WOMADelaide 2026 - Day 1 (Friday, March 6th)

 

THE BEGINNINNG

The gates opened right on 4.00 pm and the small queue filed in. Some early risers among the bats were already hovering above the Frome Rd entrance. A right turn into the new market strip and a left run into the park proper and there are the flags: the Angus Watt flags – still heralding  the arrival of WOMADelaide after 30 plus years.

Those who know said it was clear that crowds were well down on this same time last year, and we all guessed why but no one really knew. Regulars found their favourite spots, got that early coffee before the rush, and set up base somewhere among the trees. Old friends and family meet up – some haven’t seen other since the last time they were at WOMAD.

The weather is perfect and WOMADelaide is already working its magic. Changes to the program due to the shenanigans in the Middle East meant the traditional welcome to country ceremony was delayed by an hour and shifted to stage 2.

Welcomes to country often feel clunky and unnecessary, but when seated on the ground, on actual Kaurna ground, it makes more sense. You can feel the earth beneath you. And Jamie Goldmsith’s welcome was one of the best. We’re not welcoming Australians to their own country, he said. This is about strengthening the connections between us and with the land. We’re really just saying, “It’s good that you’re here.”

THE MUSIC

Stage 3 kicked off with La Perla, a 3 women group from Columbia. All three play various percussion instruments and consequently, and what is always the case with Latin music, it’s all about rhythm. All three had strong voices and were often at full voice together. It sounded and felt a little tribal. Other almost acapella numbers offered beautiful contrast. I particularly enjoyed the playing of the bass hand drum – it had the effect of  a bass guitar part that kept the pulse and simultaneously added a melodic tone to the percussion.

Ashkan Shafiei and Band launched the weekend’s program on the Zoo stage. Ashkan is from Iran but is now based in Sydney. I’m sure everybody was aware of the global events casting shadows over his country but it was politely ignored. He said simply, “It’s good to be here.” The program notes say their sound is influenced by music heard in the Tehran of 60s and 70s (when Iran was a very different place); they don’t sound much like the more traditional groups that play music based on Persian folk culture. This is a much more modern sound – very jazz influenced. Many of the melodies are brass led (trumpet, saxophone), and together with congas the combined effect gave the music something of a Latin feel. By show’s end many were up and dancing. There was one traditional instrument featured, played by Ashkan - the rubab. Interestingly it was more used as a percussion instrument. It unfortunately also got a bit lost in the mix when the whole band was playing.

A brother and sister from India, Balaganesan and Bageswari, were first up in the Frome Park Pavilion playing the nadaswaram, a double reed wind instrument.  This was pure traditional music unadulterated by any modern influences, and as such could be fairly described as an acquired taste. Think the sound of the pipe that snake charmers make when mesmerising cobras and you’re somewhere near the mark. But this brother and sister team are virtuosos on their instrument, and play long complex pieces typical of so much Indian classical music. The music was all instrumental and I imagine is used for ceremonial or religious purposes. But as there was no information shared by the artists one can’t be sure. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of WOMADelaide’s early days before World Music, ironically, became globalized.

Xylourides

I was going next to see Beoga (from Ireland) back on stage 3  but as can happen as you wander through the WOMAD park your ears and soul are led elsewhere and I found myself sitting at the Moreton Bay Stage totally engaged by the music of Xylourides from Crete. Their music is magical. Instruments featured are the Cretan lute (laouto), a Cretan lyra (an upright fiddle instrument played with a bow), and hand drum percussion. The lyra was often featured as the lead solo instrument. The vocal melodies are soulful, tuneful, and sometimes trance like. They play both fast and slow and have managed to bring traditional Cretan folk music to an adoring modern audience. They certainly won me over.

I continued on my trek back to stage 3 to catch a little of Beoga but alas – impossible! This may have been a programming error. It seems someone underestimated their popularity – this may well have been the biggest crowd ever seen at stage 3 and by the time I got there Beoga were tiny figures way off in the distance behind the trees and a sea of heads. They should have been playing the main stage.

On my way towards the exit there was a large crowd gathered in the Frome Park Pavilion for Ganna’s only Womadelaide’s performance. Ganna is from Ukraine and is one of a new breed of musicians who have learned that modern musical technology means you don’t need a band. She sounds like a band. Looking and sounding decidedly ethereal she employs looped electronica to wash over her audience and carry her angelic vocals out across the park. When she issued a call to dance hundreds responded by moving to the front of the venue to get more physical with the music. Others sat on chairs down the back and let her heavenly sounds add to the bewitching charms of WOMADelaide at night.

