WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...

. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.

History

WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, with Thomas Brooman, Bob Hooton, Mark Kidel, Stephen Pritchard, Martin Elbourne and Jonathan Arthur. Original designers were Steve Byrne and Valerie Hawthorn. The first WOMAD festival was in Shepton Mallet, UK in 1982. The audience saw Peter Gabriel,

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

, The Beat, Drummers of Burundi, Echo & The Bunnymen, Imrat Khan, Prince Nico Mbarga,

Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...

, Simple Minds,

Suns of Arqa Suns of Arqa are a world music collective founded in 1979 by Michael Wadada. Since the group's formation, over 200 people from around the world have played and recorded with them, and in many cases these were like-minded musicians Wadada met ...

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

and Ekome National Dance Company, founded by Barrington, Angie, Pauline and Lorna Anderson, the pioneering African arts company in the UK amongst others performing. Gabriel and his company, which had funded WOMAD, faced financial ruin from high costs of the festival in its very first year, worsened by the lack of suitable transport to the venue (Shepton Mallet Showground) and a lack of publicity. At the suggestion of Tony Smith, the manager of Gabriel and Genesis, he and the remaining members of Genesis agreed to play together for a single show under the name '

Six of the Best Six of the Best was a reunion concert between the rock band Genesis, their original lead singer Peter Gabriel and former guitarist Steve Hackett. It took place on a wet Saturday, 2 October 1982, at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshi ...

' at Milton Keynes. This performance included a dynamic inclusion of Ekome National Dance Company, fusing live African Drum on Peter Gabriel's track 'Rhythm Of The Heat'. The show rescued the company and made it possible for further WOMAD events to take place. Since 1982, WOMAD Festivals have travelled all over the world, bringing artists to 27 countries and entertaining over one million people. The main UK event settled at Rivermead in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, from 1990 until 2006. Before moving to its present home in Charlton Park, Wiltshire from 2007. In 2017 WOMAD UK marked its 35th anniversary. Headliners

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...

& The No Smoking Orchestra,

Toots and The Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

, and

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 along with 30 other artists performed for a record-setting audience for the festival of 40,000 people. In 2022, after two forced cancellations due to the

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic the UK festival returned for its 40th anniversary. Peter Gabriel appeared on stage with Friday night headliner Angelique Kidjo as well as introducing Osibisa on stage on Saturday afternoon. Other headliners included

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

Fatoumata Diawara Fatoumata Diawara ( bm, ߝߊ߫ߕߎߡߕߊ ߖߊ߯ߥߙߊ߫, Fatumta Jawara, born 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France. Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), '' Sia, T ...

Lianne La Havas Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 1989), known professionally as Lianne La Havas ( ), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for wh ...

. Other keys acts across the weekend on other stages included

Kae Tempest Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest; born 22 December 1985) is an English spoken word performer, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright. At the age of 16, Tempest was accepted into the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in ...

, Kanda Bongo Man,

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

, The Selector and

Les Amazones d'Afrique ''Les Amazones d'Afrique'' is a contemporary world music supergroup formed in Mali in 2015 featuring Kandia Kouyaté, Angélique Kidjo, Mamani Keita, Rokia Koné, Mariam Doumbia (of Amadou & Mariam), Nneka, Mariam Koné, Massan Coulibaly, ...

Festival recordings

A triple album was released in 2007 to make the 35th anniversary of WOMAD featuring recordings from many of the festivals in the UK and other sites across the world. Various other Real World Records albums feature recordings from the 1982, 1988, 1996 and 2002 UK festivals. Artists such as 23 Skidoo, Sons of Arqa, Echo & The Bunnymen and Tankus The Henge have released recordings from the UK festivals. For the 40th anniversary of the first UK festival in 2022 Real World Records released the "Live at WOMAD 1982" double album on CD, Vinyl and download featuring mostly previously unreleased recordings from the very first UK festival. The CD included two bonus songs. The vinyl included a replica of the original poster.

Ethos

From the outset, the WOMAD name has reflected the festival's idea; to be embracing but non-definitive, inspiring and outward looking; and more than anything, enthusiastic about a world that has no boundaries in its ability to communicate through music and movement.

