Here’s a bit of good news for lovers of quality live music. If you are anywhere in Southeast Asia at the end of March it’ll be well worth making a detour and heading over to Penang in Malaysia.

The Penang World Music Festival returns after a hiatus of three years. It will be held from 30^th March to 1^st April 2012 at the Quarry Garden within the beautiful Botanic Gardens, not far from the heart Georgetown.

When it comes to life music, Malaysia is way ahead of its neighbours, and the return of the Penang World Music Festival is a another welcome addition to the annual events calendar that includes Borneo Jazz in May, the fabulous Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak during July, and the Penang Island Jazz Festival in late November/December.

Huun Huur Tu performing at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak a few years ago.

The 3^rd Penang World Music Festival will feature renowned musicians from Malaysia as well as a great line-up of international artists. They’ll be 18 bands in all, performing and conducting workshops, including Maite Hontele from Colombia, Beoga from Ireland, the Tori Ensemble from South Korea, Phong Nguyen Ensemble from Vietnam, Loyko from Russia, and the band I am really looking forward to seeing most of all, Altan Urag from Mongolia. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing several Mongolian and Tuvan bands and am always enthralled by them. I actually discovered the sound years ago through my love of the music of Frank Zappa after seeing a film of him at home having a ‘musicial soiree’ with members of Huun Huur Tu, a band I was lucky enough to interview and see perform a few years back at Rainforest World Music Festival.

You can find out more about the line-up at the 3^rd Penang World Music Festival website. The event is organized by the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism & Culture and the official sponsoring hotel for the event is Hard Rock Hotel.

I really enjoy the challenge of photographing live music and am looking forward to capturing images of the performers. And of course there’ll also be the chance to explore the delightful UNESCO World Heritage town of Georgetown and other attractions in Penang. For flights to Penang from Bangkok and other regional destinations, check-out the no-frills, no service, and plenty of bad attitude, Air Asia or for a little extra enjoy the service and quality of Malaysia Airlines.

I have just returned from a much needed long weekend in Penang, a large island off the west coast of Malaysia. The population of almost a million is predominantly Chinese with a scattering of Malay and Indians making for a vibrant and colourful mix of cultures and cuisine. Although Penang has seen a considerable amount of careless development in recent years, the old district within the capital, Georgetown, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and hopefully safe for future generations to enjoy.

If this status had not been given to the area the magnificent old buildings would have undoubtedly been razed to the ground to make way for more high-rise. For a cultural traveller and self-confessed foodie such as myself, the pleasures of Penang are its heritage and its cuisine. The old colonial-era shophouses are superb – although many are in desperate need of repair – and the choice of Hainanese, Hokkien, southern Indian, and Malay food is a culinary adventure.

The visual landscape of Penang is defined by decaying period architecture, temples and shrines, and bustling food stalls, all of which offer the chance to get some lovely shots of details.

During my stay I was fortunate enough to experience the luxury of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, and the wonderful Straits Collection at Stewart Lane, a block of carefully restored shophouses in the heart of the old town.