WOMAD 2013

Scores of great artists have already been announced (from Toots & The Maytals, Gilberto Gil, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 to Alice Russell Rokia Traoré and David Rodigan MBE) but now the wraps can completely come off the bill for WOMAD Charlton Park 25-28 July 2013.

WOMAD are delighted to announce that Charlton Park will this summer be graced by the presence of everyone’s favourite Afrocentric hip-hoppers – Arrested Development. The Atlanta collective, best known for massive hits like People Everyday and Mr Wendal, will be spreading the timeless one-love vibes of hip-hop’s classic daisy age.

WOMAD are excited to reveal that this corner of Wiltshire will also be resonating to the sounds of… 

Craig Charles (UK). The actor/comedian/performance poet also has a nifty sideline as a spinner of the finest soul and funk platters known to man and woman, as listeners to his Saturday night 6Music show will testify. 

Joseph Arthur (USA). The celebrated – and defiantly individual – singer-songwriter from Akron, Ohio who was ‘discovered’ by Peter Gabriel in the mid-90s and speedily signed to Gabriel’s Real World Records.

Ed Harcourt (UK). The piano-tinkling, former Mercury Prize nominee returned this year with the album Back Into The Woods, recorded in one night at Abbey Wood and described by Clash magazine as “one of the most beautiful, heartbreakingly tender albums of the last year, if not decade, if not ever…”. 

Babylon Circus (France). This fast and furious combo from Lyon mix ska, punk, jazz, swing and chanson in irrepressible, irresistible fashion. Precisely the kind of band that festivals were invented for. 

But, this being WOMAD, alongside these more familiar names comes music that you don’t yet know. After all, this is the festival that opens eyes and ears in a way no other event can or does. So, while these names might not ring most people’s bells, your next favourite band might be among them. They include…

Amesmalúa (Spain). This band occupy the point at which Galician folk song meets the fire of flamenco, while also showing tough roots-rock and jazzy touches.

Nynke (Netherlands). Wonderfully expressive fado singer who – unlike the rest of the fado sisterhood – hails not from Lisbon but the northern Dutch province of Friesland.

La Chiva Gantiva (Colombia/Belgium). Colombian at their core but calling Brussels home, this deeply funky, stupendously agile outfit come recommended to anyone who’s shaken a leg to past WOMAD favourites Ozomatli. They could well turn out to be the surprise package of the festival.

Imperial Tiger Orchestra (Switzerland). Further proof that passports are redundant in the music world, that borderlines get erased. This is the sound of classic Ethiopian grooves as translated by a bunch of musicians from Geneva. 

The Bookshop Band (UK). This folky trio usually write songs about books and play them in bookshops. Now they’re bringing their well-read creations out of such dusty old places and out into the sunshine of the great outdoors.

Festival partners (and friends) BBC Radio 3 will again be hosting their own dedicated stage at Charlton Park – and, once again, they’ve assembled a rather handsome bill of the finest world music sounds… Barrule (Isle of Man), Capercaillie (Scotland), Dawanggang (China), Desmali & D’Ambô de la Costa (Equatorial Guinea), DJ Tudo e Sua Gente de Todo Lugar (Brazil), Dogan Mehmet & the Boombox Karavan (UK), Family Atlantica (UK/Venezuela), Guy Schalom & The Baladi Blues Ensemble (Egypt/UK), KonKoma (Ghana/UK), La Pegatina (Spain), Mavrika (UK/Greece), Nefes with Fidan Hajiyeva (Turkey- Azerbaijan), Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (USA), Roopa Panesar (UK) and Zykopops (Croatia). A world of music brought to a single stage. 

WOMAD Live 2013 BBC Radio 3 broadcast schedule:

Friday 26th July:                  2300-0100 with Lopa Kothari

Saturday 27th July:              1300 – 1400 with Lucy Duran

2315 – 0100 with Mary Ann Kennedy

Sunday 28th July:                 1300 – 1400 with Lucy Duran

2230 – 0030 with Fiona Talkington

And that’s still not all. Those lucky souls who want to make a really long weekend of it can buy a separate Thursday ticket which allows them to catch both that raspy revolutionary of Algerian rai-rock Rachid Taha and the extraordinary spectacle of Italy’s Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio updating Mozart’s Magic Flute by way of mambo, salsa, rock and country-pop. There will also be the traditional Thursday night Malmesbury School Project, a collaboration between local school kids and, this year, Middle Eastern musicians and dancers.

As well as these special Thursday tickets, due to overwhelming demand DAY TICKETS will be available from JUNE 7 onwards. 

WOMAD is about much more than the music though. 2013’s festival will welcome back the Taste The World stage, where artists performing in the line-up are invited to present and prepare native dishes for audiences, occasionally using techniques not familiar to these shores. Throughout the weekend children of all ages (all children aged 13 and under get into WOMAD for FREE all weekend) are welcome to join the festival’s extensive workshops and activities in the World of Children. On Sunday afternoon all the wonderful creations are presented by their makers in the much loved Children’s Parade, which snakes its way through the festival site. Festival goers can unwind in the WOMAD Spa, experience the sights, smells and tastes of the festival’s Global Market or simply enjoy the vintage rides at Carter’s Original Steam Fair.