Womad lineup set to take festivalgoers around the world

The latest Womad NZ 2023 artist announcement contains artists from across the globe. Photo / Charlotte Curd

Artists from throughout the globe will be bringing their unique sounds and voices to Taranaki next year when Womad NZ celebrates its 20th anniversary with a lineup of global artists and homegrown talent.

On Thursday evening at the official Womad programme launch in New Plymouth, an exciting lineup was revealed, with artists from Afghanistan, Belize and Senegal all featured in the list of talents set to appear.

A total of 22 new musicians, dancers and speakers were revealed as being booked to join the already-announced brilliant multi-award-winning Korean folk-pop group ADG7, Aotearoa's genre-pushing jazz, hip-hop project Avantdale Bowling Club, and modern Occitan troubadours San Salvador from France. Plus, World Of Words speaker Dick Frizzell and OMV STEAM Lab meteorologist Lisa Murray, both from Aotearoa at the festival in March.

Included in the lineup are Kefaya and Elaha Soroor (Afghanistan/UK) who bring a fresh twist on traditional Afghan folk music by filtering it through a range of musical forms from electronica to Indian classical music. Kefaya, an award-winning collective of musicians and producers from all over the world including Italy, India, Iran, Greece and the UK, work alongside Afghan-Hazara singer Elaha Soroor, a collaboration that led to the production of a joint album, Songs Of Our Mothers, in 2019.

The World of Words stage will feature Aotearoa author Lil O'Brien. Photo / supplied

The World of Words stage will feature Aotearoa writer Lil O'Brien, author of the comic, emotional and sometimes heartbreaking coming-out memoir Not That I'd Kiss A Girl. Lil is now working on adapting the memoir for the screen, working with South Pacific Pictures.

Mesmerising dance moves and quick, rhythmic percussive footwork along with exquisite hand gestures, body movements and facial expressions will enthral festivalgoers when Mudra Dance Company (Aotearoa) take to the stage.

The members of Mudra Dance Company will keep audiences entertained with their fast footwork and incredible rhythmic percussion. Photo / Supplied

Hip-hop fans will be delighted with the inclusion of Sampa Tembo - better known as Sampa The Great - in the lineup. The Zambian artist's award-winning debut album The Return was released in 2019, and she has quickly become one of the most sought-after voices in contemporary rap. The singer, rapper and songwriter was born in Zambia and raised in Botswana, and in interviews frequently acknowledges both countries and the communities there as the foundation of her success.

Sampa Tembo, better known as Sampa The Great, is an award-winning singer, rapper and songwriter. Photo / supplied

Suzanne Porter, CEO of the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (Taft), which puts on Womad, says it's thanks to support from partners and supporters Taft is able to continue to bring Womad NZ to Taranaki.

"Without their support, Womad would never have gotten off the ground. Our partners saw the vision early on, and they've stayed committed and supportive through the last few years, which have been challenging to say the least."

Full lineup: Acapollinations (Aotearoa), Bab L' Bluz (Morocco/France), Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn (USA), Cimafunk (Cuba), Constantinople (Canada), Deva Mahal (Aotearoa), Fly My Pretties (Aotearoa), Professor Hinke Osinga (Aotearoa), Justin Adams & Mauro Durante (UK/Italy), Kefaya and Elaha Soroor (Afghanistan/UK), Kita (Aotearoa), Lil O'Brien (Aotearoa), MazbouQ (Aotearoa), Mdou Moctar (Niger), Mudra Dance Company (Aotearoa), Pandit Ronu Majumdar & Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh (India), Rizwan Muazzam Qawwals (Pakistan), Rubi Du ( Aotearoa), Sampa The Great (Zambia), The Garifuna Collective (Belize), The Langan Band (Scotland), and Youssou N'Dour & Le Super Étoile de Dakar (Senegal).

The World of Words stage will feature Dick Frizzell (Aotearoa), Lil O'Brien (Aotearoa), while the OMV STEAM Lab will feature meteorologist Lisa Murray and Professor Hinke Osinga.

More artists and festival announcements are expected in the coming months.