Rockaway rocks on
ALTHOUGH the last Rockaway was held back in 2013, rock fans still can’t get enough of it.
Rockaway, organised by The Livescape Group, is a rock festival which started back in 2009 and has since featured acts like Dashboard Confessional, Sum 41 and Paramore.
“There’s a lot of traffic on our Rockaway Facebook page. People keep talking about it. So I thought it’s time we try to do something about it again,” says Livescape’s director of live events Rahul Kukreja during a press conference announcing the return of Rockaway 2016.
This year’s Rockaway comprises two festivals – Rockaway Weekender on Oct 29 and 30 at Sepang International Circuit and Rockaway The Saga Continues on Nov 19 at Extreme Park, Bukit Jalil.
Scorpions headlines the first day of Rockaway Weekender along with performances by local rock bands Wings and Muzza’s Mayhem. “The idea for the first night is we wanted to have the classics, the legends,” offers Rahul, who is also a member of local punk rock outfit One Buck Short.
He adds that plans for Rockaway 2016 were made over a year ago, beginning with a meeting with Scorpions in Portugal.
The second day features Australian metal band Wolfmother and local acts WTNSS, Daarchlea and Artefacts.
Meanwhile, Rockaway The Saga Continues on Nov 19 sees iconic Malaysian alternative rock band, Butterfingers, performing for the first time in nearly seven years, plus local artistes Zainal Abidin, Alleycats, Hujan X Radhi OAG, LyMe, and One Buck Short. American rock acts Taking Back Sunday and Third Eye Blind is also set to perform.
“We wanted to make sure we got all the genres of rock,” Rahul comments on the overall line- up, which also includes Singapore’s The Summer State and Indonesia’s The Changchuters. Another wave of international acts will soon be announced later.
Rockaway 2016 is targeted to attract 20,000 people across the three days and garner up to RM30mil in tourist expenditure.
Ticket prices start from RM98, with the option to purchase a oneday or two- day pass for Rockaway Weekend and Rock Passport for all three days.
“To see Scorpions for RM98, it’s the cheapest in the region. We want it to be accessible to everybody, that’s the most important thing,” says Rahul.
To purchase, visit galactix. asia or log on to rockawayfest. com for more information.
Rockaway 2016 is supported by Malaysia Major Events ( MME), a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau ( MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia.