MUSIC: Raise it up for great pub music

THE Backyard JAMFest (JAIRUS ANTHONY Music Festival) is back for the fifth edition and this time, it’s on for six Wednesdays, running from Oct 1 to Nov 5.

The event is a tribute to late pub artiste Jairus Anthony who succumbed to cancer in July 2004, having plied the Klang Valley pub circuit with an acoustic guitar and a bagful of favourites by James Taylor, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot and the like.

“We’ve kept the JAMFest going, largely at our own own cost and with the help of some good, like-minded friends, both individual and corporate,” says proprietor and publican Jerry Chong and his music director, Jairus’ brother, Edmund Anthony.

Each night would feature one or two minor acts and one star-biller performing two sets.

“There’s also a photo gallery with band biodata documented on our www.backyardpub.com website,” says Chong.

Backyard JAMFest 2008 acts include:

Oct 1: Brendan James (new folk, old hits, re-arranged covers), Faye (pop, chart-toppers) and Retro Edge: The Band (Bon Jovi and Elvis, revisited).

Oct 8: Ananth Skykiss (the blues, acid 60s rock) and Poe & The Retrax Band (reggae, rock and blues).

Oct 15: Kenny Tay (folk, R&B) and The Russell Curtis Quartet (funky covers, the blues, rock and roll).

Oct 22: Cheong and Badar (bossanova, Brazzilian rhythms), Panda Head Curry (progressive punk), and Fusion Factor (jazz, R&B & funk).

Oct 29: Raymond Chia (folk, country), Stormy Weather (pop, rock), and Bongga Bongga Band (acoustic everything).

Nov 5: Arab (folk) and jUnKoFuNc.