Programming

WOMAD has always presented music that they felt to be of excellence, passion and individuality, regardless of musical genre or geographical origin. WOMAD encourages collaboration amongst the artists they invite to perform. The first WOMAD Festival in 1982 had Echo and the Bunnymen join forces with the Drummers of Burundi, and WOMAD Abu Dhabi 2010, saw a collaboration between

Tinariwen Tinariwen ( Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's gu ...

TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...

members Kyp Malone and

Tunde Adebimpe Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (born February 26, 1975) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, director, and visual artist best known as the lead singer of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio. Early life Adebimpe was born into a Nig ...

, Grammy-winning producer

Ian Brennan (music producer, author) Ian Brennan (; born June 15, 1966) is an American music producer, author and lecturer on violence prevention. Brennan has authored six books, two on anger, ''Anger Antidotes'' (2011) and ''Hate-less'' (2014); a novella, ''Sister Maple Syrup Eyes ...

, and the French Algerian Mehdi from Speed Caravan. *Workshops. Adult workshops are taken by the musicians and will involve dance, musical instruments and discussions. Children's workshops involve painting, circus skills, graffiti, modelling, story telling and more. *Taste The World. Musicians cook a choice of dish from their home country in front of an audience. *Global Market. The Global Market sells international food and wares.

UK Location

WOMAD in the UK takes place in the grounds of Charlton Park, a stately home in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The arena holds at least 5 main stages with a further one in the Arboretum. An old fashioned steam fair, global market, children's area, wellbeing section is also found on the WOMAD UK festival site. WOMAD Charlton Park falls on the last complete weekend in July. In 2019 the capacity of the festival was 40,000.

Previous UK Locations

After the debut 1982 performance at the Bath & West Showground the festival took a sabbatical. There were some WOMAD events in 1983 at the ICA in London as part of a collaboration with Capital Radio Festival to see if there was still an audience for the brand. 1985 saw the festival move to Mersea Island in Essex with New Order, The Fall,

Toots & The Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...

, A Certain Ratio and

Penguin Cafe Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...

performing amongst others. (A section of Nusrat's performance was released on CD in 2019). 1986 the festival moved to Kenn Pier Farm, Clevedon, Somerset and saw performances from Gil Scott-Heron,

Misty In Roots Misty in Roots are a British roots reggae band formed in Southall, London, in the mid 1970s. Their first album was 1979's ''Live at the Counter Eurovision'', a record full of Rastafarian songs. It was championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, help ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine ...

The Housemartins The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianit ...

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

, The Bhundu Boys, Aswad,

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

, 23 Skidoo and The Blue Aeroplanes amongst many others 19–20 July. In 1987 WOMAD hosted the new world-music-focused third stage at Glastonbury Festival that went on to be called The Jazz World (and later, West Holts) stage. 1987 also saw the first of the WOMAD weekenders in Carlyon Bay, Cornwall (The Coliseum) that ran annually until 1993. (

The Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly wh ...

released recordings from their performance here in the late 1980s). There was a folk & blues WOMAD event in 1988 at the South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell. (A recording from this event was later released on CD). 1989 to 1997 WOMAD weekender events were held in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire so that the brand weren't accused of being "southern-centric". 1990-2006 The Rivermead Centre (and later Little John's Farm),

was the permanent WOMAD UK festival home before the festival moved to its current home in Wiltshire due to needing to expand, by the time the festival had expanded and needed to move there were three stages: The Open Air, Siam and Village. (Recordings exist from several of the events). 1988 saw the Siam Tent first introduced. 2003-2005 saw additional events at The Eden Project, including a special

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

performance (released on CD & DVD). Fri 22/08/2003: Eden Arena: Afro Celt Sound System Los De Abajo Chico Cesar Humid & Tropical Biomes & The Indigo Tent: The Patrick Duff Band Madosini & Vuyo Patrick Duff, Madosini & Vuyo The Dhol Foundation Chartwell Dutiro Gwenno The Link Building: 1 Giant Leap Pathaan DJ Desperado Fri 27/08/2003: "A SUMMERS NIGHT OF MUSIC" SHOW OF HANDS (UK) SUSANA BACA (Peru), THE CAT EMPIRE (Australia) ASERE (Cuba) LAYE SOW (Senegal) DREAMCATCHER (UK) DREADZONE SOUND SYSTEM (UK) CHARLIE GILLETT (UK) Sat 02/07/2005 "Live 8 - Africa Calling" Hosted by Peter Gabriel and Youssou N'dour Angelique Kidjo Maryam Mursal Salif Keita Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited Tinariwen Daara J Akim El Sikameya Shikisha Ayub Ogada Modou Diouf & O Fogum WOMAD came to

