After a one-year hiatus, WOMAD NZ is returning in March 2022 for three days of art, music and dance. Photo / 123rf
After a one-year hiatus, WOMAD NZ is returning in March 2022 for three days of art, music and dance. Photo / 123rf
After an unsettling month or so playing the turbulent game of lockdown: waiting on tenterhooks for level updates and gingerly opening emails that look threateningly like cancellations, there's good news afoot.
After a one-year hiatus, Womad NZ (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is back for 2022 and early-bird ticketsare on sale now. If ever there was a time to mark your diary in jumbo felt tip, this is it.
Crashing back on to the summer scene for three epic days between March 18-20, the festival will be held at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands and Brooklands Park in New Plymouth, spread across eight stages of revelry.
Since its 1982 debut in the UK, Womad – one of the longest-running cultural festivals on the planet – has been revered for showcasing the world's most eclectic mix of global music, arts and dance. Unsurprisingly, and for obvious reasons, next year's New Zealand festival will be moving towards a largely Kiwi-based line-up, albeit infused with international flavours - quite literally when you consider the Global Village will be packed with international food, wellness and retail. In other words, get ready for some seriously good homegrown talent and prep your senses for a trip around the world.
Festivalgoers can expect everything from poetry slams to cooking demos as well as a host of renowned music acts, authors and bust-out-your-moves beats. Confirmed acts so far include Fat Freddy's Drop, R&B star Deva Mahal, artist and author Dick Frizzell and, quite fittingly for the times, microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles. More names will be dropped in coming weeks, so it's a classic "watch this space" scenario.
Genuine tickets are available only from www.womad.co.nz/tickets and Ticketspace, with combos for camping, glamping, the tepee life village and, for the first time in Womad history, the opportunity to buy a Womad VIP festival experience.
Check alert level restrictions and Ministry of Health advice before travel. covid19.govt.nz
