Located on the beautiful and tropical island of Bali, this popular August event is a two day music festival which attracts plenty of local talent as well as international headliners, artists and DJs from a huge variety of different genres to entertain a huge crowd of spectators in a boutique and intimate setting around a single stage in the pool areas of an award winning beach side hotel. While only operating since 2014, this festival has already gained international recognition and has become a very big event for Bali. Past events have included large names such as Disclosure, Azealia Banks, Charli XCX, the Grammy nominated Big Sean, Ellie Goulding, Mark Ronson and Holy Ghost, and as the festival strengthens it's foundations, becomes more established and more popular, we can expect exceptional talent to grace the stage in the future. 21 JULY & 12 August, 2018 - POTATO HEAD BEACH CLUB BALI.

As well as hosting fantastic live music from established electronic artists and DJ's, the festival has become well renowned for it's world class cocktails and mixology provided by the hotel, and there are plenty of drinks stalls set up amongst local food stands to ensure you have a cultural and exciting dining experience where you can enjoy the local cuisine while enjoying the live music.

The event is located at The Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak which has been named as one of the best vacation spots in the world by Conde Nast Traveller, and has hosted a whole sleuth of superstar names within the luxurious hotel rooms. The club's unique design and tropical oceanfront setting provide an interesting yet idyllic location for a music festival. One of the really unique features of the festival is that right in front of the stage there is a huge swimming pool where spectators can get up close to the performers whilst partying in the water. Amongst the palm trees, the festival is adjacent to a beautiful Indonesian beach where you can take an evening stroll to watch the sunset, all while enjoying the background noise of the musical talents from the festival. As the club is also a hotel, you can book special accommodation and festival packages leading up to the event for an all inclusive deal, which also means you won't have to stray too far from your bedroom for your breakfast, entertainment, and to the picture perfect white sand beach.

For lovers of electronic music, it really could not be more fantastic; a beachfront setting with a huge pool, world class cocktails and world renowned artists. What more could you ask for? The event is hosted during peak tourist season in Bali, when the often monsoon swept beaches of the island experience their most stable weather, so conditions are as perfect as they can get.

The festival is organised by Ismaya live who are the passionate brains behind many popular events in Indonesia, including the Djakarta Warehouse Project and Ultra Beach Bali. Ismaya have been operating since 2011 as a leading lifestyle company and have broken records with their events.

The festival also likes to support environmental and green initiatives. In 2016 the stage facade was made entirely from recycled wood which had been cut into shingles and hung in a kinetic installation that would sway in the wind and with the music. The organisers pride themselves on using locally sourced and recycled materials to create the temporary venue, supporting a demand for more sustainable living and also supporting the local economy and communities.

More information on the festival can be found on the offical website (sunnysideupfest.com) as well as ticket bookings, upcoming lineups, accomodation offers, photo galleries, promotional videos and information on the hosts of the event. Be sure to book your tickets quickly, as they tend to sell out quickly. If you are travelling to the festival from abroad, why not take a few extra days off work to extend your vocation and to explore the beautiful beaches and locations in Bali and Indonesia for a truly unforgettable experience? Bali is one of the most fantastic travel destinations for techno and club music, dance clubs and epic parties, as well as being rich in culture and natural beauty, and will satisfy any traveller to the region.

Bali is world renowned as an electronic music and clubbers paradise, with people travelling from every corner of the planet to immerse themselves in the thriving nightlife, however, below the flashing lights and lively parties there are a number of places where live music performers take to the stage to steal the spotlight and to entertain a different crowd. For those of you looking to leave behind packed out clubs for something a little more refined and relaxed, here are a few places worth checking out during your stay in Bali to encounter some talented local musicians.

Laughing Buddha Bar - Located in Ubud and about halfway up from the Ubud Monkey Forest, this is one of the most popular and liveliest music venues in Bali, attracting some of the most talented performers due to the popularity and well established status of the bar, and has also become a popular spot for musicians who are releasing new albums and LPs. The venue hosts a variety of bands, but more often than not, this is a perfect spot to check out the island's best jazz and blues musicians who provide regular performances. As well as jazz and blues, there are fusion performances, latin, freestyle acoustic and plenty of world music. Performances are every evening from around 9.00pm. The cosy interior provides an intimate setting where musicians can really connect with their audiences, and the venue also offers a full menu for those wishing to indulge in some local cuisine while they indulge in some local culture.

