The UK's summer festival scene has not only recovered from Brexit and Covid, it has never been more vibrant. And that includes the WOMAD international arts festival in the west of England where fans flock not just for the bigger names but "to hear music they've never heard before," the organisers tell RFI.
Womad stands for “A World of Music, Art and Dance”, and since it was co-founded in 1982 by Peter Gabriel, the festival has been bringing audiences schooled on rock and pop a wider range of performers from all around the world.
For this year's 41st edition, highlights include indie band Bombay Bicycle Club, afro-funk Ibibio Sound Machine, The Cinematic Orchestra – known for their distinctive fusion of nu-jazz, downtempo and film music – the Grammy award-winning British group Soul II Soul, South African artist Nakhane, Algerian singer-songwriter Souad Massi, and Malian songstress Rokia Koné, among many others.
"WOMAD was one of the first concerts I performed in Europe, as part of Les Amazones d’Afrique’s first tour in 2016," Koné told RFI.
"I have very happy memories of my visit to the festival, and I've been looking forward all year to coming back as a solo artist. I'm very excited!"
Award-winning Brazilian rapper, MC and singer Emicida from Sao Paulo was making his WOMAD debut, as was the London-based West African group Balimaya Project.
Percussionist Yahael Camara Onono, founder and leader of the 13-instrument Belimaya Project, said he'd started it to show what the African diaspora in London can do in terms of traditional, jazz and experimental music.
"I had heard of Womad all these years and it's a pleasure to finally be here," he told RFI. "So many African artists I loved performed here."
The band released their second album, 'When the Dust Settles', earlier this summer and will play at the Jazz à La Villette festival on 8 September, and in London on 17 October at the Barbican Centre.
Incredible 13-instrument group @BalimayaProject - for the first time at @WOMADfestival 🎉 pic.twitter.com/SBCPBztqNQ
— Melissa Chemam (@melissachemam) July 28, 2023
More than music
The UK has long been a haven for summer music festivals, not least the flagship Glastonbury in Somerset, West England, Latitude on the Suffolk coast and All Points East in London – all three offering major international headliners.
Paula Henderson, WOMAD's artistic programmer, says that while their festival can't touch the likes of Glastonbury in terms of numbers, they're nonetheless unique.
"There is no other festival in the UK presenting artists from around the world," she told RFI. "People come here not only for the bigger names, but to hear music they haven't heard before."
NHS worker Anabel Provansal has been coming to Womad since she was 17, but this year she's also volunteering for Radio Womad, along with her radio producer friend Marcus Smith.
"Every year is amazing because the line-up is so surprising", she told RFI.
"The differences in music are so rich, from the Cinematic Orchestra to bands who are going to get you dancing! I also loved the workshops. Once I did a kora one, and we learn so much. There are also yoga classes, reiki and even life drawing!"
"This year, I'm really looking forward to doing something totally different," Marcus said. "Over the years I came for the music. Last year; I saw wonderful dance acts from Korea. This year, I want to enjoy the healing fields from the well-being tents and the cookery shows!"
A haven for music tourism
In 2019, in the wake of Brexit, WOMAD organisers started struggling to book artists – many feared they'd have difficulties entering the country.
Festival director Chris Smith said: “Lots of artists are finding they can get to Europe but fear taking the next step to the UK, particularly if there is there is no passport union."
The festival then had to face two years of Covid-induced cancellations.
Despite this, Womad returned with a bang in 2022 with headliners such as its own co-founder Peter Gabriel, Ghanaian-British rock band Osibisa and Indian-British award-winning music producer Nitin Sawney.
Many stars came from India and Pakistan, joined by Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, Bénin-born superstar Angélique Kidjo and British singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas.
Not only have the UK's festivals picked up, they're doing better than ever.
A report published by industry body UK Music in May 2023 showed that a total of 1.1m people travelled to the UK from overseas last year to attend a concert, breaking the one million mark for the first time.
Music tourism, the report found, contributed £6.6bn to the UK economy.
Visa challenges remain
This year's edition of Womad is sold out and the team is upbeat.
"This year feels like it's the proper year that we've come back", Henderson says.
"With our big 40th anniversary, last year, we were testing the waters, post-Covid. It was wonderful, but there were, and still are, many challenges, notably with visas because of Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
"But we're not going to change what we do because of the context. We'll keep going and petition if we need to. This year we didn't have as many problems."
The final evening on Sunday has a strong African twist – Nigerian icon Femi Kuti and his band, Jamaican reggae veteran Horace Andy, Algeria's Souad Massi and the teenage Star Feminine Band from Benin are just a few in the impressive line-up.