Bristol Zoo Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend” biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider unders ...

in 2011, with a subsequent event in 2012. A boycott of the 2012 event was called for by the Captive Animals Protection Society because of concerns that noise from the festival could affect the animals' welfare. 2011 event (£20 adults over 15, children 3-14 £5, under 3 free): Biram Seck, Gabby Young and Other Animals, Muntu Valdo, Rua MacMillan, Siyaya, The Magic Tombolinos 2012 event (same prices): Ballet Nimba, Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, Perunika, Ska Cubano, Spiro, The Boxettes 2013 event (£17.50 for adults this year): Diabel Cissokho, Katy Carr & the Aviators, Sarah Savoy and the Francadians, The Dhol Foundation, The Barons of Tang. (Radio Womad were also present at all three Bristol Zoo events). 2022 saw a free WOMAD commissioned event at the South Bank Centre featuring an hour long performance by Yazz Ahmed.

Reading Highlights

2001

Friday - Soweto String Quartet (South Africa) - Kazufumi 'Echo' Kodama (Japan) - Mabulu (Mozambique) - Asian Dub Foundation (UK) - Ballet Folklorico Cutumba (Santiago de Cuba) - Rachid Taha (Algeria) - Joji Hirota & the London Metropolitan Ensemble (Japan/UK) - Dounia (Sicily) - Paul James & Mark Hawkins (UK) Saturday - Siyaya (Zimbabwe) - Tarras (UK) - Hamid Baroudi (Algeria) - Oliver Mutukudzi & The Black Spirits (Zimbabwe) - Kazufumi 'Echo' Kodama (Japan) - Imbizo with special guests Nuclearte (Zimbabwe/Sicily) - Cecile Kayirebwa (Rwanda) - Jose Merce (Spain) - Juan de Marcos' Afro-Cuban All Stars (Cuba) - Modou Diouf & Beugue Djamm (Senegal) - Cachaito Lopez (Cuba) - Cheikh Lo (Senegal) - Dounia (Sicily) - Whirl-Y-Gig Sunday - Regis Gizavo (Madagascar) - Orchestre National de Barbes (Magreb/France) - Shilpi Baruri - Badenya les Freres Coulibaly (Burkina Faso) - Danza Libre (Cuba) - Hamid Baroudi (Algeria) - Badejo Arts (Nigeria) - Trilok Gurtu (India) - Oliver Mutukudzi & The Black Spirits (Zimbabwe) - Siyaya (Zimbabwe) - Mushtaq (UK) - Whirl-Y-Gig

2002

Abdelkader Saadoun (Algeria/UK); Anouskha Shankar (India); Bob Brozman/Rene Lacaille/Takashi Hirayasu (USA/New Guinea Islands/Japan); Cara Dillon (UK); Ernest Ranglin (Jamaica); Francis Dunnery (UK); Gigi (Ethiopia); Issa Bagayogo (Mali); Lokua Kanza (Zaire); Los De Abajo (Mexico); Pina (Austria); Rachid Taha (Algeria); Rebecca Malope (South Africa); Ronu Majumdar Trio with special guest Trilok Gurtu (India); Souad Massi (Algeria); Tartit Ensemble (Mali) and Trio Mocoto (Brazil); Adrian Sherwood (UK); Bill Cobham (USA); Asere (Cuba); The Bisserov Sisters (Bulgaria); Misty In Roots (UK); Orchestra Baobab (Senegal); Papa Noel & Papi Oviedo (Congo); King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (Nigeria); Kanda Bongo Man (Congo); The Walkabouts (USA); and The Shrine (UK); System 7 (UK)

