The latest batch of artists have been announced for WOMADelaide 2023 and that has prompted some happy memories of WOMADelaide 2022. If you were there too, maybe some of these pics will rekindle the moment for you.
Reliving WOMADelaide 2022
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Category Archives: World Music
Goanna: superb at WOMADelaide 2022
The Goanna reunion performance was a wonderful emotion-charged event. It was clear they were having the time of their lives on the main stage at WOMADelaide 2022. Respect was flowing freely from and to the band.
Together and in their solo careers Shane Howard, Rose Bygrave & Marcia Howard have made Australia a better place through their music and activism.
They’re great storytellers, in their songwriting, performing and in person.
And it’s storytelling with a purpose. They helped clear a path forward for First Nations audiences and performers.
Continue readingFrom Ecocide to Eden: learning from luminaries
With WOMADelaide 2022 coming up fast, it made me reflect on previous festivals.
Might it be that – in simplistic terms – there are two types of people: those who use their talents to enrich themselves, and those who use their special skills to enrich the lives of others? My experience in media leads me to think so.
I’ve been very fortunate to interview some special people over recent years, people who have dedicated their lives to ensuring they contribute to safeguarding our planet and improving social equity, and have been guests at WOMADelaide as part of the superb Planet Talks series. Here are some of the best.
Continue readingWOMADelaide 2021 – the finale
Many bands hit gold at some point. It might be an era when personnel meshed brilliantly; a concert when repertoire, audience and venue all combined for a stunning show; the final mix of a recording on which they know they really nailed it.
To my mind Midnight Oil had two spectacularly golden moments in their collection: the recording of Beds are Burning, and their appearance in Sorry shirts at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Now I have a third golden moment to add: the launch of Makarrata Live at the closing evening of WOMADelaide 2021, in which Midnight Oil collaborated with great First Nations artists such as Leah Flanagan, Troy Cassar-Daley, Frank Yamma and Bunna Lawrie.
Continue readingWOMADelaide 2021 – day 3 review
Three rapidly-rising young stars thrilled the day 3 audience, each with their individual take on contemporary style.
It’s a super-confident artist who opens her first WOMADelaide appearance with an a cappella song, and pulls it off magnificently, especially at only twenty years young. Miiesha did it so well.
The intro to the song was a recording of her beloved Grandmother who raised her saying: “Remember you’re nobody’s property”.
She’s taken it on board; this is one feisty performer.
Continue readingWOMADelaide 2021 – day 2 review
Revelation is a word closely associated with WOMADelaide for me.
Sure, when the artist announcement is released, I’ll be familiar with a few of the headliners. But each year I go along confident that it will be a weekend of surprises, as an array of instant new favourites are revealed.
Continue readingWOMADelaide 2021 – Opening night review
Opening night was always going to be an emotionally-charged event. Archie Roach came on stage for his 7th and final WOMADelaide show – more repeat performances at WOMADelaide than any other artist – and the crowd responded with a standing ovation before he’d sung a note.
And he did it – as he has at recent concerts – accompanied by an oxygen cylinder, to boost his airways as he copes with obstructive pulmonary disease. Ten years ago he’d recovered from a stroke and also having half a cancerous lung removed. Last year – just before his induction to the ARIA Hall of Fame – Archie was in ICU for treatment and then performed with a medical team on hand backstage.
But Archie’s big heart and yearning to bring people together through storytelling in his unmistakeable voice is as powerful as ever.
Continue readingWOMADelaide 2021 – COVID-safe
I have to confess that I felt cheated when I first saw the COVID-safe plan for WOMADelaide 2021. How can it be WOMADelaide if it’s not in beautiful Botanic Park, and if it’s really just a series of 4 evening sit-down concerts?
But eventually I realised I was being greedy. After all, how lucky were we to squeeze in a full WOMADelaide last year, just before COVID lockdowns and border closures swung into force?
And I also remembered how brilliant the mini-WOMAD in the Vales had been in 1998, starring the late great Geoffrey Oryema of Uganda.
Continue readingWOMADelaide 2020
The wonderful weekend of WOMADelaide 2020 is done, but the impact remains. The global sounds are etched into our souls and the images from around Botanic Park remain in our mind’s eye.
Continue readingSubramaniam and Yehudi Menuhin
The late great Yehudi Menuhin is widely regarded as being one of the finest violinists of the 20th century.
Menuhin is quoted as saying: “I find nothing more inspiring than the music-making of my very great colleague Subramaniam. Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment.”
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