CLOSE

WOMADelaide is still a remarkable event. It still has a magic that has made it one of Adelaide’s precious trademarks. It still draws young and old. And as I made my way toward the exit the now illuminated market strip with its multi-coloured ceiling ribbons made me feel like I could be somewhere in South-East Asia, but no, it’s Adelaide. Gorgeous Adelaide.

 

Harry Manx Review

The Guv, March 2nd, 2026

It was worth the wait. However, leaving your audience hanging for an hour with no communication is poor form. No matter what the reason, it’s not good enough. One hour after the advertised start time Harry Manx appeared on stage.

I remembered seeing Harry play at a small folk club way back when he was a much younger man. I remember really enjoying it so thought I’d take another look and I’m so glad I did. About a minute into his first song I was in his groove. Tapping my feet and gently rocking to a quiet, bluesy, insistent beat.

This time round Harry’s playing with a bass and drum beat backing track. The purist in me would rather it wasn’t there but it’s certainly effective and it allows Harry to be something of a one man band.

Harry Manx plays guitars – one in the traditional upright fashion, one as a lap steel instrument with lots of delicious slide, and his trademark – the Mohan Veena: a 20-string instrument that sounds like a cross between guitar and sitar. He spent 12 years in India, 5 years mastering the Mohan Veena. His music consequently is often described as a bridge between east and west. Tonight’s concert was more west than east, but any song played on the Mohan Veena has that telltale persistent drone beneath the melody – that’s partly why the instrument was invented – and it’s quite mesmeric.

Tonight’s repertoire was a mix of covers and originals – many of them chosen in answer to members of the audience calling out their preferences. But his covers get such distinctive treatment that it’s like hearing them for the first time anyway. Old standards like Long Black Veil, Spoonful, and Summertime for example.

Manx certainly took his time establishing his musical identity. He wrote his first song at the age of 46. I enjoyed the covers but the highlights were definitely his own material. There’s a melodic warmth and a bewitching, beautiful tone hidden in all those strings and it’s perfectly complemented by a vocal style that delivers short phrases that fit neatly into the catchy rhythms.

One day Harry Manx had writer’s block and went out walking. He came across a homeless guy he recognized from school days and they spent the day together. And a new song was born. This story speaks volumes about the man. He took the time to talk to this homeless guy when many would walk on by.

Harry Manx has taken the slow road; the road that takes time to work out what you want to say; what you want to play, and he’s now sharing the wonderful end result with rapt audiences. He definitely has his own sound but if you were to combine the music of JJ Cale, fellow Canadian Leo Kottke, and Ry Cooder you might come up with something very similar to the Manx sound, but you’d still need to add some eastern spice.

Mama Does Roller Derby

Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Sat 28 Feb, 2026

As we settled into our seats a group of 10 roller derby contestants were doing what looked like their pre-game workout: sometimes quite elegant stretching exercises as they cruised around the track, and sometimes very physical push and shove exercises that are all part of a roller derby event.

Maxine and her daughter Billie have arrived in a small town to begin a new life. They know little or nothing about the town and are initially very dependent on each other. In something of a role reversal Mum’s a bit sassy and looking for some action, while Billie is the home body.

Billie is interested in art but her attempts to contribute to the artistic outlook of the town earn her (and mum) a session with a counsellor. It’s a witty and humorous meeting, and for the first time we witness a wonderfully innovative approach to stage direction as mum and daughter and counsellor face each other on opposite couches.

From this point on we are treated to a dazzling display of choreography on wheels. The roller derby women (from the Adelaide Roller Derby League) are now a team of stage hands moving sets around and delivering props to their rightful places with astonishing timing and accuracy. In a blur of glorious, precise movements the stage is frequently reconfigured to adjust to the changing narrative while a live band provides dynamic musical complement. It’s a stunning combination.

Meanwhile, alone back in her bedroom, Billie is dealing with her own demons – literally and figuratively. The demon character (superbly played by Benjamin Hancock) that comes to life is one of the most fetching stage creatures you will ever see. Without giving too much away the exotic movements of this demonic creature are worth the price of admission alone. An extraordinary creation.

Maxine eventually joins the local roller derby circuit and we then get to see what full-on roller derby is all about. What a spectacle!

Mama Does Derby is a brilliant idea. It brings theatre to the people with all embracing physicality, wit, laughter, music and perceptive theatre. It might well result in an explosion of interest in roller derby and theatre for younger people. Innovation plus!

