Womadelaide review: the world’s best descend on Botanic Park with calls for resistance and freedom
WOMADelaide was back to its exhilarating best in 2025, filled to the brim with exciting and modern artists showcasing the diversity of music from sweet folk to afrobeat funk.
This year’s WOMADelaide boasts one of its finest lineups in recent times, with more than 700 exciting and diverse artists and genres from over 35 countries. Every stage hosted world-class musicians, and as always, deciding which artists to see is a difficult task.
One of the biggest names of the weekend, PJ Harvey, kicked off the weekend as Friday night’s headliner with a blend of ethereal folk storytelling and theatrical alternative rock.
Other sounds across the park on Friday were funk and soul outfit Durand Jones & the Indications from Indiana, USA. The band touched on the turbulent political landscape in America, expressing a sense of fear with their 2019 song ‘Morning in America’.
Hip-hop group 3% continued the political messaging with joyful Blak resistance through their powerful and cheeky performance. It was an electrifying set, and after winning two ARIAs in 2024 it’s a wonder they weren’t bumped to a more prominent stage. Over on Stage 3, the vocal arrangements from South African acapella group The Joy were beautiful.
Saturday kicked off with artists to perfectly accompany sitting in the shade as the heat of the day passed through; the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, Senegalese hip-hop, jazz and afro-beat guitarist Majnun and Portugese fado singer Mariza entertained. The pace picked up with voodoo-rooted Nana Benz du Togo and Brazilian funk group Bala Desejo, who were a highlight of the weekend with their unique brand of modern disco and constant switching of instruments.
47 Soul. Photo: Saige Prime / Supplied
Shamstep originators 47SOUL returned to WOMADelaide after nine years following the festival’s controversial dropping of the Jordanian-Palestinian group last year. The band thanked grassroots groups for speaking out and standing up for them at the time, saying they were happy to be able to solve the issue diplomatically with the organisers.
Sydney-based, Papua New Guinean artist Ngaiire and Serbian Goran Bergović and his Wedding and Funeral Band took the main stage Saturday night. Ngaiire presented a genre-defying, theatrical set while Bergović found a way to make polka music for a club.
The second half of the weekend included Vietnamese psychedelic soul band Saigon Soul Revival, Yorta Yorta, Djadja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali rapper Miss Kaninna, Cuban cellist Ana Carla Maza and the outer space free jazz of legacy band Sun Ra Arkestra.
Miss Kaninna. Photo: Samuel Graves / Supplied
Also around the park was the gravity-defying, trampoline performance ‘The Unreachable Suspension Point’ from French circus and dance group Yoann Bourgeois Art Company.
Adelaide’s locals continued to prove they belong on stages reserved for the world’s best offerings. From the rich Motown and soul arrangements of Dustyn to the sincere fiddle, folk music of Max Savage’s Lofty Mountain Band’s combined 34 strings, and the neo-soul and RnB grooves of Kara Manansala and her sizzling band, Adelaide’s artists offered unique and captivating takes on their genres.
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Nigerian afrobeat queen Yemi Alade and the soundscapes of German classical electronica artist Nils Frahm hit the big stages on Sunday night.
Monday was full of good vibes with Melbourne-based Owelu Dreamhouse and their modern blend of afrobeat and funk, the hypnotic Japanese drumming of O.TA.I.KO ZA MYOJIN, Australian blues and roots singer Emily Wurramara, the traditional sounds of Taiwanese Sauljaljui and the hip-hop and funk blend of Digable Planets.
The sweet folk and country storytelling of American Grammy-nominated group Bonny Light Horsemen were the perfect addition to Monday night’s warm breeze while Shabaka presented a true picture of contemporary jazz, dancing over genre lines.
The festival’s final night went out with a bang with huge sets from charismatic, Adelaide-based hip-hop artist Elsy Wameyo and her Kenyan band, and Texan psychedelic-rock trio Khruangbin. Khruangbin seamlessly move from groove to groove with one of the most elaborate stage set ups of the weekend. Colours and videos appear behind three arched windows on a large, stepped façade.
Ngaiire. Photo: Morgan Sette / Supplied
A theme of resistance through music was weaved into the weekend’s performances. From the first day to the last, the message for freedom in the face of oppression resonated through the park. 3% and Miss Kaninna used their platforms to call their audiences to action in support of Indigenous rights in this election year, Vietnam’s Saigon Soul Revival performed songs in Western rock and soul styles previously banned in their country, 47SOUL made anti-colonial and anti-racist statements, and Ngaiire chronicled the rupture and return of her culture.
Audiences this year have been left with the reminder that the passing on, recreation and reclamation of music is key to the preservation of culture in an increasingly globalised world.
WOMADelaide 2025 ran from March 8 – 10 at Botanic Park
Read more 2025 Adelaide Festival coverage here on InReview
WOMADelaide at Botanic Park. Photo: Saige Prime / Supplied