WOMAD Aotearoa Welcomes Four Dynamic New Artists To The 2025 Festival Lineup

WOMAD Aotearoa is excited to welcome four dynamic new artists to the 2025 festival lineup. These include organic-electronic feminist songs from West Africa’s Nana Benz Du Togo, Melbourne's art-rock pioneers Not Drowning, Waving, who are reuniting with acclaimed Papua New Guinean artist George Telek, a London-based baritone saxophonist and drummer duo, O. and Protoje, the Jamaican artist blending hip hop, soul, and jazz with reggae and dancehall rhythms with his band The Indiggnation.

In addition to the music, the festival offers a range of cultural and intellectual experiences. The Kunming Garden will once again host the World Of Words, featuring poetry slams, author talks, podcasts, and comedy.

While, the STEAM Lab will offer fascinating sessions with innovators and visionaries in diverse fields such as marine biology, chocolate making, song creation, and the science of sleep, providing attendees with the opportunity to explore new ideas and challenge the status quo.

Alongside these exciting new additions, the 2025 festival lineup features trailblazers of the Shamstep music movement, 47Soul from Palestine/Jordan; Australia’s folktronic act Amaru Tribe, bringing their unique sound; Cuba's Ana Carla Maza, who combines soulful cello and emotive songwriting, seamlessly merging classical training with the rhythms of her homeland; and Brazil's Bala Desejo, offering a fresh voice in Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), samba, and pop.

The festival will also showcase the power trio Delgres, blending blues with Caribbean influences, and the hypnotic guitar riffs of Etran de’Lair, infusing traditional Tuareg music with sun-scorched desert rock. Bosnia/Herzegovina's Goran Bregović & His Wedding & Funeral Band will elevate the WOMAD experience with their masterful fusion of Balkan folk, rock, and classical music.

Joining the festival line up is the UK's Nitin Sawhney, a celebrated musician and composer renowned for his genre-blending artistry, from Trinidad and Tobago Queen Omega who is a powerhouse in the world-reggae scene and Irish electronic pop artist Róisín Murphy.

India’s Satish Vyas & U Rajesh, with their sitar and tabla melodies, blend traditional Indian music with modern influences are set to captivate, Scotland’s Talisk will instantly enthral with their intricate folk arrangements, and Australia’s Ukulele Death Squad will add a playful twist to popular songs, one nylon string at a time.

From Aotearoa, local artists will light up the stage, including Black Comet, a high-energy fusion of rock, funk, and world influences; CHAII, a rising star blending Persian heritage with contemporary beats; and The Beths, known for their catchy, introspective power-pop melodies. Who Shot Scott will fuse Middle Eastern sounds with hip-hop and punk rock, representing the diverse and vibrant Aotearoa music scene. And, Aotearoa’s The Veils, led by the captivating Finn Andrews with the talented NZTrio, will perform, marking The Veils' new album Asphodel's live debut.

The 2025 WOMAD Aotearoa festival promises an incredible lineup of global artists, a diverse array of workshops, engaging speakers, and a variety of delicious food and retail options. The festival will also continue to offer family-friendly spaces and for the third consecutive year, ticket prices will remain steady, making the festival accessible to all.

WOMAD THE FESTIVAL

WOMAD: World of Music, Arts and Dance, the internationally established festival, brings together artists from all over the globe. The central aim of the WOMAD festival is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.

As an organisation, WOMAD now works in many different ways. Still, the aims are always the same - at festivals, performance events, recorded releases, and through educational projects, WOMAD aims to excite, inform, and create awareness of the worth and potential of a multicultural society.

WOMAD Aotearoa is part of a festival family that has seen over three hundred festivals worldwide, with over ten thousand artists performing across six continents to an audience of millions over the past four decades. WOMAD UK has celebrated 40 years, WOMADelaide has celebrated 30 years, and 2025 will see WOMAD Aotearoa celebrate the 22nd anniversary of WOMAD Aotearoa at the award-winning Bowl of Brooklands and Brooklands Park in New Plymouth.

First presented in Taranaki in 2003, over its 20 years, WOMAD Aotearoa has presented over 500 acts and 1500 performers from 95 countries, the festival has had 150,000 visitors through its gates and generated over 100 million dollars for the local economy.

The festival's success could not have occurred without the long-term support of Event Partner TSB whose continuous commitment has strengthened Taranaki's position as the home of WOMAD.

WOMAD Aotearoa is also fortunate to have Programme Partners, Tui Ora, BOON, OMV, Taranaki Offshore Partnership, and several Media Partners and Event Supporters, allowing the festival to present a world-class event to the people of Aotearoa.

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