Written by Virginia Gay.
Directed by Clare Watson.

Earnest?

Earnest?
The Peacock at Gluttony
Sat 21 Feb, 2026

The stage is set and looking interesting. Two gentlemen enter the stage dressed appropriately for the late nineteenth century and after some initial banter welcome Earnest Worthington to the stage with some flourish. Several times. Alas however, there appears to be no Earnest. The star of the show is AWOL. So, there’s only one thing to do in such circumstances – use whatever resources you have at your disposal. And what do you typically find at live plays? Audiences of course!

Directors are normally invisible, safely hidden in the wings, but in this case the director has no choice but to face the audience, offer apologies, and ask for assistance. And there the fun begins.

Earnest? does more or less follow the plot of the famous Oscar Wilde play that the show is based on, but takes a few liberties with the order of events and the behaviours of some of the characters. This leads to some further awkward outcomes and suffice to say it is not just Earnest that needs replacing.

Consequently, a great deal of improvisation is part of the spectacle, placing enormous stress on the original cast and the poor beleagured stage hand who’s run off his feet cleaning up accidents and making sure props are all in the right place at the right time. He ends up quite the star!

Several very funny devices are employed to assist those new to the stage play their roles – I particularly liked the advice window where we were privy to a conversation between the new Earnest and a cast member giving him tips on how to act.

Liberal doses of slapstick keep things entertainingly silly, and just for once the slapstick doesn’t feel contrived. It feels absolutely essential to save the show!

Things get merrier and merrier, funnier and funnier, and somehow manage to stumble their way to a successful conclusion where cast and audience can share a feeling of great accomplishment.

Earnest? is a great idea, a very brave undertaking, and a really good laugh for all involved. I loved it.

It has to be 5 stars. What? 5 stars for people who’ve never performed before? That doesn’t make sense. Exactly!

This review also published on The Clothesline.

William Yang ~ Milestone ~ OzAsia Review

William Yang with Elena Kats-Chernin
Adelaide Town Hall
Fri 31 Oct, 2025

William Yang has indeed lived a fascinating life. Born in country Queensland he had no concept of what ‘being Chinese’ was in his early years. He checked with his mother one day and she answered curtly, “Yes, you are Chinese.’  Wang suffered the usual taunts and insults that Australian school children dished out to migrants at the time, and Wang came to regard being Chinese as a curse.

In time he moved to Sydney and in the early seventies he came out as a gay man. It was here he became interested in photography. He eventually became known as a photographer of performers and celebrities. His slides were littered with images of the cultural and artistic literati of the times: Jim Sharman (director of Hair), Richard Neville (editor of Oz Magazine), Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats), Ida Buttrose, Patrick White, Brett Whitely, etc.

He has been at the centre of the history of the gay movement in Australia. He was the first person to have naked images of gay men feature in a public exhibition; he was there at the first gay and lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney in 1978;  he was very involved in the Same Sex marriage campaign in 2017. And sadly, he was at the heart of the AIDS epidemic of the 80s. His images of dying friends are perhaps the most confronting in this exhibition. Unashamedly graphic, they pull no punches in portraying the ravages AIDS wrought on its victims and their communities.

Another key aspect of Wang’s story was his return to China to try and understand his ethnic origins. As he said himself, he now needed to ‘come out’ as a Chinese man.

Milestone is essentially a collection of multiple lesser milestones in Yang’s life. Yang’s narration is supported by a vast number of slides, with frequent musical interludes of music composed by Elena Kats-Chernin. Though broken into two or three minute fragments it was interesting to contemplate the music as one whole piece. Despite the interruptions it did feel like that – there was a thematic consistency across the performance and a sameness of tonal quality that aided  reflection on the material just viewed. This was especially appreciated after some of the more confronting images.

On a much lighter note my favourite moment in the whole show was early on when we were viewing slides of the countryside around where Yang grew up with the music providing an aura of majesty. It was clear that though his ethnic origins were far removed from this land the Australian countryside of his youth meant a great deal to him.

In many ways William Yang typifies what might be considered the typical artist for the OzAsia festival. I personally would have enjoyed more analysis of how Australian and Chinese cultures worked together to create the man Willam Yang has become. He is in the ideal position to explore how Chinese and Australian cultural influences reconcile with each other. This performance however focuses more on his role in the gay community, his family, and his love of photography. And perhaps that’s what a photographer should do: let the pictures do the talking.