2003

Friday 25 July 1 Giant Leap (UK) with special guest appearances from Baaba Maal (Senegal) and Maxi Jazz (UK); Amampondo (South Africa), Amjad Ali Khan (India); Bembeya Jazz (Guinea); Celloman (UK); Chico César (Brazil); Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks (USA); Eliza Carthy Big Band (England); Joji Hirota and Taiko Drummers (Japan/UK); Julien Jacob (Benin/West Indies/France); McKay (USA); Modeste Hugues (Madagascar); Pape & Cheikh (Senegal); Sevara Nazarkhan (Uzbekistan); Sotho Sounds (Lesotho) and The Suspects - Soul 'n' Rhythm Revue (UK). CLUB WOMAD - DJ Gilles Peterson (UK); The Cat Empire (Australia) and DJ Desperado (UK). KITTY CANDLE'S CABARET - Clive Andrews (Australia); Stretch People (UK); Heir of Insanity (UK); Martinez and Fabriga(UK); Woody Bop Muddy (UK) and Les Goulus (France). Saturday 26 July Ali Slimani (Algeria/UK); Amampondo (South Africa); Asad Qizilbash (Pakistan); Clave y Guaguancó (Cuba); Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks (USA); Jimmy Cliff (Jamaica); JJC and the 419 Squad (UK/Nigeria); Julien Jacob (Benin/WestIndies/France); Liam Gerner (Australia); Lo'Jo (France); Nitin Sawhney (UK); Pape & Cheikh (Senegal); Samba Sunda (Java); Super Rail Band of Bamako (Mali); Temple of Sound (UK): Teofilo Chantre (Cap Verde) and The Cat Empire (Australia). CLUB WOMAD - DJ Mr Scruff (UK) and Homelife (UK). KITTY CANDLE'S CABARET - Clive Andrews (Australia); Stretch People (UK); Heir of Insanity (UK); Martinez & Fabriga (UK); Woody Bop Muddy (UK)and Les Goulus (France). Sunday 27 July Asad Qizilbash (Pakistan); Claude Chaloub & special guest Ronu Majumdar (Lebanon/India); Ensemble Kaboul (Afghanistan); Errol Linton's Blues Vibe (UK); Kad Achouri (France/Spain/Algeria); Khaled (Algeria); Manecas Costa (Guinea Bissau); Manu Dibango & Ray Lema (Cameroon/Democratic Republic of Congo); Ojos de Brujo (Spain); Oumou Sangare (Mali); Rodrigo and Gabriela (Mexico); Sevara Nazarkhan (Uzbekistan); Sierra Maestra (Cuba); Super Rail Band of Bamako (Mali); The Angel Brothers & Satnam Singh (UK/India); The Proclaimers (Scotland) and Totonho y Os Cabra (Brazil). CLUB WOMAD - Future World Funk (UK); Pardesi Music Machine (UK) and Pathaan (UK). KITTY CANDLE'S CABARET - Clive Andrews (Australia); Stretch People (UK); Heir of Insanity (UK); Martinez & Fabriga (UK); Woody Bop Muddy (UK) and Les Goulus (France).

