The artists headlining this year’s WOMAD world music festival in Abu Dhabi are: Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley (Jamaica), Hakim (Egypt), Rachid Taha(Algeria/France), Transglobal Underground (UK), The Drummers of Burundi (Burundi) and Tinariwen (Mali). The three-day open-air world music festival will take place on Abu Dhabi Corniche on April 22, 23 & 24 and at Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain on April 22 & 23.
“ADACH is proud to present WOMAD Abu Dhabi as an annual event after the huge success of the festival last year” commented Mohammed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, Director General of ADACH. “This glorious global festival celebrating the spirit of world music is another event that implements ADACH’s strategic plan to make Abu Dhabi the cultural centre of the region by reinforcing the message of multicultural understanding,” Al Mazrouei added.
During the free festival, spread over three stages, WOMAD-goers will see performers from countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK, Cuba, India, Palestine, Tanzania and many more. WOMAD Abu Dhabi’s far-ranging and musically adventurous selection of performers will have something for everyone’s tastes. One particular style – always popular – will be the drum-based groups, igniting the rhythm.
In addition to the imaginative line-up of performers – many of whom are stars in their homelands – WOMAD Abu Dhabi is offering family-orientated workshops featuring music, dance and visual art brought by the program WOMAD Beyond.
This element of WOMAD Abu Dhabi will be experienced in the Tri-Span Tent on the Corniche, where a variety of schools across the Emirate are taking part. Food is an artistic side dish in the “Taste The World” segment, where artists cook up favorite dishes from their native countries, inviting the audience to sample them.
Also part of WOMAD is the “Desert Cultures” tent, in Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain. This highlights the heritage of the Arabic host emirate, presenting Abu Dhabi’s traditional hospitality and cultural richness to a world audience.
The internationally-renowned WOMAD Festival came to Abu Dhabi for the first time last year. During this spectacular event, considered a huge success, over 80,000 people gathered on Abu Dhabi Corniche to enjoy the thrilling atmosphere of the festival and diverse musical offerings.
The final schedule of acts for WOMAD Abu Dhabi 2010 at the Abu Dhabi Corniche is:
Thursday 22nd April 2010
- The Drummers of Burundi
- Hanggai
- Le Trio Joubran
- Faiz Ali Faiz and Titi Robin
- Babylon Circus
- Femi Kuti
- Hakim
Friday 23rd April of 2010
- Rango
- ABRI
Chemirani’s - Transglobal Underground
- Sierra Maestra
- Rachid Taha
Saturday 24th April of 2010
- Debashish Battacharya
- Amparo Sánchez
- Mayra Andrade
- Tinariwen Collaboration with Mehdi Haddab and Kyp Malone & Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio)
- Ilham Al Madfai
- Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley
The schedule of artists for WOMAD Abu Dhabi 2010 at Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain is:
Thursday 22nd April 2010
Fort Stage Desert Cultures
- Chemirani’s
- Debashish Battacharya Musafir Gypsies of Rajasthan
- ABRI Tinariwen
- Habib Koité
Friday 23rd April 2010
Fort Stage Desert Cultures
- Drummers of Burundi !Gubi Family
- Le Trio Joubran Musafir Gypsies of Rajasthan
- Faiz ali Faiz
- Tinariwen
More at www.womadabudhabi.ae
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
