“Enough words. WOMADelaide has reached musical perfection”
Highlights from this year’s WOMADelaide offering of 50+ bands included the great Malian griot Salif Keita, the Spanish viola da gamba player Jordi Savall, Indian singers Sudha Ragunathan and Manjiri Kelkar and from Bosinia, Goran Bregovic with his Weddings & Funerals Orchestra. There were also living legends such as Jamaican reggae star Jimmy Cliff and South African trumpeter and bandleader Hugh Masekela.
Also appearing at the festival were two music heavyweights from Mali - the Sahara’s answer to Jimi Hendrix, Vieux Farka Touré, and Bassekou Kouyaté. Add to that trio of exciting and vastly different Latin acts; Colombia’s most famous 12 piece salsa orchestra LA–33, Illapu from Chile, and Novalima – creating a Peruvian old-meets-new sound, while Blank Page, the giant billboard sized living painting from Luc Amoros captivated audience across the weekend.
The Australian contingent included a joint performance from Tim Rogers & the Bamboos, a rare show by live drum n bass trio, The Bird, the whisky-tinged blues of Mia Dyson, the sultry soul of Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes, perennial crowd-pleasers The Cat Empire and indigenous up-and-comers, East Journey.
The Planet Talks program was introduced in 2013!
“There is nothing like it in the country. It is this state’s best music festival and possibly this country’s”