2004

FRIDAY 23 JULY Andrea Echeverry de Aterciopelados (Colombia); Ceilidh featuring Tiger Moth (UK); David Byrne featuring The Tosca Strings (USA); Dhol Foundation (UK); Fawzy Al-Aiedy (Iraq/France); Golden Pride Children's Choir (Tanzania); Izzi Dunn (UK); Laye Sow (Senegal); Patrick Duff and Alex Webb (UK); Radio Mundial (USA/Puerto Rico); Richard Bona (Cameroon); Sharon Shannon (Ireland); Souad Massi (Algeria); The Drummers of Burundi (Burundi); Yelemba d'Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) and Zaman Zaki (Pakistan). KITTY CANDLE'S CABARET - Les Têtes de Vainqueurs (France); Les Goulus (France); Mimbre (Italy/Sweden); Mr Dennis Teeth (UK); Stickleback Plasticus (UK). CLUB WOMAD - DJ Andy Kershaw (UK) and JJC & 419 Squad (Nigeria/UK). SATURDAY 24 JULY Culture Musical Club - Grand Orchestre Taarab de Zanzibar (Tanzania); Daara J (Senegal); Damien Dempsey (Ireland); Drum Drum (Australia/Papua New Guinea); Golden Pride Children's Choir (Tanzania); Hot Tuna (USA); Imbongi & Albert Nyathi (Zimbabwe); Kila (Ireland); Malouma (Mauritania); Marsada (Sumatra); Michael Messer (UK); Moon Dogs (UK); N'faly Kouyate & Dunyakan (Guinea); Nigel Kennedy and Kroke (UK/Poland); Rokia Traore (Mali); Sidestepper (Colombia/UK); The Drummers of Burundi (Burundi); Tinariwen (Mali); Yair Dalal (Israel); Yelemba d'Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) and Zaman Zaki (Pakistan). KITTY CANDLE'S CABARET - Les Têtes de Vainqueurs (France); Les Goulus (France); Mimbre (Italy/Sweden); Mr Dennis Teeth (UK); Stickleback Plasticus (UK). CLUB WOMAD - The Bays (UK), Future World Funk (UK) and Resin Dogs (Australia). SUNDAY 25 JULY Aayjemaal (Turkmenistan); Amparanoia (Spain); Antonio Forcione & Ronu Majumdar (Italy/India); Ba Cissoko (Guinea); Daby Toure (Mauritania); DJ Dolores & Aparelhagem (Brazil); Enzo Avitabile & Bottari (Italy); Jim Moray (England); Liu Fang (China); Ljiljana Buttler & Mostar Sevdah Reunion (Bosnia); Luciano (Jamaica); Señor Coconut (Germany/Denmark/Venezuela); The Suspects Soul 'n' Rhythm Revue (UK); Wire Daisies (UK) and a Gala performance with Yair Dalal featuring Jim Moray, Liu Fang, N'faly Kouyate with Dunyakan, Chris Difford, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady & Barry Mitterhof. KITTY CANDLE'S CABARET - Les Têtes de Vainqueurs (France); Les Goulus (France); Mr Dennis Teeth (UK); Stickleback Plasticus (UK); Tuyo (Cuba/UK). CLUB WOMAD - artists soon to be announced. KID'S PROCESSION - including work by WOMAD's 2004 resident visual artists The Mora Brothers from Cuba.

Charlton Park Highlights

2007

The first year on the new site was also a very rainy and muddy year with festival goers nicknaming the site "WOMUD".

2008

Due to the previous year's flooding and some inaccessibility, the site was moved around and expanded. Stages included: Open Air, Siam Tent, Big Red Tent, Little Sicily, Dance Tent, Drum Tent, BBC Radio 3 Stages & Taste The World Stage. Also, the first year Radio Womad broadcast was launched.

2012

Capacity is nearly doubled to 40,000

2013

The headliners appearing on the Open Air and Siam Tent were Gilberto Gil, Rokia Traore, Seun Kuti and Lee "Scratch" Perry with Max Romeo (replaced Toots and the Maytals) Arrested Development were also added to the line-up later on Adjágas (Norway) Alice Russell (dropped out) Replaced by DJ Cheeba (UK) Amesmalua (Spain) Asif Ali Khan (Pakistan) Bwani Junction (UK) Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (Italy) Carminho (Portugal) Christine Salem (Reunion) David Rodigan MBE (UK) David Wax Museum (USA) Debapriya & Samanwaya (India) Dizu Plaatjies and the Ibuyambo Ensemble (South Africa) Dub Inc (France) Emel Mathlouthi (Tunisia) Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania) Fimber Bravo (Trinidad & Tobago) Flavia Coelho( Brazil) Fredy Massamba (Congo) GOCOO (Japan) Hidden Orchestra (UK) Huun-Huur-Tu (Russia) Iadoni (Georgia) Jagwa Music (Tanzania) Jesca Hoop (USA) Katy Carr & The Aviators (UK/Poland) Kissmet (India) La Chiva Gantiva (Colombia/Belgium/Vietnam/France) Le Vent Du Nord (Canada) Lévon Minassian (Armenia) Mala in Cuba (UK) Malawi Mouse Boys (Malawi) Malouma (Mauritania) Mohammad Reza Mortazavi (Iran) Mokoomba (Zimbabwe) Nano Stern (Chile) Ondatrópica (Colombia) Parov Stelar Band (Austria) Riot Jazz Brass Band (UK) Sam Lee and Friends (UK) Schlachthofbronx (Germany) Spoek Mathambo (South Africa) Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys (USA) Syd Arthur (UK) Tamikrest (Mali) The Bombay Royale (India/Australia) The Heavy (UK) Urna & Kroke (Mongolia/Poland) BBC Radio 3 Stage: Mavrika (Greece) Barrule (Isle of Man) Family Atlantica (Ghana) Lucas Santtana (Brazil) Zykopops (Croatia) Roopa Panesar (United Kingdom) Imperial Tiger Orchestra (Switzerland) Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band (United States) DJ Tudo e sua gente de todo lugar (Brazil) La Pegatina (Spain) Fidan Hajieva (Azerbaijan) Guy Schalom & The Baladi Blues (Egypt) DaWangGang (China (People's Republic)) KonKoma (Ghana) Red Hot Chilli Pipers (Scotland)

