WOMADelaide reveal 30 extraordinary acts in massive second artist announcement

WOMADelaide today announced a further 30 artists for its 10-13 March 2023 festival in Adelaide’s Botanic Park. Spanning Korean folk to Scottish rock, Americana to Moroccan blues and everything in between, the artists represent the best music, arts and dance from around the world and include Senegalese headliner Youssou N’Dour & Le Super Etoile de Dakar, AURORA, The Proclaimers, Sampa The Great, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Angel Olsen.

WOMADelaide (World Of Music Arts & Dance) – is an iconic open-air festival celebrating cultural discovery in the heart of Adelaide’s stunning Botanic Park / Tainmuntilla. The Worlds Festival, since 1992, is a truly unique part of the Australian festival landscape, showcasing the best, the essential – and the surprising – in music, arts, dance and ideas from around the world.

Returning for his fourth WOMADelaide appearance since the inaugural festival in 1992, Youssou N’Dour has built an international fan base of millions over his 50-year career. An artist who has broken cultural barriers and gained recognition for his music, political and humanitarian commitments, his pioneering style defines the essence of West African groove. Described by the NY Times as “West Africa’s cultural ambassador to the world”, N’Dour has collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Tracy Chapman, but it was the 1994 hit song “7 Seconds” featuring Neneh Cherry which truly shot him to stardom.

Eclectic Norwegian folk-pop singer AURORA will make her festival debut. The young artist, whose distinctive voice featured in the children’s film megahit Frozen II, has amassed more than 20-million monthly listeners on Spotify and a million-plus global album sales since bursting onto the scene in 2015.

Authors of the iconic songs I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) and I’m On My Way, Scotland’s twin folk-rockers The Proclaimers will also make their festival debut as part of their first Australian tour since 2019, following the release of their new studio album, cheekily titled Dentures Out.

Since her first appearance at WOMADelaide 2016, Sampa The Great has taken the world by storm, winning multiple ARIA, AIR, APRA and J awards and the Australian Music Prize in 2017 and 2019. The Zambian artist recently collaborated with WOMADelaide alumni and global megastar, Angelique Kidjo, on her track Let Me Be Great, which also featured on the FIFA 2023 video game soundtrack. Her latest single Never Forget features in the new Marvel film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The internationally acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre returns to the festival after 24 years, performing their iconic work Terrain, choreographed new Associate Artistic Director Frances Rings. The breath-taking exploration of Australia’s largest salt lake, South Australia’s Kati Thanda – Lake Eyre, highlights the ancestral ties that bind people to Country

Angel Olsen is fast becoming one of American alt-country music’s greatest rising stars. Her sixth critically acclaimed studio album, Big Time, showcases sumptuous vocals and vulnerable storytelling and her reputation for “bold and admirably uncompromising performances” (Rolling Stone) has led to sold-out tours across the world.

The depth of the WOMADelaide 2023 lineup is also evident through Justin Adams (from Robert Plant’s Sensational Shape Shifters from the UK) & Mauro Durante (Italian singer, violinist and percussionist with Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino and Ludovico Einaudi), whose lockdown album Still Moving was described by The Guardian as “a thrilling, spontaneous affair”; legendary banjo husband-and-wife, both stars in their own right, duo Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn (USA) and the visually striking Korean shamanic folk group ADG7.

Also on the lineup is French-American jazz singer-songwriter Madeleine Peyroux, and the Australian contingent, with many more to be announced next month, includes the electric and inimitable Genesis Owusu and Maningrida’s all-female rock outfit, Ripple Effect Band.

“We’re incredibly excited to be able to present a full international program again with such a diverse array of artists from 26 countries many of whom are making their Australian debut at WOMADelaide next March,” said Ian Scobie, Director.

Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas welcomed the diverse international line-up which will attract visitors to Adelaide from across the country and the globe over the March long weekend.

“It is exciting to see the return of world-renowned international artists to WOMADelaide, highlighting South Australia’s events are back and bigger than ever,” Premier Malinauskas said.

Joining Florence + The Machine, Bon Iver, Gratte Ciel’s Places des Anges and Soul II Soul, the artists announced today are –