Just when you thought that no more remarkable names could be squeezed onto this year’s cracking line up at of WOMAD Charlton Park 2014, another one comes along, the compulsive and uncompromising performer, Sinéad O’Connor who will close the Open Air
It is billed to be a very special performance for Sinéad, for along with performing some of her most acclaimed hits, she will debut some tracks from her brand new album, 'I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss' out 11 August 2014 on Nettwerk Records.
Sinéad’s debut album ‘The Lion and the Cobra’, which was released in 1987, immediately marked her out as a sensational young talent, while the single ‘Mandinka’ took her to glory across the world meaning that by the end of the decade she was a Grammy nominated rock chanteuse with the world at her feet. The following year after the release of her awe inspiring re-interpretation of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ she quickly became one of the biggest female music stars and she remains the most iconic Irish artist of the past thirty years.
Also joining this year’s exciting line up is 27-year-old Samantha Crain, an Oklahoman of Choctaw heritage who writes charmingly tuneful country-folk, performed with a down-to-earth manner. She will appear on the Ecotricity Stage on Sunday evening replacing Soema Montenegro, who sadly can’t make this year’s festival.
The complete line-up for WOMAD 2014 is:
9Bach (Wales), ?[su:m] (South Korea), Aar Maanta (Somalia/UK), Afrikan Boy (UK), Alice Russell (UK), Amira Kheir (Italy/Sudan), Anna Cizia Villani and the MacuranOrchestra (Italy), Amjad Ali Khan with Ayaan Khan & Amaan Khan (India), AMJ Collective and The Malmesbury Project (Jamaica/UK), Arreola + Carballo (Mexico), Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba (Mali), Brushy One String (Jamaica), The Batch Gueye Band (Senegal), Caci Vorba (Poland), Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita (Wales/Senegal), Çig?dem Aslan (Turkey/UK), Chicha Libra (USA/France/Venezuela/Mexico), Chloé Bird (Spain), Chloe Charles(Canada), Clinton Fearon (Jamaica), Coetus (Spain), Congo Natty (UK), Dakha Brakha (Ukraine), Dave Okumu & The Invisible with Shingai Shoniwa: Stars Align (UK), Elemotho (Namibia), Debademba(Mali), Fat Freddy’s Drop (New Zealand), Fatoumata Diawara & Roberto Fonseca (Mali/Cuba), Francois & The Atlas Mountains (France), Gordie MacKeeman & his Rhythm Boys (Canada), Goran Bregovic’s Wedding and Funeral Orchestra (Serbia/Bulgaria), Greg Wilson (UK), Hazmat Modine (USA), Ibibio Sound Machine (UK/Nigeria), Jus Now (UK/Trinidad), Imed Alibi (Tunisia), Justin Vali & Ny Malagasy Orkestra (Madagascar), Kathryn Williams (UK), Kobo Town (Trinidad/Canada), Linnea Olsson (Sweden), Les Ambassadeurs (Mail), Lucinda Belle (UK), Madeeh (Malaysia), Melt Yourself Down (UK), Magic Drum Orchestra (UK), Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat (Iran), Manu Dibango (Cameroon), Martin Simpson and Dom Flemons (UK/USA), Mari Boine (Norway), Maz O’Connor (UK), Monsieur Doumani (Cyprus),Mulatu Astatke (Ethiopia), Muyayo Rif (Catalan), Nitin Sawhney ONEZERO (UK), Nuru Kane (Senegal), Oliver Mutukudzi & The Black Spirits (Zimbabwe), Public Service Broadcasting (UK), Richard Thompson(UK), Salim-Sulaiman with Karsh Kale (India), Sans (UK/Finland/Armenia), Septeto Santiaguero (Cuba), Siyaya (Zimbabwe), Snarky Puppy (USA), Songhoy Blues (Mali), Sonia Sabri Company (UK/India),SöNDöRGo (Hungary), The Chair (Scotland), The Gloaming (Ireland/USA), The Good Ones (Rwanda), The Jolly Boys (Jamaica), The Magnolia Sisters (USA), Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue (USA), Tunng (UK), Vinicio Caposella and The Post Office Band (Italy), Yaaba Funk (UK), Youssou NDOUR et le Super Etoile (Senegal)
The WOMAD Festival experience is not about the familiar, the tried and tested; its essence is in the discovery and enjoyment - it’s a magical, musical melting pot, enriching all who experience it.
Published on 10 July 2014 by Ben Robinson
