Today, four new acts
have been added to the already impressive WOMAD festival 2018 line up.
Blick Bassy from Cameroon / France will deliver an
inspiring set of blended blues, Bossa Nova, folk and the sound of New
Orleans. From Aotearoa, the award winning Māori acoustic soul artist
Maisey Rika will
capture hearts and win new fans. With deep roots in the classical world, Black Quartet will
impress with their vast sea of influences, from blues, rock, jazz and
pop. The
Curious Game, a site installation at the 2018
festival, will entertain young and old alike with their physical, visually
engaging and highly interactive performance.
WORLD OF WORDS 2018
Now in it's second year,
the hugely successful World Of Words, sponsored by the Western Institute
of Technology, will once again will inspire audiences, provoke thought and
encourage people to learn, listen, and participate.
WOMAD NZ is very pleased to welcome to the stage in 2018; authors,
musicians, critical thinkers and entrepreneurs including; wine-industry
trailblazer Allan
Scott, Māori poet, storyteller, playwright, novelist,
actor and painterApirana Taylor, "Women of Influence 2017" Denise L'estrange-Corbet, "Winner
of best dressed man" and poet Matt
Harvey, New Zealand's multi-award winning crime
writer Paul Cleve, one
of New Zealand's most established and best known photographers Rob Suisted, romance
scam victim Sharon
Armstrong, high profile Australian journalist Stan Grant, who
will be talking
about racism in Australia, and well-known Tūhoe Māori activist Tame Iti.
The outcome of each session is to create ongoing and informed conversation.
Penny Ashtonis back supported by poets Matt
Harvey and Tusiata
Avia and they are hunting for poets to battle it out
to become the next WOMAD Poetry Slam Champ.
The internationally
established three day world music, arts and dance festival is known for its
exciting and diverse line-up and next year’s event is no exception.
Over the weekend Brooklands Park will ring with
the sounds of a melting pot of folk, afro-funk, hip hop, classical, jazz
and punk rock performed on violins, ouds, koras and squeeze boxes. With artists
from countries as varied as Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon and
Mauritania delivering a blend of traditional and modern performances; expect
diverse languages, cultures, harmonies and rhythms from the big names and to
discover glorious artists you’ve never heard of.
Making up the 33 exciting
and eclectic artists from across the globe performing at WOMAD 2018 will be
familiar festival favourites; the pioneer of bass-dominant, dub flavoured dance
tunes, UK’s Adrian
Sherwood, the heavy metal inspired acoustic guitar duo from
Mexico, Rodrigo
y Gabriela and Washington D.C. based DJ collective, the
uniquely diverse dub inspired Thievery
Corporation.
Joining them will be; the
highly anticipated Los Angeles saxophonist, composer and jazz superstar Kamasi Washington,
the Indian classical and progressive sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar and
classic Kiwi band
Dragon.
Brazilian 10 piece, Bixiga 70 will
deliver dizzying heights of progressive Afrobeat, Tinariwen will
delight audiences with their scorching Mali desert blues and Havana Meets Kingston's
sound-clash of reggae, dub and dancehall with salsa and rumba will be sure to
make the crowds move.
Lebanon’s soulful,
classically trained Ghada
Shbeir and Israel’s vocal hip hop star Victoria Hanna will
deliver tales from ancient texts and stories of current social injustices.
Chilean political-punk-poet Nano
Stern and Ghanaian Jojo Abot who seamlessly blends
electronica, indie-soul, reggae and hip hop, will be part of a growing
global conversation with audiences.
Always a highlight of WOMAD
are the talents of local artists and 2018 looks to be one of the most exciting
yet with the “toweringly talented song writer”
Aldous Harding and
Auckland city’s Hopetoun
Brown, who will stomp and parp their way into audience
hearts with nothing but brass, a bass clarinet, two sets of tambourines and
tonsils. West Auckland newcomers, The
Miltones will deliver some excellent knee slappin’, foot
stompin’ and booty shakin’ tunes. The award winning Māori soul acoustic
artist Maisey
Rika will capture hearts, and with deep roots in the
classical world, Black
Quartet will impress with their vast sea of influences, from
blues, rock, jazz and pop. From Taranaki, The Slacks will bring home some
classic kiwi messages of unity, aroha, and community.
“WOMAD 2018 is a fantastic
representation of World music today and continues to support diverse voices on
stages” - Emere Wano, WOMAD
Event Director & NZ Programme Manager.
Appearing
at WOMAD 2018 in alphabetical order:
ADRIAN SHERWOOD (UK), ALDOUS HARDING (Aotearoa), ALLAN SCOTT (Aotearoa),
ANOUSHKA SHANKAR (India/UK), APIRANA TAYLOR (Aotearoa), BIXIGA 70 (Brazil),
BLACK QUARTET (Aotearoa), BLICK BASSEY (Cameroon / France) CHICO TRUJILLO
(Chile), CONSTANTINOPLE (Canada), DAYMÉ AROCENA (Cuba), DENISE
L'ESTRANGE-CORBET (Aotearoa), DRAGON (Aotearoa), GHADA SHBEIR (Lebanon), HAVANA
MEETS KINGSTON (Jamaica / Cuba), HOPETOUN BROWN (Aotearoa), JAMIE MCDOWELL
& TOM THUM (Australia), JOJO ABOT (Ghana / USA), KAMASI
WASHINGTON (USA), LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA (Canada), LE VENT DU NORD (Canada),
MAISEY RIKA (Aotearoa), MATT HARVEY (Aotearoa), MY BUBBA (Sweden/ Iceland),
NANO STERN (Chile), NOURA MINT SEYMALI (Mauritania), PAT THOMAS & KWASHIBU
AREA BAND (Ghana), PAUL CLEVE (Aotearoa), PENNY ASHTON (Aotearoa), RAHIM ALHAJ
TRIO (Iraq), ROB SUISTED (Aotearoa), RODRIGO Y GABRIELA (Mexico), SHARON
ARMSTRONG (Aotearoa), SPOOKY MEN'S CHORALE (Australia), STAN GRANT
(Aotearoa), TAME ITI (Aotearoa), THE CURIOUS GAME (Aotearoa), THE MILTONES
(Aotearoa), THE SLACKS (Aotearoa), THIEVERY CORPORATION (USA), TINARIWEN
(Mali), TUSIATA AVIA (Aotearoa), VICTORIA HANNA (Israel), VIOLONS BARBARES
(France/Mongolia/Bulgaria)
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