Director Ian Scobie and Associate Director Annette Tripodi, unveil some of the logistics and highlights (including their favourites) in the program for WOMADelaide 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Murray Bramwell<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is three weeks out from opening night for WOMADelaide 2026 and Ian Scobie is quietly confident. \u201cIt\u2019s always touch wood\u201d \u2013 his familiar caveat. But he is noting the positives. \u201cWe got the crazy heatwave out of the way. And we don\u2019t have huge travel logistical challenges. No cranes and feathers. It\u2019s looking relatively straightforward. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then a pause, and he adds: \u201cNothing has been straightforward since COVID and everything changes. This year we have had some supply problems with companies running into financial difficulties. Colleagues in other fields comment similarly. On a project of this scale, there are a lot of people involved and a lot of contracts. So a lot of things can go awry. It is a more difficult time with artist commitment than even four years ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince COVID, and two recent hot weather events, our single day tickets are behind in sales because people are sitting back and waiting to see what the weather will be like. It is not a huge difference but it is a noticeable shift. The three and four day passes have been snapped up and people have really taken up the instalment payment system \u2013 an acknowledgment of the cost pressures on daily budgets. It\u2019s a complex beast but I\u2019m feeling pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is Ian Scobie\u2019s 29th<\/sup> WOMADelaide festival \u2013 next year will be the 30th<\/sup> and the 35 year milestone. From inception he has overseen one of the few continuous success stories in Australia and overseas. By contrast, WOMAD in the UK took \u201ca post-COVID knock\u201d, WOMAD Aotearoa\/NZ is having a year off with a very challenged national economy, and other European WOMAD events \u2013 in Spain, Chile, and elsewhere – are also in abeyance. After WOMADelaide there will be just one modest event in Glasgow before WOMAD in the UK re-launches at a new venue in July..<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis event couldn\u2019t happen in Adelaide without the support we get from the Government,\u201d Scobie is quick to add. \u201cThere are no two ways about it. It is like the Adelaide Festival. It is a significantly supported event and that allows us to put together a program which is quite different from WOMAD in the UK where it has only some local council support, otherwise it depends on box office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince day one we have had funding from Australian Major Events (now Events SA) and it has succeeded. 40% of the audience comes from outside Adelaide- so it is an economic driver and justifies support. It is great that we have Government commitment to continue to 2029. This might involve some changes but the brief remains the same: the presentation of work from around the world that has that element of discovery and surprise for audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Associate Director Annette Tripodi, who began as a volunteer at the WOMADelaide 1997 festival has for many years now, in partnership with Scobie, assembled the four day and night programs. So how does this one compare ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery year is a different adventure \u2013 artist wise- but we usually program between 65 and 75 groups and we have about 70 this time. The spread of 38 countries is similar to previous years and more than 650 artists are taking part. The layout remains the same with seven stages ranging from the large Foundation Stage to the Moreton Bay and Zoo Stages, and others including the relatively new Academy Stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis will showcase 25 eighteen to thirty year olds throughout the festival. The whole idea of the Academy (a project in partnership with the Northern Sound System) is to provide a platform for emerging First Nations and culturally diverse talent. The idea began many years ago but came to fruition in 2020 and the first performances were at our COVID-modified 2021 event in King Rodney Park. Successful graduates include Kenyan-born Elsy Wameyo, who has since toured the UK and Europe. It has been gorgeous to see this talented, driven, focused young woman has gone to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the festival\u2019s wider First Nations program it is wonderful to have Yothu Yindi back. They first played in 1993 – quite a different time in their career trajectory. Now, some original members, alongside their children, nephews, and grandchildren, are carrying the legacy. They have so many great songs and I think everyone is hungry to see them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBARKAA is also playing on Saturday night. She first performed two years ago and since then has become possibly the country\u2019s biggest female First Nations performer. She is bringing a live band, a DJ and a much larger catalogue of songs. Each day in our indoor theatre space, The Studio, Lewis Major Projects contemporary dance will perform their stunning show Triptych REDUX<\/em> and ARIA award winner, Baker Boy will perform his new album Djandjay<\/em> on Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A highlight, singled out by both directors, is 80 year old Kankawa Nagarra. A Walmatjarri Elder, she has toured internationally with Hugh Jackman and in 2024 won the 20th<\/sup> Australian Music Prize for her album Wirlmarni.<\/em> Annette recounts her legend \u2013\u201ca folk blues, gospel singer and storyteller who didn\u2019t own a guitar until in her 40s.