By Ling Hui
KUCHING, April 29: Not all the performers featured in the upcoming Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2022 will be revealed because the festival is a surprise party, says RWMF content manager Karen Shepherd.
She said some, but not all, of the 60 performers from a host of countries, including Korea, Canada, China, India, Mexico, and Australia, would be introduced to the public in stages until the actual event from June 17 to 19.
RWMF event organiser and Place Borneo director Gracie Veronica Geikie said this year, the festival will be joined by Bluguru from Australia with their incredible blend of musical styles from bluegrass to blues, Indian to Celtic, swing, jazz and adventure.
“We also feature Timo Väänänen, the leading exponent of Finland’s national instrument, the kantele.
“He will seamlessly blend the traditional model with the modern, electrical 39-string version to give the Sarawak audience a taste of a haunting and unique sound which has graced films, 25 albums and five solo CDs.
“If that isn’t enough for today’s teaser, we also offer Randrianantoandro Clément, direct from Madagascar. Better known as Kilema, he burst onto the music scene as part of the Justin Vali Trio, playing his Marovany, Kabosy and Katsa, guitar and percussion, respectively,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer (CEO) Sharzede Salleh Askor said RMWF 2022 welcomes as many participants as possible despite the previous limitation of only 5,000 tickets to be sold per day.
“With the lifting of many SOPs (standard operating procedures) by the Health Ministry a few days ago, we welcome as many visitors to the festival.
“At the same time, it would be a test to see how confident people are about travelling nowadays,” she said during the RWMF press conference at STB headquarters.
Sharzede also advised foreigners and those outside Kuching who are interested in attending RWMF 2022 to book their flight tickets early to take advantage of special offers by Malaysia Airlines.
She said just about a week before RWMF, there will be another international event which is the Spartan Race 2022 and hotel rooms are limited.
Also present during the press conference were RWMF festival director Mona Abdul Manap and deputy festival director Sharifah Nur Hannah. — DayakDaily
