Womad NZ line-up announced

NZherald, Thursday Oct 30, 2008

Natacha Atlas will be entertaining at New Plymouth's Womad festival.

The line up for Womad has been announced and a renowned Nigerian musical family make another headlining appearance at the annual three-day world music festival in New Plymouth in March.

This time round it's saxophonist, singer and band leader Seun Kuti who plays the March 13-15 event at New Plymouth's Brooklands Bowl, following in the footsteps of older brother Femi who played the festival in 2007. The pair's father, Fela, was the pioneer of Afro-beat and Seun now leads his dad's former band Egypt 80 (whom he first played with aged 8). So expect some psychedelic, arse-shaking African jazz and funk.

The big local name on the bill is Fat Freddy's Drop who - all going well - should have the follow-up to their multi-platinum-selling debut, Based On A True Story, out before the festival.

Elsewhere the line-up is a lolly scramble of bands and musicians from countries and cultures around the world. Belgian-born belly dancer and chanteuse Natacha Atlas, who mixes Arabic and North African music with Western electronica and pop, will be one to see, as will Dengue Fever, who conjure up Cambodian psychedelic pop via the lusty streets of Los Angeles, and former Yothu Yindi member Geoffrey Gurrumal is also on the bill. Then there's Egyptian storytellers Bedouin Jerry Can Band, blind Portuguese singer Dona Rosa, The Gyuto Monks from Tibet and Australia, and Ska Cubano who, as the name suggest, fuse Jamaican ska and Cuban mambo.

Other locals include Shona Laing, Little Bushman, harmonica player Brendan Power, and Moana and the Tribe.

Womad, which stands for World of Music, Arts and Dance, was started 24 years ago by musician and former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel and while it has visited other venues in New Zealand it has been held in New Plymouth since 2005.

Tickets to the festival are available from Ticketek with 3-day passes $179 and there are also camping ($229) and marae-style ($249) accommodation passes on sale.

For more information and full line-up go to womad.co.nz