2014

The 2014 headliners included Youssou N'Dour, Sinead O'Connor, Manu Dibango and Les Ambassadeurs. Sinead O'Connor replaced

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

, who had died a handful of weeks before the festival. She dedicated her performance to him.

2020

WOMAD UK cancelled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic. The festival, Radio Womad and BBC Radio 3 run a free on-line only "WOMAD at Home" event the same weekend with exclusive and archive performances. Also, Will Lawton and the Alchemists gain permission to access the site and recorded a short two song set and are "The only band to play WOMAD 2020", with the video and images being released via their Facebook and Instagram accounts. "WOMAD at Home" T-shirts are sold to help raise funds for the festival crews affected by the forced unemployment.

2021

WOMAD UK cancelled again. Radio WOMAD again broadcast exclusive live shows from the presenters respective homes over the weekend.

2022

40th anniversary festival. * A Certain Ratio * Abel Selaocoe * Adg7 * Alban Claudin * Angelique Kidjo (Peter Gabriel performed on the encore with her) * B.Dance * Bab'bluz * Barmer Boys *

Bess Atwell Bess or BESS may refer to: * Bess (name), a given name and surname * Bess (content-control software), a brand of web filtering software * Bess (Dane), legendary Danish general mentioned in ''Gesta Danorum'' * Bess (singer), Finnish singer * BESS (e ...

* Cimafunk * Dizraeli *

DJ Alikat A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

*DJ Chris Tofu And Fizzy Gillespie *DJ Sacha Dieu * Dudu Tassa And The Kuwaits * Elaha Soroor And Kefaya Electric Jalaba *

Fantastic Negrito Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz (born January 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, is an American singer-songwriter whose music spans blues, R&B, and roots music. His 2016 album '' The Last Days of Oakland'' won a Grammy award f ...

* Father of Mylo *

* Fulu Miziki Kollectiv * Future Shape of Sound *

& Family * Gonne Choi * Greentea Peng (cancelled just prior to the festival) * Grupo Lokito *Guo Yue & Joji Hirota & members of the London

Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...

Drummers * Gwenifer Raymond *

Hatis Noit Hatis ( hy, Հատիս), formerly known as Kyankyan, is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. The village is populated by mostly Armenians with Kurds being a minority (about 8%). See also *Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ...

* Hollie Cook * Isona job artgheh *

Jack Baldus Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Jali Bakary Konteh A ''jali'' or jaali (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticework, latticed Window screen, screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. T ...

& The Minyanta Band * Joe Armon-Jones * Joseph Tawadros * Johanna Juhola Reaktori * JSSO Project *

* Kampire * Kanda Bongo Man *

Khiyo Khiyo ( bn, ক্ষ) are an English fusion band of British and Bengali descent formed in London, England in 2007. The three core members of Khiyo are Sohini Alam on vocals, Oliver Weeks on guitar and piano, and Ben Heartland on bass. Histor ...

* King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys (cancelled during the festival) *

Lazy Habits Lazy is the adjective for laziness, a lack of desire to expend effort. It may also refer to: Music Groups and musicians * Lazy (band), a Japanese rock band * Lazy Lester, American blues harmonica player Leslie Johnson (1933–2018) * Lazy Bill L ...

Mariachi Las Adelitas Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

* Mazaher * Minyo Crusaders *

Mister Tooley ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

(DJ şet) * Mr Bruce * Nabiyah Iqbal (DJ set) * Nihiloxica *

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian a ...