Zibiru Restaurant - Hidden away in Seminyak on the Jalan Drupadi side street, this chic Italian restaurant offers some of Bali's best Italian cuisine as well as a romantic and cosy setting for dinner, as well as a rooftop space for starlit dinners. As it is slightly off the main street, the bustling and busy sounds from outside are well muted providing a relaxing setting for the nightly entertainment of smooth jazz and soul music to accompany your evening meal. On Saturday evenings, the venue hosts a jazz fusion rock back under the name of Urban Groove who put their unique spin on popular classics from artists such as Radiohead and The Police, turning them into luscious, raw and smooth jazz. For one of the most atmospheric and relaxing meals possible, be sure to add this restaurant to your to-do list in Bali.

Ryoshi - Also located in Seminyak, this Japanese restaurant has made a name for itself since experimenting with live jazz nights on it's deck, protected from the elements by a thatched roof. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday the venue hosts performances from the islands most popular jazz musicians and soloists including a house quintet. Other notable musicians who frequently play here are Nancy Ponto and The Soul Brothers, the Rio Sidik Quartet and Afronesia. As well as hosting a plethora of excellent musicians, the venue is an established sushi restaurant with a relaxed and chilled-out setting which attracts an international clientele of Japanese tourists, locals, and since becoming more popular, tourists from all over the world.

Hard Rock Centerstage - One of the better known venues in Bali is located in the Hard Rock Hotel across the road from Kuta Beach. Centerstage is the hostel's lobby bar which has become a live entertainment and special events venue instead of a conventional hotel lobby. The stage is located in the middle of the room, in the middle of the bar in fact, which allows for guests to witness the entertainment in 360 degrees, and hosts regular bands and one-off performances on a nightly basis. As with any Hard Rock venue, the walls are plastered with rock memorabilia from famous musicians throughout history. Despite being in the Hard Rock hotel, musical acts vary from Rock and metal to R&B and even hip hop, appealing to a large number of people with different music tastes. Every Monday, the venue hosts a free event called “Rhythm and Booze” which features a live fashion show accompanied by DJ's spinning the decks. Live performances start at around 8.30 every evening and continue long into the night, and the bar and music performances are open to the public as well as hotel guests.

Omnia Dayclub Bali. An all-day party destination perched atop a cliff, 100 metres above the Indian Ocean in stunning Uluwatu, Bali. This place is amazing expensive but amazing! They have tons of top DJ lines every week and the crowd is good looking glamorous and ready to party. If you're scared of having fun and getting wet in a pool with bikini clad girls, don't come. If you have cash to burn and love to party like a VIP then head to Omnia. It's a bit far away from the main Seminyak scene but is up there with the best venues in Bali and well worth the trip. Update it's now renamed to "Savaya Bali".

Since 2004, Ten 2 Five have been an Indonesian alternative acoustic act singing in both Indonesian and English. The unique name originates from a routine band practice that took place every Saturday between 10am and 5pm as the band were starting out. While a few members have dropped out of the band since then, the group is still going strong and releasing new music.

Imel, the vocalist and leader of the group, is well renowned for her clean, mellow and melodic melody lines which take on a soft and relaxing bluesy tone. The rest of the members contribute to a very soft and relaxing ambient sound with minimal percussion, a prominent focus on soft jazz guitar with gentle blues colouring and suspended notes, and of course everything highlighting Imel's perfect vocals.

Their first album, “I Will Fly” was released in 2004 on Explosive Records, and, after only a few months, received a Golden Globe Award later that year after successfully selling more than 75,000 tapes and 17,000 CDs. At the end of the year, they were also awarded the AMI Award for the Best New Artist and for the Best Song in a Foreign Language. In 2005, they went on to write the soundtrack for Me vs. High Heels and performed as a cameo in the film. They also snagged up the AMI aware for the Best Song in a Foreign Language at the end of that year for their song “You”, making it the second consecutive year that they held that status.

Since then, the group have released a number of albums and have undergone many different lineup changes, the most recent being the resignation of Teguh, the keyboard player, who decided to pursue other projects. One particular highlight of their career was the album “I Love Indonesia”, released in 2010, which features eight regional songs and one spiritual islamic song. This saw the band move away from their usual work as they celebrated their culture and roots, moving away from English and into Indonesian. The album picked up two AMI awards for Best Locally Produced Song and for Best Band with Jazz Vocals.

In 2012, the band released the album “Journey” which is a collection of their best work between 2004 and 2012, including two never before heard songs. This album gives an excellent cross section of all their work and features music in both Indonesian and English. This incorporates a more upbeat style with a full band and combines traditional influences with lively funk and dance music.

