The band, comprising frontman Azmyl Yunor, drummer Ammar Khairi, bassist Kristopher Chong, and guest guitarist N R Lohan, will be rocking out at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee from Friday to Sunday.
“We’ll do what we do best, knocking out Malay and English songs from my recent album ‘John Bangi Blues’, plus some other songs, old and new,” Azmyl told FMT.
This is the overseas debut of the group, who open the festival on Friday before performing the next day at the iconic Blues Tent – a popular mainstay of festival – at Handy Park in the Beale Street Historic District.
While the bandmates do not see themselves as a “blues group” per se, they share a deep love of the genre.
“Personally, I am influenced by the blues in spirit, particularly Delta blues heroes like Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, and Skip James,” Azmyl said.
“I hold blues music with great reverence. It is holy.”
Azmyl recently collaborated with LGBT artist Shika on a music video for his single Skodeng Blues, which satirises the growing trend of moral policing in Malaysia.
Apart from the festival itself, Azmyl and his bandmates are looking forward to visiting Memphis, the historic birthplace of blues and modern popular music, and also of the civil-rights movement in the US.
He added that he is particularly excited to be sharing the stage with Cedric Burnside, grandson of legendary bluesman R L Burnside, of whom he is a huge fan.
On Sunday, Azmyl & the Truly Asia shares the bill with other show-stopping acts such as Los Lobos, Keb’ Mo’, and the North Mississippi Allstars, for the Memphis Tourism “Blues Stage on Beale” show.
They are also planning additional events in the city of Nashville and the nearby state of Louisiana.
Azmyl said he hopes their performance will demonstrate the richness of Malaysia’s music and contemporary performing arts.
“We tend to still be viewed in the west with an orientalist tint,” he pointed out. “If anything, I hope our time in the US helps show how diverse and modern we are, while holding strong to our traditions and beliefs.”
The Beale Street Music Festival is part of the larger Memphis in May International Festival, whose roster this year features “Salute to Malaysia”, a series of programmes aimed at introducing our country to Memphis.
Other big names slated to perform include Robert Plant, Ziggy Marley, Earth, Wind & Fire, and ’90s alt-rock group Live.
Learn more about the Beale Street Music Festival via its website. Follow Azmyl Yunor on Facebook and Instagram.
