Tour news: A future full of festivals: Womad, Splore and more

Legendary South African act Ladysmith Black Mambazo are coming to Womad 2016.

There has been an overload of festival announcements this evening, with Womad, Splore, Auckland Festival, and New Zealand Festival all revealing a clutch of artists who'll be coming to entertain us in 2016. Here's a summation of what's on offer.

Womad

When: March 18-20 , 2016
Where: Bowl of Brooklands Park, New Plymouth
Line-up: As usual it sounds like Womad will be a riot of colour, exotic sounds, soulful performances, and delightful surprises. The acts announced so far are Ladysmith Black Mambazo (South Africa), John Grant (USA), 47Soul (Palestine/Syria/Jordan), Asia Minor Trio (Greece), Calexico (USA), DakhaBrakha (Ukraine), Diego El Cigala (Spain), Edmar Castaneda Trio (Colombia/USA), Ester Rada (Israel/Ethiopia), Hazmat Modine (USA), The Jerry Cans (Canada), Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat (Iran), Orange Blossom (France/Egypt), Savina Yannatou and Primavera en Salonico (Greece), Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Nigeria), Songhoy Blues (Mali), Spiro (UK), and Tuleger (China).

Ester Rada will perform at Womad 2016.

They've also confirmed several excellent local acts: Tami Neilson, Julia Deans, Bic Runga and Tiny Ruins (who will perform together and separately), a new John Psathas project called No Man's Land, and Pass The Gat which features Warren Maxwell, Louis Baker, and Thomas Oliver (with Baker and Oliver also performing solo sets).

Splore

Little Simz will perform at Splore

When: February 19-21, 2016
Where: Tapapakanga Regional Park
Line-up: The theme for this year's Splore is "A Summer Odyssey", tapping into the idea of the festival as an annual pilgrimage, a place to catch up with friends, meet new ones, and join together in a great big beach-fuelled party. To keep punters dancing and discovering all weekend they've added even more artists to their line-up this week: Austrian house duo Klangkarussell, UK rising hip hop star Little Simz (pictured), Berlin punk/cabaret performer Bonaparte, Warp Records' supremo Nightmares on Wax, Australian neo-soul group Hiatus Kaiyote, UK's jungle pioneers The Ragga Twins, Brazilian reggae/hip hop lyricist BNegao, and Italian electro swing DJ Dr Cat. That's on top of formerly announced artists Waxahatchee, The Reverend Peyton and his Big Damned Band, The Dub Pistols, The Correspondents, The Cuban Brothers, Tkay Maidza, and a whole heaps of rising local artists.

Auckland Arts Festival

When: March 2-20
Where: Various Auckland venues
Line-up: Auckland Arts Festival have given us a teaser of their full line-up announcement which will come on November 5, but there's already plenty to whet your appetite. Very exciting for indie music fans is the news that Sufjan Stevens (pictured) will be returning to Auckland to perform a very special show at the Civic Theatre, complete with a virtuosic eight-piece band and immersive production.

Sufjan Stevens will perform at both the Auckland Arts Festival and the New Zealand Festival in Wellington.

Brass Poppies is a brand new chamber opera from Ross Harris and Vincent O'Sullivan, which charts the military and domestic impact of WWI. Te Po is a grand theatrical comedy, built around a surreal tale of missing playwright Bruce Mason, and songs of Maori show bands. Not In Our Neighbourhood is an intimate piece of documentary theatre exposing the reality of family violence in New Zealand, and Waves is a tale crossing between Australia and Scotland, exploring the life of Olympian Elizabeth Moncello, the unofficial inventor of the famous butterfly stroke, which will be performed in seaside locations like Waiheke and Piha. Psathas' No Man's Land project will also feature.

New Zealand Festival

When: February 26-March 26
Where: Various Wellington venues
Line-up: The productions mentioned in the above line-up for the Auckland Arts Festival (Sufjan Stevens, Brass Poppies, Te Po, Not In Our Neighbourhood, Waves, and No Man's Land) will also all be appearing at the New Zealand Festival in Wellington, along with a massive smorgasboard of music, dance, theatre, literature, and family activities.

Iconic trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is coming to the New Zealand Festival with his famed Jazz At The Lincoln Centre Orchestra

There are too many to list here, but there are several acts of particular interest in the music section. Legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis with his auspicious band Jazz at the Lincoln Centre Orchestra will perform a special residency. Paul Kelly has collaborated with Black Arm Band to create Dirtsong - a show about the indigenous heart of Australia. Julia Deans is reprising her recent show Both Sides Now, performing the works of Joni Mitchell. The Chills and The Verlaines will be playing extra-special one-off shows in tribute to Flying Nun Records. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will make a rare concert appearance on home soil. And Quebec-based L'Orchestre d'hommes-orchestres is a band of one-man bands, playing over 100 instruments including spaghetti, boots, boxing gloves and a baby cradle, to recreate the colourful repertoire of Tom Waits.