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WOMAD is the quintessential music festival. A festival of music, arts and dance that reflects the sort of world we'd all like to live in. A festival that has become both a byword for quality and a legend in its own (26 year) lifetime.
With over 70 world-class acts from more than 35 countries playing across this three-day weekend, highlights will be many: an inevitably blistering performance by French-Algerian rocker, Rachid Taha, on Friday. The same day that's offering a riotous Irish ceilidh with the Sharon Shannon Big Band. Not to mention celestial strings courtesy of Malian kora maestro, Toumani Diabaté.
Saturday's programme boasts the fabulously edgy Canadian singer/songwriter, Martha Wainwright, along with Los Angeles-based Cambodian rockers Dengue Fever, Balkan/gypsy party-starter DJ Shantel and fabled reggae artist, Eddy Grant. And a new addition: the golden-voiced Wasis Diop, mixing traditional Senegalese folk with modern pop and jazz (and replacing the Kasai Allstars, who very sadly had to cancel due to problems obtaining visas).
Sunday is set to shine brightly with the kings of Senegalese swing, Orchestra Baobab. Feel-good power-popsters and British institution, Squeeze. Chinese sensation Sa Dingding. Jamaican guitar god, Ernest Ranglin. And now, bringing the weekend to a rollicking close: Seun Kuti and Egypt 80.
Seun Kuti has proved as dynamic a bandleader as his father, Nigeria's great Fela Kuti, ever was. And what a band to be leading! This is the same dance orchestra, with the same tough Afrobeat grooves, that first backed Fela a quarter century ago. Think electric guitars, blaring horns, thundering percussion. And out in front, 25-year-old Seun, mixing his own politically defiant songs with Fela standards, the words 'Fela Lives' tattoo-ed across his back.
Want to know more about Seun Kuti and all the other WOMAD artists? A full line-up with biographies - plus days, times and stages - can be found on the Line-Up pages on our website.
We're pleased to announce the return of our In Conversation sessions - a series that made its smash hit debut at WOMAD Charlton Park last year. Here is your opportunity to learn more about some of the artists at WOMAD, who'll be chatting informally with their host about their lives and their music: Peter Gabriel and Karl Wallinger, David D'Or, Damien Dempsey, Celso Alvin from Monobloco and members of Siyaya are just a few of the artists confirmed so far.
Eating your way around the world at WOMAD's famous Global Village is definitely a priority at the festival, and this year there are some new eateries and drinkeries to check out including: the Hurly Burly Cabaret Cafe showcasing some weird and wacky performers; San Fran's Disco Cocktail Bar where you can sip a well-mixed mojito in a comfy chair; and the Real Ale Bar showcasing some lovely local brews.
Information will be super-accessible at this year's festival; our main Information Tent team will be able to fill you in about programme changes, site details, train and bus times, taxi numbers, local dentists - basically, everything you could need to know - and in addition, there will be several smaller Information Points dotted around the site which will be updated regularly over the festival weekend. We'll also be updating the WOMAD website as events unfold, in the days leading up to the event and over the course of the festival weekend. Plus, we're making Wi-Fi access available over the weekend and our very own radio station, Radio WOMAD, will be broadcasting all the up-to-date festival news.
Worried about finding your way around? Don't be. Getting from A to B is easy and the WOMAD Charlton Park site map is now available to download below. Now you can pinpoint the eight different stages, locate the Global Village - that cornucopia of food, drink and merchandise stalls - with five bars in its midst, find the World Of Kids area with its bevy of children's workshops, and loads more. Get planning!
We've said it before, but we'll say it again: WOMAD Charlton Park really does have it all - including a little calmness among the dizzying array of entertainment. Over in the leafy arboretum the World Of Wellbeing will be offering twice-daily Qi Gong sessions, outdoor yoga, an English tea garden and a sushi restaurant located in a Mongolian yurt. Paradise, indeed - but wait! The de-stressing continues in the WOMAD Spa - an area of unapologetic luxury where you can rest, shower and chill; use make-up mirrors, hairdryers and fluffy towels. You can choose from a selection of luxury treatments. Hey, you can even get your hair done.
If you haven't already checked out our brand new website, then do! There's all you need to know about the festival site and performers, plus you can sign up to our Festival Forum where you can chat to fellow festival-goers.
Tickets & Info
Book online: www.womadshop.com
Book by phone: +44 (0)845 146 1735.
(Telephone orders incur a higher booking fee)
For up-to-date news and details on all WOMAD events around the world, and to join our mailing lists, please visit www.womad.org
All the best,
The WOMAD Festival Team
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