Skiffle was the biggest thing to have happened in Britain in the 1950s.

It was home-made music played on simple accessible instruments that could be found in the kitchen and a reasonable sound could be made with little musical experience. It was non-pretentious music that shot from the hip. Scottish born Lonny Donegan was its main contributor and it influenced almost every musician that started off in the mid 20th Century.

When the DOGHOUSE SKIFFLE GROUP from Hull, England first performed at the Rainforest World Music Festival in 2004, they had the audience in stitches and howling for more. The nattily clad trio against the leafy foliage at the spectacular Second Stage was almost surreal as they strutted and sang and strummed and scrubbed on guitar, tea-chest bass and the washboard.

Keith Cheesman, Alan Harman and Garry Pullen’s dry wit is not only on stage – in real life, they are just as irrepressible and hilariously charming.

When the Rainforest World Music Festival organizers first started to use a smaller second stage, framed by 2 tall trees, and to one side of the main stage – bands programmed to perform here were supposed to be doing smaller sets while changeovers were going on. But in the last four years, acts from this stage have almost stolen the limelight from the bigger bands on the big stage.

The Doghouse Skiffle Group was one of them.

2007 is the festival’s 10th Anniversary and the organizers have arranged to bring back some of the many star acts that have performed over the last nine years.

Black Umfolosi of Zimbabwe will be here. So will Huun Huur Tu from Tuva, Ensemble Kaboul from Afghanistan, Tarika Be from Madagascar, Khac Chi from Vietnam and many more.

July 13th, 14th and 15th will see a great descending of spectacular and contrasted bands gathered at the Santubong area, 45 minutes outside of Kuching city. There will be over twenty-five workshops in the afternoons and shows every evening once the sun goes down.

The Sarawak Tourism Board, organizer for the event, has planned other fringe events as well to accompany this year’s festival.

Tickets are already on sale and can be bought online at http://www.ticketcharge.com.my/  as well as at all Visitor Information Centres in Kuching, Miri and Sibu.

Tickets are priced at RM80 for a one day Adult Pass, and RM200 for a 3-day Adult Pass. Children aged 3 – 12 years of age can purchase half priced tickets.

More information on the festival can also be found on the website www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com

Yeoh Jun Lin
Artistic Director
Rainforest World Music Festival