\u201d Ian Scobie also enthuses about her amazing career. \u201dShe is the heart and soul of Indigenous Australia \u2013 and of remote Australia as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also on the directors\u2019 favourite list is Troy Cassar-Daley, who they saw recently at the Adelaide Guitar Festival. Scobie describes him as a stalwart of the Australian scene \u2013 \u201ca warm performer and great storyteller. And having him perform with a string quartet (led by Emily Tulloch from Zephyr Quartet) I think will be a beautiful combination \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n I asked Annette Tripodi how the lineup assembles itself and how headliners emerge. \u201cThe sheer volume and diversity of the artists put forward to us is unpredictable \u2013 in a good way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a wish-list of artists but various things can prevent their availability to come to Australia in March; say, the recording of a new album, or some other unanticipated delay, but then later they come through. And sometimes those who come in, as ideas, quite late in our planning are a perfect fit. So it\u2019s an instinctive process. You can feel very strongly about a certain group being the bedrock, the foundation of the festival, and then start to see what works well with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor example, at WOMAD in the UK, the Zawose Queens were such a stand-out \u2013 particularly their two lead singers. Their energy and electricity made us want that to happen in Adelaide, to be part of the picture. It wasn\u2019t possible for our 2025 festival, but it was for this year. It can\u2019t always go your way and the feedback I\u2019ve had over the past year from other festivals is that everything is taking longer to lock into place. I can testify to that !\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking across the top names, Tripodi notes \u2013 \u201cHaving Malian singer Oumou Sangare return as a headliner for International Women\u2019s Day on Sunday was something we wanted to pursue really early on. Alogte Oho and His Sounds of Joy make the most exhilarating music. I think it is going to set the tone for whole weekend. It is an unusual mix of the familiar sounds of Ghana with North Ghanaian gospel music. They are electric on stage and will do their second show on Monday, nicely bookending the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe also have our very first Italian headliner. We have programmed many wonderful performers from Italy but no-one that has traversed as many musical styles as Jovanotti. Over a forty year career he has built a huge following \u2013 he played 54 sold out arena shows in Italy last year. He\u2019s very pleased to be doing his first WOMAD. It\u2019s a big one for opening night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then there is Grace Jones. \u201c I have to draw attention to the biggest act. The inimitable Grace Jones headlining Saturday night is an absolute coup. Not only because it was our fourth attempt to make it happen, but because she has so many great songs, and a dazzling live show that\u2019s a sight to behold. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the most memorable performances at WOMADelaide have been the quieter, meditative ones. The sets from the Qawwali vocal group led by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Indian violin ragas from Dr L Subramaniam are part of WOMAD legend. More recently Nils Frahm and Anoushka Shankar have played into the midnight hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This time, Indian duo Balaganesan and Bageswari will play their nadaswaram reed wind instruments on Friday and Monday while The Necks, famed improvisational Australian jazz trio will captivate both familiar fans and new listeners on Friday night only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the packed program many acts stand out. International star Marlon Williams from Aotearoa\/NZ will perform his 2025 album Te Whare<\/em> Tiwekaweka<\/em> entirely in Maori, Arrested Development return with their Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop,<\/em> Irish folk unit Beoga perform having just come from extensive touring with Ed Sheeran, the post-folk troubadour, Iron and Wine, aka Sam Beam, will play a Friday night set, and Canadian hip-hop jazz crossover group, BADBADNOTGOOD will demonstrate their genre fluidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others on Annette Tripodi\u2019s list include Cretan dynastic band Xylourides, Soul singer Jalen Ngonda, the Indian-American singer Ganavya, and also returning to Botanic Park, for the first time since 2014, Cuban rhythm king Roberto Fonseca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally, one of her favourite \u2013 not-to-be-missed artists\u2013 returning after ten years : French performers, Orange Blossom, with their blend of bass, electronica and classical violin. Her verdict: \u201cI saw them live again in 2024 and still find them thrilling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bringing the D for Dance in WOMAD will be the esteemed Belgian contemporary dance company led by Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker with Rosas-Rosas Danst Rosas, a work from 1983 performed possibly for the first time outdoors. Running for 90 minutes, Ian Scobie notes- \u201cI am conscious it is a challenging piece. It will be a milestone for our audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The on-site roving theatre program will feature a residency by Melbourne\u2019s Born in a Taxi, and the zany Spanish hairdressers, Osadia. Aerial acrobatic-dance company, Chloe Loftus Dance, and trampolinists, Cie Hors Surface, with their Weight of Cloud and HOME<\/em>, will keep our eyes on the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Annette Tripodi observes, \u201cThe world is feeling quite upside down and mixed up at the moment and I think there are many incredible performers in the lineup who are going to bring joy and a very positive energy . It is one of the key reasons why WOMADelaide has survived and thrived for more than thirty years. It\u2019s our \u2018secret sauce\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat everyone feels in Botanic Park can\u2019t be easily duplicated. It is a sensation of letting go of your troubles and coming together with people you don\u2019t know, and you do know -to rejoice. And the thrill of discovery, moving from one stage to another, to see acts you\u2019ve never heard of, being willing to be drawn in. It\u2019s a powerful connection for the audience \u2013 with the music, and each other. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n WOMADelaide plays at Botanic Park from 6-9 March, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Printed in slightly edited form as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n