contemporary styles, no two bands will be alike. 

Sarawak Arts Council’s Sarawak Orchestra Symphony will also be taking to the BJF stage for the first time in a continued collaboration with Sarawak Tourism Board, with the aim to promote Sarawak’s local music scene.

Borneo Jazz will feature performances by the winners of the nationwide Borneo Jazz Talent Search launched on April 1 for DJ, Jazz, and Open categories. Together with Borneo Jazz Festival FAB Lab 2022, aspiring musicians will be given the chance to grow their musical talent alongside renowned local and international artistes while also contributing to the growth of Miri as the region’s jazz centre. 

Jazz music lovers can start purchasing tickets for Borneo Jazz starting April 20, 2022 from the official website. For those who want to enjoy the BJF virtually, tickets are priced at RM25 per one-hour block. For more information on Borneo Jazz Festival 2022 or to purchase tickets, log on to BJF’s official website, jazzborneo.com.