Three-day world music, arts and dance festival, WOMAD, is best known for its eclectic spread of artists. Across a comfortable 55-acres of lush parkland, it's a festival to discover artists from far-off countries, hear instruments you had no idea existed on planet earth and speak the universal language of dance, possibly knee-deep in the onsite pond. Freshly announced, next year's bill follows that formula to a T.
Artist spanning Chile, Lebanon, Mauritania and beyond will fly in for the concert at New Plymouth's Brooklands Park next March to deliver a blend of traditional and modern performances. A melting pot of genres will be on show, including folk, afro-funk, hip hop, classical, jazz and punk rock performed on violins, ouds, koras and squeeze boxes.
In addition to already announced acts, Kamasi Washington, Anoushka Shankar and Dragon, the lineup features: UK dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood, Mexico heavy metal-inspired acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, Brazilian afrobeat ten-piece Bixiga 70, Israel hip hop star Victoria Hanna, Chilean political-punk-poet Nano Stern and Ghanaian Jojo Abot who seamlessly blends electronica, indie-soul, reggae and hip hop.
WOMAD 2018 LINEUP
Adrian Sherwood (UK)
Aldous Harding (NZ)
Anoushka Shankar (India/UK),
Bixiga 70 (Brazil)
Chico Trujillo (Chile)
Constantinople (Canada)
Daymé Arocena (Cuba)
Dragon (NZ)
Ghada Shbeir (Lebanon)
Havana Meets Kingston (Jamaica/Cuba)
Hopetoun Brown (NZ)
Jamie McDowell & Tom Thum (Australia)
Jojo Abot (Ghana/USA)
Kamasi Washington (USA)
Lemon Bucket Orkestra (Canada)
Le Vent Du Nord (Canada),
My Bubba (Sweden/Iceland)
Nano Stern (Chile)
Noura Mint Seymali (Mauritania)
Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band (Ghana)
Rahim Alhaj Trio (Iraq)
Rodrigo y Gabriela (Mexico)
Spooky Men's Chorale (Australia)
The Miltones (NZ)
The Slacks (NZ),
Thievery Corporation (USA)
Tinariwen (Mali)
Victoria Hanna (Israel)
Violons Barbares (France/Mongolia/Bulgaria)
WOMAD New Zealand 2018 will take place at Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, from March 16 to 18. For more information and tickets, visit the WOMAD website.