Venue
Pantai Damai, Santubong, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
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Rainforest World Music Festival, Kuching guide
World music at the foot of Mount Santubong.
In short
The Rainforest World Music Festival usually takes a Friday-to-Sunday weekend in June at the Sarawak Cultural Village, though 2027 dates had not been published by October 2026. Afternoon workshops happen inside traditional houses, with open-air concerts at night. It suits music travellers who like close contact with players; book Kuching rooms once dates appear.
The Rainforest World Music Festival brings musicians from across Borneo and much further afield to the Sarawak Cultural Village, a living museum of traditional Sarawak houses at the foot of Mount Santubong. Afternoons are given to close-up workshops inside those houses, and nights to big open-air concerts.
It has become one of the best-known world music gatherings in Asia, run by the Sarawak Tourism Board. What sets it apart is the closeness. Players from Borneo's own traditions share the programme with bands from Africa, Europe, the Americas and the rest of Asia, and musicians make a habit of pulling their listeners into the music.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Sunday, 27 June 2027
Where: Kuching, Malaysia
Venue: Sarawak Cultural Village
Held: Every year
Type of event: Musical Events, Cultural Events
Currency: Malaysian ringgit (MYR, RM)
Time zone: Malaysia Time, UTC+8
Language: Malay
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Collecting your wristband and the bag search
Your e-ticket is not your entry pass. Before going in for the first time you must collect a wristband at Damai Central, and it has to stay on for the whole festival. It carries a UV security strip that staff check on the way in.
- Bring the e-ticket or booking confirmation, plus ID in case it is asked for.
- Expect metal detectors and a bag search at the front gate.
- Outside food and drink are not allowed unless you need them for medical reasons.
- Water stations are on site, so carry an empty refillable bottle.
- Beer is sold only by the official suppliers, and only at some points.
Rain gear for afternoon storms
Heavy afternoon storms are common in June, often just as the workshops are in full swing. The grounds turn muddy quickly.
- Pack a light rain jacket or poncho; an umbrella blocks views in a crowd.
- Wear shoes you are happy to ruin, or sandals that dry fast.
- Insect repellent is essential after dark.
- Bring a dry bag or zip pouch for your phone and cash.
Workshop etiquette in the village houses
Workshops take place at floor level, with performers and listeners sitting together in the village houses. That closeness is the point, and it depends on the room behaving well.
- Keep talk to a minimum during quiet pieces; many instruments are acoustic and soft.
- Take a few photos, then put the phone away so people behind you can see.
- If a musician waves you up to play or dance, go. Nobody expects skill.
What happens on the day
- Early afternoon
Workshops in the longhouses
Small sessions inside the village's traditional houses, with musicians at floor level trading techniques and pulling people in to play. There were more than 50 in 2026; drift from house to house.
- Evening
Main stage concerts
The crowd moves to the two main stages, usually 18 to 20 bands across the weekend. Artists walk the grounds with no barriers between them and the public.
- After the encore
The trip home
Thousands leave together. Note the last shuttle departure before the evening begins.
Staying at a Damai resort or in Kuching
The first decision is where to sleep. The Damai and Santubong strip holds the beach resorts, and the nearest to the festival gates are Damai Lagoon and the Holiday Inn Damai Beach. Those rooms go quickly once dates are out. Staying there means a short ride home after the final encore. Kuching offers more choice and better prices, plus the Waterfront for dinner on your free evenings, but every festival night then ends with a 35 km trip back.
Tickets are sold online through Ticketmelon as two-day and three-day passes. Watch for the early-bird release, which always comes first.
June flights into Kuching are busier than usual because Sarawak is celebrating Gawai. Book as soon as the festival confirms its weekend. Give yourself a spare day either side for the city and for the beaches of the Damai Peninsula. If the festival is part of a longer trip, start with our Malaysia destination guide.
How the festival began in 1998 and grew
It all started with a conversation in 1997 between the Canadian musicologist Randy Raine-Reusch and Robert Basiuk of the Sarawak Tourism Board. Local musicians tried the idea out at WOMEX in Marseille, and in March 1998 the board agreed to pay for a first edition. About 300 people came. Songlines magazine later listed it in its top 25 festivals worldwide in every year from 2010 to 2015, and attendance passed 26,000 in 2024.
