There are festivals and then there is Womad. Over an extended Wiltshire July weekend it reliably serves up a vision of a better world, where all ages, creeds, sexualities and cultures harmoniously rub shoulders in a celebration of music from around the globe. The festival attracts an unpretentious and open-hearted crowd, with many aging alternative types mixing with younger people, not least families and oh-so-groovy teens, and the disabled. There’s a real sense of community and inclusivity; indeed, there’s more laid on for children (there’s a great children’s area) and disabled people – not least BSL signers for the deaf on many stages – than any other festival I’ve been too.
This year – crazy guy I am – I decided to kick things off at the physics tent. I’d never ventured there before (I still shudder at the thought of O-level tickertape and ripple tanks), but seeing as it was a poetry event built around climate change I felt I was likely to be safe enough. Fortunately, the four gifted poets avoided piousness and were even amusing at times. Also, dare I say it, the show was mercifully short.
Having banished my school physics trauma, I decided it was time to enjoy myself. This – shamefully often throughout the weekend – involved me mooching around in the sunshine experiencing an amuse bouche of the many delights on offer. This included dipping into the World of Words tent (the Byline Times hosted an excellent discussion on identity), the poetry shack, the open mic tent, an drum jamming area, watching vast hordes engaged in laughing yoga, choir singing and qigong (I think that’s what they were up to), and having a good old butcher’s at the extensive healing area and spa. The latter two were a little pricey for my budget, but hey, next year I’ll return as a zillionaire and be in pampered paradise. That’s the plan anyway.
At its heart, of course, Womad is about music. It’s such a privilege to stumble across musicians from far flung countries playing the most extraordinarily haunting – and often upbeat and highly dancetastic – music. It’s beyond magical and beautiful. Which is my excuse for spending a fair bit of the Saturday in tears. The emotion of the music was just too much for me. Peak embarrassment was attained when I couldn’t stop myself blubbing in Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo’s arms after her set. She’d sung with such ethereal beauty and purity in the intimate Taste the World tent (my favourite of the many venues) and spoken to us with such compassion that I just couldn’t help myself. Hmm, it’s clearly time to do some manly press ups.
Other musical highlights included exiled Tunisian singer Emel, who put on a powerful and intensely moving set on the Soundscape Stage to a backdrop of hard-hitting videos from Gaza. Her mesmerising performance was almost equalled by the fantastic Orange Blossom, who had the whole Siam Tent dancing. Decidedly less bouncy was the hypnotic music of Japanese Noriko Tadono on the Ecotricity Stage, singing in the tsugaru-shaminsen (look it up) tradition. Back to the intimate Taste the World stage: Duo Root, a zither playing (I’m sure we’re all zither fans?) twosome from Estonia, didn’t only sing gorgeously ethereal songs, they were also extremely funny, self-effacing and endearingly humble. Other highlights on Taste the World were the Bhutan Balladeers, you could hear the mountains in the purity of their voices, Ars Nova Napoli from, er, Napoli, Leyla McCalla, a talented musician and super bright spark from Louisiana via Haiti, and Kumbia Boruka, a Mexican band based mainly in France. I should make it clear, incidentally, that my love of the Taste the World stage has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the musicians make and distribute delicious dishes from their countries to the audience. Nothing to do with that at all.
A few other mentions: there are at least two late – to 3am ish – busy dance tents, plus a fire to sit around deep into the night; the security team are excellent, a soft touch approach and very friendly; and almost all the stalls – a great variety of food options and shops – will take cash (which for me is a big positive, albeit I’m not sure the bars did). As ever at festivals it’s advisable to wear a hazmat suit when visiting the loos, but the showers were reasonably plentiful and warm and the camping area, while mainly cramped as ever, offered more space for those prepared to walk a few hundred metres to the arena.
Safe to say then that I am a Womad fan. If you’ve not been before I urge you to go, it’s a little slice of global music heaven. If they’ll have me, I’ll be back again next year…
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Published on 02 August 2024 by Neil del Strother
