new for WOMAD themed nights, workshops, and more

WOMAD has announced theme nights and more for the festival which takes place at Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th July.

On Thursday for 'early bird' ticket holders The Open Air Stage plays host to the Adrian Sherwood and On U Sound System Showcase from 7-11pm. Festival goers can expect an evening full of dub reggae, roots and 21st Century blues. Sherwood will be bringing a hand-picked line-up to the stage and guests will include a reggae and dub legend - Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Little Axe aka Skip McDonald, former guitarist in The Sugarhill Gang.

On Friday grab your partners by the hand for a night of Irish Ceilidh in the Siam Tent from 11pm – 1am. A ceilidh (pronounced key-lee) is a party, gathering, or the like, at which singing and storytelling are the usual forms of entertainment. A knees up is promised with cheerful, lively, and upbeat music and a few basic dance steps which can be learned easily, there's no confirmation who the musicians will be, just yet.

Saturday night is Sufi Night at the Saddlespan Stage from 8pm - 1am. Sufism is the mystical and ancient branch of Islam that tries to find a spiritual path to get closer to God, through chanting, prayer, meditation and music. In celebration of the music WOMAD will showcase 3 musicians: Sheikh Taha (Egypt), Munajat Yulchieva (Uzbekistan), and Asif Ali Khan (Pakistan).

The WOMAD festival outdoor stage will present a ninety minute Gala Finale on the Sunday from 9.30pm until 11pm presented by Bill Cobham as musical director, Justin Adams as band leader and Bassekou Kouyate as a main soloist. The central players will be joined on stage by many guest artists and there will be many moments of unique collaboration.

Following on from the success of the Taste the World Sessions, where WOMAD artists were invited on stage to cook one of their favourite dishes, this year WOMAD has added the Taste Café. This will be a unique performance space where the artists will play music while the food is cooking. On the menu could be Dulsori's Bibimbap from Korea, or maybe Jambalaya from Sarah Savoy and the Frankadians.

WOMAD are also promising a raft of workshops. Split between the two Big Top marquees, WOMAD will be presenting an environment for you to immerse yourself in the rhythms and dances of the World. The workshops will be led by world class teachers and artists, offering a broad choice of styles to suit all ages, tastes and energy levels.

The Dance! tent will offer Flamenco, Salsa, Batchata, Rumba, Egyptian and West African dance classes, all taking place on a specially installed wooden dance floor.

The Drum! tent line-up features many of the great percussion forms of the world including; Darabuka, Djembe, Bodhran, Conga, Samba, Taiko and Dhol.

For the line-up details as available please click here.

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