Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
With sunshine, smiling faces and relatively low crime here in Bahrain, there isn't much I miss about the UK but if I had to pick a few things they would be family and friends back home, lazy Sunday afternoons in a beer garden and all-day music festivals.
That last one though is about to change and a date for a lazy day in the sun with friends and a top-notch soundtrack is firmly set in my diary for this November the 23rd.
The culmination of the Bud Music... Live contest is a music festival to be held at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club.
The event will kick off at 1pm and run late into the night and will see this year's competition winners, Synergy, playing alongside internationally-renowned acts such as The Fun Lovin' Criminals and Arrested Development as well as well-known up-and-coming bands like Watershed, Juliana Down, Vix N the Kix, Brothermandude, Abri and Asono and will be supported by New Order's Peter Cook who will be spinning his DJ magic on the decks for all to enjoy.
With so many great bands playing, there's no doubt this is going to be a day of fun and frivolity - you'll kick yourself if you miss!
Well known for their instantly recognisable 1996 smash hit Scooby Snacks, Fun Lovin' Criminals first came together in New York in 1993 and, to date, have six albums under their belts.
Their alternative rap/rock sound consists of a blend of hip hop, rock, blues and jazz and with lyrics that deal with everyday issues from organised crime, violence, poverty, drugs and politics, their gritty sound leaves no doubt as to why in 2001 their hit single Loco reached number five in the UK charts.
Best Rap Album and Best New Artist Grammy Award winners in 1993, Arrested Development boasts seven albums and eight singles to their name including the epic Revolution from the soundtrack of director Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X.
With a progressive rap sound that fuses soul, funk, blues and hip hop, they were one of the major success stories of 1992 and it's easy to see why Rolling Stones magazine named them band of the year.
Dubai-based band Abri was born when vocalist Hamdan Al Abri met keyboardist Julian Symes in 2005. Within two months the duo had written enough tracks to comprise a full album.
While the two gifted musicians deliver a stirring performance on their own, Abri's sound is fleshed out with the addition of brothers Justin and Andre Atherley whose jazzy bass riffs and solid drum beats perfectly accompany the band's soulful melodies.
This is a band I highly recommend seeing as they'll keep you keep you swaying and bobbing your head to the beat long after their set is over.
Juliana Down were formed in 2000 and have rapidly established themselves as the premier rock act to hail from the Middle East.
The Dubai-based quartet seamlessly straddles a myriad of rock genres while maintaining their ability for giving their music a user-friendly pop gloss.
Recognition came early on in the band's career at the 2001 Abu Dhabi Battle of the Bands when they scooped both 'Best Original Song' and 'Best Vocalist' awards. Their highly-anticipated debut album Cause and Affect was released in February of this year and showcases the diverse song writing and production talents of its members.
You couldn't ask for a more interesting set-up for a band than Brothermandude (soon to be known as Manakin), with Bahrain's Shaikh Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa - a.k.a.Shake - as lead singer while the rest of the band are Londoners. They rehearse and write between London and Bahrain and are signed to an LA-based indie label.
Their management team includes the legendary Simon Napier Bell, the man who introduced the world to the likes of Marc Bolan, The Yardbirds, Japan and Wham. To top it all off they've recently released their debut album BMD to rave reviews.
Flame-haired, singing and guitar-playing rock goddesses ViX from Vix N the Kix is perhaps best known up until now as the lead singer/songwriter of all-girl band 'we've got a... Fuzzbox... and we're gonna use it!'
With the release of the indie anthem Rules 'n' Regulations EP, the four schoolgirls from Birmingham were rocketed to worldwide success with fab chart hits such as International Rescue, Pink Sunshine and Self. Their second album Big Bang shot straight into the charts at number five and saw them performing numerous times on Top of the Pops and achieving the rare feat of appearing on the covers of both Smash Hits and MNE magazines in the same week.
South African band Watershed were formed in 1998, disbanding soon after with band member Craig Hinds keeping the name and reforming with a different line up before their debut album In the Meantime was released in 1999. That same year they played as the support act for Irish rockers 'The Cranberries' on their South African Tour.
In the Meantime charted in the top 20 for 33 weeks and received two nominations for the South African Music Awards in 2000 and tickets for their first live concert in Germany sold out within an hour of going on sale.
Two more albums have since followed with their latest one Mosaic having already reached gold status in South Africa with more than 25,000 copies sold.
UK-based band Asono's sound is all their own. Front man Jonny Ross whose stadium-filling vocals anchor the band's sound firmly in the rock domain can't fail to impress, while his lead guitar work, which he shares with guitarist Andrew Simmons is exceptional.
According to their MySpace website they're "bored of the twangy tracks of the indie world, Asono look not just to reignite the rock and roll flame but to carry it a good distance further on! Asono's sound is edgy and modern with hooks and choruses that embed themselves deep into the skin!" We say Rock On!
And last, but by no means least, this year's Bud Music... Lives winners -_Bahrain-band Synergy.
Originally formed back in 2004, their main vision being to play a wide variety of music styles during any performance, a vision they succeeded in admirably before disbanding at the end of the same year due to the member's prior commitments.
After hearing about the Bud Music... Live competition, bass guitarist Ahmed Al Qasem decided to regroup the band and in order to compete.
It was a move that proved to be a major success when they carried off the first prize of a recording contract after wowing the judges (myself included) with their original tracks and clever cover versions that they masterfully managed to make their own.
This is a band I'm very much looking forward to cheering again! So there you have it, an impressive line-up to while away a great afternoon and night not to be missed!
l Tickets for Bud ... Fest are available priced BD16 at all BMMI outlets, Bahrain Rugby and Football Club, Euphoria, Alosra supermarket and Krumz restaurant and include one free-beverage on entry for everyone over 18.
