WOMAD 2024: Festival Review

WOMAD
Charlton Park, Wiltshire
26th-28th July 2024

WOMAD is all about defying easy categorisation, and putting together an overwhelmingly upbeat celebration unlike anything else in the festival calendar. A devotee since 2008, Tom Parry went back this year to revel in a line-up spilling over with unheard-of treats.

For me, the defining joy of going to festivals comes from the unexpected. That’s why the industry merry-go-round that so many festivals seem to have transformed into is becoming less and less appealing. The same bands seem to pop up in different positions in different line-ups year after year, and the formula that the bookers follow seems designed to minimise risk, to guarantee turnover instead of transcendent music.

Which is why I love WOMAD.

This year marks 15 years since I first travelled to Charlton Park in Wiltshire for the one gathering of musicians at a British festival that always promises music which will be nothing like anything else you’ve ever listened to. Now, as then, the allure is not in the headliners whose hit records might be recognisable from being regularly featured on radio playlists. The attraction of WOMAD is that when I look through the line-up before arriving I have never heard of many of the artists on the bill. There are familiar names, but that’s not necessarily the main draw.

This is not musical snobbery or elitism; it’s actually the complete opposite. The festival succeeds because people who go faithfully, regardless of the main acts, might be ignorant of the musicians on show, but are very willing to give them a try. It makes the whole event seem much more spontaneous and fun.

Within the most eclectic line-up of any festival, there are many ways to make good choices (and sometimes bad ones too). What’s great is that most of my decisions are made on a hunch rather than something I’ve heard on Spotify or been recommended by someone purporting to be a curator of good taste.

I’ve never once been disappointed by WOMAD, and this year was no exception. In fact, I would stick my neck out by saying it was one of the best. Which I’ve probably said before.

Traffic meant that I missed the first few artists on Friday, which didn’t really seem to matter. Accepting that you will probably miss many of the acts which others rave about is another crucial aspect of the festival’s appeal for me.

The first band I did see was Tank And The Bangas, a soul, funk and spoken word outfit from New Orleans. I wasn’t drawn in, so went for a stroll. More by accident than design we ended up close to the main open air stage for something called Qawwali Flamenco, combining the traditions of Pakistan and Spain. If I had read something about this beforehand I might well have avoided it; it sounded like a slightly pretentious concoction dreamed up by an adventurous producer. How wrong I would have been; it was one of the most unbelievably riveting performances of the whole weekend.

Afterwards, we wandered into the arboretum, inadvertently stopping at the Taste The World Stage, a unique WOMAD institution in which acts cook dishes from their country interspersed with songs. A weird concept, but it always seems to work. Ars Nova Napoli, an Italian folk band reinventing traditional tunes made a really joyous racket; a great band to stumble on randomly.

The next two Friday acts divided opinion equally. Palestinian hip-hop band DAM in the Siam Tent – essentially WOMAD’s second stage – were completely compelling, containing and directing their righteous anger, political but all-embracing, never po-faced; somehow joyous. Headlining later were Young Fathers, probably the only band I had mentally noted down as a must-see. Were they going through the motions somewhat, or did it seem diluted after the undeniable intensity of DAM? Hard to say. In any case, they had strong moments, but it wasn’t as relentless as I had anticipated. WOMAD is a true night and day festival, and legendary DJ Paulette put on a great set on the Soundscape Stage until 2am.

There were so many highlights over the following two days – too many to refer to all individually. For me, Saturday did not really get properly going until the unadulterated madcap verve of Deerhoof, making intricate, challenging, brilliant noise that was technically astonishing, and at odds with pretty much everything else I saw over the course of the weekend. Under the shade of the trees, we got down the front at the small Ecotricity Stage for the ferocious samba punk of Tiempo Al Tiempo from Spain.

In glorious, balmy late-evening sunshine afterwards, it was Bala Desejo, from Brazil, who pulled together so many influences brilliantly and completely owned the crowd.

It would be remiss too not to mention another Brazilian outfit, Bixiga 70, who were one of the most joyous, funky and rhythmically thrilling bands I saw during the festival.

WOMAD’s investment in creating a perfect blend that has only the happiness of the people there in mind engenders real loyalty. What was really noticeable this year was that there was a complete spread of age ranges, from exuberant teenagers to extremely white-haired old guard hippos, all getting something out of it, and getting along. A vintage gathering in idyllic surroundings with extraordinary music, great food, nice people, reasonably-priced booze and perfect weather. Hard to ask for more really.

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All words by Tom Parry, you can find his writer’s archive here