In a little over a week, WOMADelaide comes alive with an extraordinary program of music, arts and dance in Adelaide’s Botanic Park for four incredible days.
Heading a global list of artists is Billy Bragg, Arrested Development, Emel Mathlouthi, and Nigeria’s thrilling afrobeat superstar Femi Kuti and The Positive Force.
Fresh from his Compassion national tour with Nigel Westlake and symphony orchestras, Lior will take to the WOMADelaide stage for the first time since 2007 to perform songs from his new album, Scattered Reflections (being released 7 March), as well as classics from his three previous albums.
In his only Australian performance, Kuti returns after six years, alongside WOMADelaide and Australian debuts from every continent, including Scandinavian stars Ane Brun and Mikhael Paskalev, Portugese fado singer Carminho, Buena Vista Social Club piano prodigy Roberto Fonseca (Cuba) and breathtaking Qawwali singer Asif Ali Khan. Outspoken musician-singer Rachid Taha makes a welcome return to WOMADelaide after an 11 year absence
Two-time ARIA Award winner Washington, NZ’s Fat Freddys Drop in their first visit to Adelaide in five years, and one of the nation’s most talked about unsigned acts, future-soul trailblazers Haitus Kaiyote and US singer songwriter Neko Case. Acclaimed Aboriginal band Coloured Stone celebrates their 35th anniversary at the festival and Melbourne’s The Brown Hornet are reforming for one show.
WOMADelaide will host DJ royalty in Japan’s hip hop collaborator DJ Muro. Credited with having one of the world’s best record collections, he will be spinning some of his rarest 7” vinyl in his Australian debut. The eclectic line-up also includes Colombia-based, British DJ Quantic, cut-ups master DJ Yoda and cassette-mixer Awesome Tapes from Africa.
Botanic Park will host a number of off-stage events including the exclusive Australian premiere of one of the world’s most stunning and large scale contemporary video art installations - David Michalek’s Slow Dancing – which feature some of the dance world’s most amazing artists on three giant screens.
The Planet Talks will host an international list of thought-provoking and inspiring speakers including Annabel Crabb, Simon Sheikh, Tanya Ha, Chris Daniels, Paul Gilding, Simon Holmes a Court, Steffen Lehmann, Tory Shepherd joining Peter Garrett, Polly Higgins and Tim Flannery.
In the finest tradition of WOMADelaide as ‘the world’s festival’, audiences of all ages will enjoy an immensely diverse and entertaining cultural experience as they discover more than 500 artists and speakers from 25 countries across four glorious days.
WOMADelaide runs from 7 – 10 March 2014 in Adelaide’s Botanic Park. For more information and complete program, visit: www.womadelaide.com.au for details.
Image: Arrested Development