First Artists Announced WOMAD NZ 2022

For its 17th presentation in New Zealand,  WOMAD NZ is back in full force with all of its eight stages that will feature close to 100 hours of music, with the diverse and rich range of talent that WOMAD go-ers have come to expect. Over three days of March 18-20,  Ng?motu’s stunning Brooklands Park and the TSB Bowl of Brooklands will once again be transformed into a village of colour, energy and inclusion.

A unique opportunity has presented itself with the constraints caused by the global pandemic as WOMAD programmers have dug into the wealth of Aotearoa’s musical talent to present a unique array of artists that will deliver the sense of discovery the festival is so well known and loved for. This first announcement includes a collaboration of New Zealand and Indian musicians, Shades of Shakti combining traditional Indian music and jazz. Festival favourites, Fat Freddy’s Drop return for the first time in 12 years along with WOMAD first-timers; modern R&B extraordinaire, Deva Mahal and jazz-hip-hop mastermind Avantdale Bowling Club.

WOMAD International’s Head of Programming, Paula Henderson says, “For WOMAD, we are usually very spoilt, we have the whole world at our fingertips in terms of programming.  When we first thought about doing WOMAD with a mainly national event over a year ago initially, I thought no way… but, I was wrong.  It will sound a little strange, but, although challenging (as there were no gigs to go to), spending hours scouring the internet to find new artists that would suit the festival has been really exciting and I am confident that we have a programme that our audience will be overjoyed with.”

Fat Freddy’s Drop are excited for their return to the festival commenting, “Taranaki, we’re stoked to be coming back to perform our new and classic tunes under the watchful eye of the mighty maunga. It’s been 12 years since we performed there, and even though we’ve played WOMAD around the world nothing beats Taranaki. Chur Aotearoa”

In addition to the musical line up, the increasingly popular offerings of the World Of Words stage and STEAM Lab return. Iconic kiwi artist, product designer and author, Dick Frizzell makes his performance debut at WOMAD. As does now household name, microbiologist and science communicator,  Dr Siouxsie Wiles who leads the line up for STEAM Lab. Taste The World, Kidzone, and Te Pae Pae will also return with programming to be announced. The full artist announcement is scheduled for October 20, 2021.

WOMAD NZ’s Associate Programmer, Josie Hunter Annand adds “As a festival attendee next March, you can definitely expect that, despite the current global restrictions we’re all facing right now, WOMAD will take you on a journey outside of these confines, with a much-needed chance to reconnect to the people, places, tastes and sounds of our world, right here in Aotearoa!”