Understanding Asia Music Festival 2013

I received a text message to ask whether I was interested to attend the Asia Music Festival. Well, of course I was. It was happening right here at Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club in Miri.

But wait a minute ... All those donkeys of years that I had been here, I did not ever remember this event ever being held before. Well, I was right. It was an inaugural event. A first edition, making its debut here in the resort city of Miri.

Attending its media briefing this afternoon helped me to understand and thereby to anticipate the whole event in general. 

The strong people behind the scenes (L - R):

Michael Sim, the project director for AMF 2013; Dato Rashid Khan, the CEO of STB; and Angelina Bateman, Corporate Communications Director of STB

First of all, planning for this event started a year ago. Its main objective is to counter the trough of visitors to Sarawak in the month of October, deemed an off-peak travelling season. And Miri seems to be a suitable location because of its image as a resort city, its close proximity to Brunei, and the ease of accessibility from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and even Singapore.

Unlike the Borneo Jazz Festival, this festival aims to expose Asian performers, and perhaps to unearth local talents in Sarawak. This time around, as a matter of fact, a number of local Sarawakian performers are set to rock the stage. They include Bob Yusof of the Akademi Fantasia fame,  Melissa Francis, Hevance, Starlets Band, and The Mountain Wind Band.

Other performers hail from other Asian countries. They are Soesah Tidoer and Foxy Girls from Indonesia, Antoney Dassan Yen Party and Tritha from India, Bembol Rocker from the Philippines, Fakhrul Razi from Brunei, and V-Star from Korea. Judging from all this, the AMF 2013 definitely brings an eclectic mix of music right to our doorsteps.

If music is not your thing, then why not visit the fringe events which are organised in collaboration with the Miri City Council? There is going to be a Craft Bazaar, a Tattoo Expo, a Photography Exhibition, a Big Bikes Charity Show (psst ... 150 big bikes on display. how about that??).

Of course, any event is not complete without food and drinks. The Asian Food Fair will definitely be in my focus. From hearsay, food from all over Asian countries will be featured .... will there be Pho? Not sure. How about Bakso? Or Tomyam? Hmn .... let's all wait and see.

Tickets are priced at RM30.00 for adults and RM15.00 for children. Sarawak Tourism Board and Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club have also kindly arranged public transport. The pick-up and drop-off points are Boulevard Shopping Mall and Pujut Padang Kerbau bus station. The fare is RM5.00 per trip.

 Bands start performing at 4.00 p.m. Don't miss this opportunity. See you all there!