Everything You Need To Know About WOMAD Festival 2024
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4 months ago
The best music you've never heard...
Want to transport yourself to faraway cultures while in a field in Wiltshire – and restore your soul in the process? Wendyrosie Scott heads to WOMAD festival.
Review: WOMAD Festival
Fancy throwing some shapes and dancing like no one’s watching as you immerse yourself in one big international village? Well, my friend, your feet are always in for a treat with 80 adult and 200 children’s workshops on offer at the endless wonder that is WOMAD. Its full moniker, the World of Music, Arts and Dance festival, has returned annually to its Wiltshire base where fields are filled with mesmeric music from faraway lands – aptly billed as ‘the best music you’ve never heard’. This is an unparalleled opportunity to shine as you try Moroccan chaabi, flamenco, Bachata and Reggaeton dance. You may surprise yourself at how your body responds! Or you can attempt to strum some strings as you give your heart to a harp in order to conjure otherworldly sounds. And if that isn’t quite going according to plan, immerse yourself in the joy of Georgian polyphonic singing and see where that takes you… Be assured, it’s all a restorative tonic. Such is the golden thread that glistens throughout the festival on every level, from plentiful high-calibre and rare musical jewels, right down to the atmosphere, which resonates with powerful and palpable positivity.
The event’s eco credentials are none too shabby either, with noted annual action on recycling, single-use plastics, water, compost toilets, travel share schemes and shuttle buses. Over the last six years WOMAD has generated an average of 113 tons of waste per festival, and since 2014 has supported a Waste to Energy scheme where metal, wood, glass and some plastics are removed for specialised recycling, 100 percent of the remaining waste is then diverted from landfill into recycled energy, and ash from the process is used in infrastructure projects nationally. For the first time, the beloved Charlie Gillett Stage will be powered by 100% green energy from the wind and sun with Ecotricity x Grid Faeries batteries. Alongside powering the stage, this is the equivalent of the energy required to power an average of 2,800 homes for one hour, with a battery capacity of 3MWh.
(c) Garry Jones
Ecotricity x Grid Faeries is on a mission to end the use of diesel at festivals and outdoor events. Chris Smith, WOMAD Festival Director, commented: ‘We are very excited to be working with Grid Faeries to power one of the main stages at WOMAD with 100 percent renewal energy from this innovative new battery technology. We expect it to be central to powering all WOMAD stages in the coming years and helping us in our aspirations to be a carbon neutral festival.’ Dale Vince, Founder of Ecotricity and Grid Faeries, added: ‘Ecotricity have campaigned for the end of fossil fuels on many fronts for many years. Festivals are in many ways a last pocket of resistance, a place where burning diesel is a no-thought, default option. But we simply don’t need to rely on diesel generators for festival power anymore. Our Grid Faeries batteries prove that another way is possible.’
Yet we haven’t even gotten to the music. You can expect established performers such as Baaba Maal, Alison Goldfrapp, Amadou and Mariam, Young Fathers and Deerhoof, as well as lesser-known but stellar talented musicians who have travelled across continents to bring cultural insights and sounds which are frequently unforgettable (for the right reasons). How about hearing Moonchild Sanelli, Qaawali Flamenco or Orange Blossom? They sparked my curiosity; after all, experimentation is actively encouraged. Alternatively, in the Taste the World arena you can attend a cooking lesson with a delicious opportunity to try the heritage dishes of many of the performers. This is surely the epitome of authentic cultural sharing. After visiting festivals globally, it is the event which reliably acts as a safe bet when it comes to both quality and security. With its multicultural and glistening offerings, it’s the gift that keeps giving.
