By Judith Schrut judith0777@gmail.com
WOMAD stands for World of Music, Arts and Dance and is simply the biggest international music festival on the planet. Happening the last weekend in July, Womad brings together performing artists from dozens of countries and thousands of world music fans to its splendid open air site deep in the Wiltshire countryside.
This year’s adventurous lineup includes the Original Gypsies of Camargue (formerly the Gypsy Kings), North African master gnawa musician Hamid El Kasri and the uplifting Celtic-meets- world crossover beats of Jiggy. There’s swinging bluesy sounds from Malian duo Amadou and Mariam and an athletic double dose of Latin American dance moves from Danza Regio´n and Ca´mara de Danza Comunidad.
We’re looking forward to the bubbly crop of American musicians likely to shake things up this Womad. Like brilliantly energetic Evie Ladin and Keith Terry with their unique take on old time song, dance, banjo and body instrumentation, and ‘electronic dance music without the electronics’ from high energy New York brass band buskers Too Many Zooz. There’s also punky bluegrass from Texas quintet Whiskey Shivers, intriguingly described as playing “banjos, fiddles and washboards in bare feet at breakneck speeds while singing lonesome harmonies about love and video games.”
But WOMAD is much more than a chance to revel in a rousing feast of music. It’s also a place for dancing or drumming the nights away, acapella singing workshops in a Bedouin tent, checking out human books from the Human Library and having a blast at Molly’s Bar.
Festival favourite, Taste the World Cookery Stage, will be back. Here, performing artists prepare choice dishes from their home country whilst chatting about their lives, music and culture with charming host, Roger deWolf. It’s all served up with a side order of spontaneous music and the audience gets to taste the completed dish.
WOMAD’s a big place but you’re never far from the Global Market, where you can eat and drink your way around the globe as well as browse the tempting range of crafts, clothing, music paraphernalia and worthy causes on display. With free entry for kids, a dedicated Kids Zone with hundreds of activities from dawn to dusk, the annual Children’s Parade and a relaxed vibe, WOMAD is also an outstanding choice for families.
In need of a break from the hullabaloo? Nip into the World of Wellbeing, a cool, calming space among the trees of the Arboretum where you can sample laughter yoga, song baths, didgeridoo healing, sound meditation and some excellent tea and cakes. And if you’re tired of chemical toilets and ground sheet camping, treat yourself to the La Di Da Loos, luxury camping in tipis, podpads and yurts, or splash out on a weekend Spa Ticket. This gives you unlimited access to pamper pavilions of Persian rugs and saffron light, gardens and gazebos, hammocks, hot tubs and barrel sauna, the exclusive Chakra Bar and a range of therapeutic treatments.
Further information: WOMAD, Charlton Park, 26-29 July 2018, womad.org
Image: Wonderful WOMAD shines, whatever the weather. Photo by Judith Schrut.