The setting is what visitors remember. The Sarawak Cultural Village was built to show the house styles of the state's peoples, and the afternoon sessions take place under those roofs. Past visitors to these stages include the Tuvan group Huun Huur Tu and the Scottish band Shooglenifty. Recent bills have paired Malaysian stars like M.Nasir with international names, among them Incognito and The Commodores featuring Thomas McClary.
Behind it all rises Mount Santubong, about 810 m high. Malay legend blames its broken profile on two quarrelling princesses, Santubong and Sejenjang, one of whom struck the other with a rice pestle.
Getting there
Flying in
Kuching International Airport, about 11 km south of the city, has direct flights from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, plus Royal Brunei from Bandar Seri Begawan. Travelling on a Bangladeshi passport? See our Malaysia visa page; Sarawak also runs its own immigration checks for visitors arriving from Peninsular Malaysia.
Airport to the city
A coupon taxi into Kuching is a fixed RM30 and takes about 20 minutes. Grab and Maxim are the usual alternatives.
To the festival
In 2026 the official shuttle between Kuching and the Sarawak Cultural Village was free, with the timetable in the festival guide. Shuttle vans also run from the Santubong T-Junction at RM8 each way, and a taxi from the city costs roughly RM42.
Driving
There is parking near the village, but space is limited.
Where to stay during the festival
The next edition runs from 25 June to 27 June 2027. Book your room as soon as your dates are fixed, since rooms close to the festival are the first to go.
Weather and what to pack
June is warm and wet in Kuching. The average high is about 33°C and the low about 24°C, with some 255 mm of rain over 14 or 15 days in the month (1991-2020 normals).
Afternoon workshops can be hot and humid, and a downpour during the evening concerts is part of the festival's reputation.
Worth packing
- A light rain poncho for the evening concerts
- Sandals or shoes you can get muddy
- Insect repellent
- A small torch for the paths after dark
- Cash for shuttle vans and food stalls
Car hire in Kuching
Airport transfer to Rainforest World Music Festival, Kuching
Met at arrivals and driven door to door to Sarawak Cultural Village.
Restaurants and food in Malaysia
Places to eat in Malaysia before or after the celebrations.
Nancy's Kitchen
13, Jalan KL 3/8, Taman Kota Laksamana, Seksyen 3, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Cuisine:NyonyaPeranakan
- Dine-in
Nasi Kandar Line Clear
177 Jalan Penang, 10000 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Cuisine:Nasi kandarMalaysian Indian Muslim
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Teksen
18 & 20 Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Cuisine:Penang ChineseZi char
- Dine-in
De.Wan 1958
Level 2-2, The LINC KL, 360 Jalan Tun Razak, Taman U Thant, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Cuisine:MalayMalaysian heritage
- Dine-in
Dewakan
48F Skyviews, Naza Tower, Platinum Park, 10 Persiaran KLCC, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Cuisine:Modern MalaysianTasting menu
- Dine-in
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Booking
More than 200 musicians from 12 countries took part, under the title Regenerations: Roots and Rhythms. That was the 29th edition of the festival.
General
Yes, in 2021, when the whole programme was streamed and reached 402,865 viewers in 79 countries. The festival has also been streamed alongside in-person editions.
Crowds have grown steadily: 23,650 in 2019, 12,000 on site at the hybrid 2022 edition, about 19,800 in 2023 and more than 26,000 in 2024.
Joey Ayala from the Philippines was on the first bill in 1998, Shooglenifty came over from Scotland in 1999, Te Vaka from the Pacific in 2004 and the Greek musician Ross Daly in 2008.
Several. It took a PATA Gold Award in 2006 and holds a Malaysia Book of Records entry for the most percussionists at a music festival.
Yes. It runs tree planting and waste programmes, and more than 6,000 trees had been planted through the festival since 2023.
Yes, it is open as a paying attraction outside the festival. Adult entry is RM95 and children pay RM60, with a small discount for tickets bought online.
Often, yes. Gawai's public holidays fall at the start of June, but many Dayak communities keep celebrating through the month, and Kuching stays busy.
Guard dogs have patrolled the edges of the village since 2007, brought in to stop drugs being smuggled in. They stay on the perimeter, away from the stages.
Stay & facilities
Malaysian dishes and food from around Asia. In 2026 the food area also had stalls cooking dishes from Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.