While Ten 2 Five keep on releasing fantastic music, it is very hard to ignore a few standout songs from their back catalogue. “You”, which picked up an AMI award for Best Song in a Foreign Language and has over 4.5million listens on Spotify, is a very soft, melancholic acoustic piece which features just vocals and two acoustic guitars, percussively lightly tapping the strings between chords to create a soft pulse under Imel's hauntingly beautiful melody lines, dripping with emotion. “I Will Fly”, the title track for their first album which also picked up an AMI award and has over 2.5million listens on Spotify, is a full band effort with some relaxed, clean funk style guitar, gentle drum beats and layered vocals. This was remade as a much more raw and stripped back song for the “Journey” album, reminiscent of the style of “You”. “Aku Ada Rahasia”, which translates as “I have a secret”, is not so much a popular song, but inspired Indonesian novelist Yennie Hardiwidjaja to write a book.

With all of the lineup changes, it is hard to know where the group intend to go next, but whatever direction they take, we can expect some beautiful, show stopping, soulful melodies from Imel and some relaxing and stripped back jazzy blues music from one of Indonesia's most award winning groups. Now on GP records, Indonesian Records Label with more than 10,000 songs | Rinni Wulandari | Five Minutes | Seventeen | Melinda | Mulan | Dewa 19 and many more.

There are some very talented and inspiring women in the Indonesian music scene, both individual solo artists and groups, who are creating original and beautiful work while encouraging young women to take the spotlight in their wake. Here are just some examples of the hundreds women paving the road for others to follow in the Indonesian spotlight.

Dara Puspita - Probably Indonesia's first commercially successful all female pop-rock band Dara Puspita were active in the 1960's and 70's and still influence a lot of young and aspiring artists today. The band saw a lot of pressure as, at the time, the Sukarno regime saw rock music as an unwanted western influence, and after the imprisonment of another rock band called Koes Bersaudara, the band played in safer venues abroad in places like Bangkok to avoid a similar fate. They have taken their garage-rock music on tours all over the world, embarking on a European tour in 1968. Since the disbandment of the group, Titek Hamzah continued in the music industry, starting a solo career to some success.

Agnes Monica Muljoto - More commonly known as Agnez Mo (in photo), she is currently the richest celebrity of Indonesia with an estimated net worth of over $30 million USD and she deserves it, we love her! Agnes is a singer-songwriter as well as an actress, who started her music career early as a child singer at the age of six. Aside from succeeding as both a child and adult musician, she has worked as a music producer and a judge on the talent show Indonesian Idol, and has also worked with huge international names such as Timbaland and T.I. She is the most awarded Indonesian singer with 17 Anugerah Musik Indonesia awards, 8 Panasonic awards, 5 Nickolodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice awards and 4 MTV Indonesia awards to name just a few as of 2017.

Anggun Cipta Sasmi - Also starting her musical career as a child performer, Anggun started her music career in Indonesia before moving in 1994 to Europe to try to make an impression in more intentional markets in 1994, although, only after releasing three critically acclaimed albums back home. Her first international album, “Snow on the Sahara” created by French producer Erick Benzi became the best selling album by and Asian artist outside of Asia in 1997, reaching number one in several countries and charting on the Billboard charts in the USA. She has released five English language albums, six French language albums and a soundtrack for the Danish film “Open Hearts” since her international breakthrough. She has also worked as a judge for the talent shows X Factor Indonesia, Indonesia's Got Talent and Asia's Got Talent and is the highest paid judge in Indonesian television history. She has been certified as gold and platinum in several European countries and has even bee immortalised in wax by Madame Tussauds.

Mulan Jameela - Also known as ulan Kwok, this Indonesian solo singer has made a strong impression in Indonesia. She started as a cafe singer and subsequently joined several bands, most notably forming a duo with Maia Ahmad which they called Ratu. The first single from their debut album “Teman Tapi Mesra” was a smash hit and quickly elevated Mulan's name to a household status. The album peaked number one in Indonesia for several consecutive weeks and sold over 500 thousand copes. In 2008, she released her first solo album titled “Mulan Jameela”, the lead single of which titled “Makhluk Tuhan Paling Sexy” rose to number one in competition with her ex-parner Maia. Her second single also gained number one status has the album was certified as platinum just a few weeks after release.

Gita Gutawa - Gita is a soprano singer, actress and songwriter. Daughter of the famed Erwin Gutawa, she was discovered in 2004 while practicing her vocals, and was immediately booked to sing a duet with ADA band. The album “Heaven of Love” was released in 2005 and featured the duet, selling more than 800 thousand copies, which led to her being approached by Sony Music Indonesia to record a solo album. She quit her music career in 2011 to pursue a degree in economics in England, although not without leaving a lasting impression on the music of Indonesia.