Womad at Brooklands Park and TSB Bowl

There's a soul kind of feeling to the line-up for next year's Womad festival in New Plymouth.

In fact, make that a soul diva feeling, with American singers Sharon Jones and Mavis Staples making their way to New Zealand for the three-day world music festival to be held from March 14-16. Jones and her band the Dap-Kings are modern day funk crusaders whose aim is to capture the essence of funk and soul as it was performed in its heyday. For proof, check out her renowned 2005 album, Naturally. Meanwhile, 68-year-old Staples is a veteran of the music industry and a rock'n'roll hall of fame inductee whose career has spanned more than 40 years.

Womad, short for World of Music Arts and Dance, is a worldwide touring festival set up by musician Peter Gabriel in the early 80s. It was held in Auckland at various venues until it found a permanent home in New Plymouth in 2005, and following the success of the 2007 event it will be held annually. Next year's line-up brings together more than 300 performers from 14 countries including folk singer Cesaria Evora, known as the "barefoot diva", from Cape Verde off the western coast of Africa; Indian flautist Dr Natesan Ramani; and, of special interest, young American folk musician Zach Condon, the brains behind the band Beirut, which has just released its excellent second album, The Flying Club Cup.

The local guest list is headed by psychedelic roots reggae band Kora, Auckland singer/songwriter and multi instrumentlist SJD, dance company Black Grace, and psychedelic rockers Emerald City, who join other international acts the Guyto Monks from Tibet and Australia, samba rock band Clube do Balanco from Brazil, Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra from Mali, and many more.

For more information and full line up go to www.womad.co.nz. Tickets are available from Ticketek.