(also hosted a Q&A the day prior) * Nubiyan Twist * Olcay Bayir * Onipa * Osibisa (introduced on stage by Peter Gabriel) * Paolo Tossio * Project Smok *

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

* Ramy Essam * Said Muti *

Sam Amidon Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Musical career In 2001, Amidon self-released ''Solo Fiddle'', an album of traditional Irish fiddle instrumentals. Amidon's first album of ...

Sarathy Korwar Sarathy Korwar is a US-born, Indian-raised, London-based drummer, percussionist, composer and bandleader. He works predominantly in a jazz and Indo jazz field but also incorporates elements of hip-hop, and other fusions. Background Born in th ...

Seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

. * Sona Jobarteh * Son Rompe Pera * Soul Professor * Stornoway *

Sugarhill Gang Sugar Hill may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sugar Hill, Georgia, a city * Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, a town * Sugar Hill, Manhattan, New York, a section of Harlem * Sugar Hill (New York), a mountain in Schuyler County * Sugar Hi ...

& The Furious Five (cancelled prior to the festival) * Taraf De Caliu * The Bandit * The Dhol Foundation *

* The Fontanas * The Garifuna Collective (cancelled last minute and were replaced by a 2nd performance by Mr. Bruce) * The Hempolics *

The Malmesbury Project ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

With Amaraterra *The Mauskovic Dance Band *

The Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...

Too Many T's Too Many T's are a British rap and hip hop band from London, England, consisting of Leon Rhymes and Ross Standaloft. Their style is compared to Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. ...

* Vision Collective * Voka Gentle * Yazz Ahmed *

Zed Bias Dave Jones, better known as Zed Bias, is an English electronic musician based in Manchester, who operates within the UK garage/2-step, broken beat and UK funky genres, as a producer and as a DJ. He has also released material under various p ...

Worldwide locations

WOMADelaide WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse selec ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia *WOMAD New Plymouth, Taranaki,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

*WOMAD Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE *WOMAD Cáceres,

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

, Spain *WOMAD Sicily,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Italy *WOMAD Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

*WOMAD

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, Chile WOMAD New Plymouth 2021 was cancelled in 2020 due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

complications; because of New Zealand's social distancing regulations during the emergence of COVID, its local organizing committee argued that the financial risk was too high if restrictions were to potentially be reinstated in close proximity to the event.

Previous Worldwide Locations

*WOMAD USA (recordings from this event were released on CD) *WOMAD Finland *WOMAD Portugal *WOMAD South Africa *WOMAD Athens *WOMAD Austria *WOMAD Germany *WOMAD Japan *WOMAD Canada *WOMAD Denmark *WOMAD Russia *WOMAD Turkey *WOMAD Italy *WOMAD Singapore (recordings from these events were released on CD) *WOMAD at the Venice Carnival (recordings from this event were released on CD)

Radio WOMAD

Based on Charlton Park every year since the second year (2008) the UK festival moved there, the official festival radio station is broadcast on a temporary FM licence (usually on 87.7FM) just prior to the festival opening its gates to the public and broadcasts 24 hours a day every day until late Monday after the public gates have closed. Each year the station hosts several exclusive live sessions and interviews from artists playing at the festival across the weekend. The FM signal reaches about ten miles away from the festival site. During the forced cancellations of the festival in 2020 and 2021 the radio station was set up to broadcast remotely from several of the presenter's homes across the UK and was broadcast live via Mixcloud where listeners could also interact with other listeners and the presenters for the "WOMAD at home" events. The shows showcased several highlights of previous live sessions from their archives. There was also a special live x-mas show in 2021 and two special live announcement shows in early 2022, to tie in with the line-up announcement from the festival, broadcast from station manager

Steve Satan Steve Satan started his career as head of rock on the pirate radio station Radio Caroline, using the pseudonyms Andy Bradgate and Colin Mueslibar. He went on to work for Contact 94 in France, Sunshine Radio in Luxemburg and Merlin Network One. He ...

's kitchen.

References

External links

Official WOMAD websiteOfficial WOMADelaide websiteOfficial WOMAD New Zealand websiteOfficial WOMAD Abu Dhabi website
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Of Music, Arts And Dance World music festivals Peter Gabriel Music festivals established in 1986