Live Review + Gallery: WOMADelaide Day 4 (Monday, 13th March, 2023)

Day 4, and after the previous three wonderful days, there was a sense of relief entering the final day, as the constant roving from stage to stage to get the shots had taken a bit of a collective toll on my lower body.

However, in the name of my art, I push through the discomfort to get what I want. My first port of call was at Stage 2, an unintended stop, but one which was necessitated by what I could hear coming from that area. Kefaya & Elaha Soroor were the culprits, an international collective.

I then had to go back and capture Mdou Moctar again. One of the great things about festivals is the necessity to change your mind on the fly, what with surprise acts drawing your attention, or acts you have previously seen having blown you away enough the first time to necessitate a second (or even third) look.

From here, I had to go and catch The Lachy Doley Group, a band I have known for some time and had caught at Bluesfest 2022 previously. Lachy is a fine keyboard player, a superb vocalist and a great showman, and is always worth watching.

I then dropped in on young indigenous artist, Kee’ahn, and was very impressed with her beautiful, soulful set.

Next up was the now-legendary US jazz songstress, Madeleine Peyroux, who drew a large crowd of adoring fans over on Stage 3. I was then able to catch some of The Dili Allstars set, with their infectious roots music and colourful dancers and backup singers.

Nearby at The Frome Park stage, Scotland’s The Langan Band were playing their beautifully traditional Celtic brand of folk music, and had their fans highly entertained with their enthusiastic show.

Yet again, I had to go and catch Bab L’ Bluz (one of my ‘finds’ for the festival) before finishing up my night, and the festival, with another dose of Melbourne’s Grace Cummings.

WOMADelaide is a festival unlike any other I have been to, with the most beautiful of settings, and all set in the middle of the city of Adelaide, one of Australia’s prettiest principal cities.

Kefaya & Elaha Soroor Gallery