Gallery: Womad Returns With a Stellar International Line-Up (and Tonnes of Feathers)

After a couple of Covid-affected years, with a “re-imagined” format in 2021 and a largely domestic line-up in 2022, Womad was back to full flight for its 31st event last weekend, reclaiming its title as “the World’s Festival” with a line-up bolstered by international headliners Bon Iver, Florence & the Machine and Youssou N’Dour.

Whether it was the star power of those acts, the excitement of a return to some normalcy, upped capacity or all of the above, the 2023 event broke attendance records for the long-running festival (a milestone acutely felt in the longer-than-usual food and toilet lines, crowd congestion and battle for phone reception). But the event also marked a return to the festival’s pre-pandemic glory (including the return of 2018 highlight, aerial circus Place des Anges by French company Gratte Ciel, which rained down white feathers on Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla and the rapturous crowds).

But we all know some of the best Womad experiences are had by following the sounds and beats floating through the park to discover a lesser known artist or band. Beyond those headliners, festival highlights over the four days came from “techno marching band” Meute, “Hendrix of the Sahara” Mdou Moctar, exciting new Australian talent Beckah Amani, the genre-bending Genesis Owusu and his Black Dog Band, rapper Sampa the Great, and indie star Angel Olsen, among many others. Broadsheet photographer Kelsey Zafiridis was there to capture them and more.