Music played by Ensemble Lumen.

This review also published on The Clothesline.

Classical Beatles ~ Candlelight Concert ~ Review

Capri Cinema
Thu 30 Oct, 2025 

Candlelight Concerts began in Madrid in 2019 with the aim of making classical music more accessible to younger audiences. They now feature in more than 100 cities across the globe. The bulk of their concerts focus on classical composers, but they have smartly branched out to capture new audiences who want to relive the pop/rock music of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Our hosts for this Beatles music event were The Collective String Quartet.

It’s not often you get to hear Beatles music played live by a group of musicians but when I do I’m always amazed at the enduring quality of the songs. For example, when you strip away the inane lyrics of songs like I Want to Hold Your Hand you find a gorgeous and quite complex melody.

The Collective String quartet (violins, viola and cello) did a great job of leading us through a selection of The Beatles’ greatest hits. They began with what has become yet another classic, Here Comes the Sun and let the cello lead the way. It was immediately obvious that adjusting to songs arranged with just bowed strings would be necessary as there would be no picked melodies or favourite guitar parts.

Although the songs were announced in advance it sometimes felt a little like that Spicks and Specks TV show segment where you had to guess the name of a well-known song while listening to a completely different arrangement. Help was one of those.

Some songs, like Michelle and Eleanor Rigby, seemed more suitable for string arrangements than others. I found the arrangements of some songs a little over complicated. Penny Lane lost some of its innocent joy in this reworking, and the beautifully wistful We Can Work It Out’s melody got a little lost.  Other songs flourished with the same treatment. Come Together was wonderful. The original is so ‘other’ that it almost demanded an alternative avant-garde approach. It was a shame not to hear those weird and wonderful references to ju-ju eyeballs and toe-jam footballs however!

While it was strange that there was not a weeping guitar in sight, the Collective’s arrangement of While My Guitar Gently Weeps was delightful. It sounded almost as if George Harrison had written it for four instruments it gelled so beautifully. Eleanor Rigby has already been done by so many other artists, including orchestras, that it held no surprises – but again a very effective four part arrangement was in evidence. Similarly with Yesterday – no surprises. It stayed very close to the original, and we were told it has been covered at least 3000 times!

I was surprised that Strawberry Fields was attempted. It’s one of The Beatles’ more complex songs – but it worked well with the main melody being pitched very high on violin. I loved their version of With a Little Help From My Friends. It sounded like a jaunty old-time singalong in an English country garden.

One of The Collective members occasionally read from a prepared script to tell us a little about the next few songs. It was good to get advance notice of the song list so you could identify the songs more quickly but his delivery was a little wooden. It might have been better to be more spontaneous with these introductions. It adds authenticity.

It’s normal for musicians to challenge themselves and come up with arrangements that are fresh and offer new interpretations of well-known material, but there’s always a risk that you might offend the ‘respect the melody’ school of thinking. Overall though the Collective String Quartet presented a really entertaining show that delivered some old favourites with few surprises, while pushing the boundaries with some other material. And that’s just as it should be.

This review also published on The Clothesline.

Badieh - Music from Central Asia

Rubab (Wikimedia Commons)

Nexus Art Venue
Wed 29 Oct, 2025

Badieh is a duo that play music from Central Asia – in particular the region of Khorasan. Khorasan reaches across several nations – Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan – so their music is enriched by multiple cultural influences.

Iranian Mohammad Miraghazadeh plays the setar – a traditional thin long-necked stringed instrument from Persia. Ethnomusicologist Michel Gasco hails from Spain and plays the rubab:  an instrument with multiple strings, with several sympathetic strings like a sitar. It is considered to be the national instrument of Afghanistan.

These sympathetic strings are not played directly but resonate in tune with the plucked or picked strings causing something of a drone effect.

When the setar and rubab come together they deliver a very bright sound in both tone and rhythm. Most of Badieh’s material was instrumental and stems from the folk traditions of the border lands between Iran and Afghanistan. The few songs with vocals seemed especially ancient with plaintive, haunting melodies coming from distant worlds. At times they felt akin to chants.

Wonderful tabla from Pranav Ramji was the perfect complement providing some deeper bass notes against the strings, and adding catchy and complex rhythms. Ancient this music may be but there were plenty of foot – tapping songs. One or two almost rocked! I could quite easily imagine people dancing to these tunes when played in their homelands – if it were allowed.

Occasionally mournful and contemplative but this is mostly joyful, happy music with intricate melodies and stirring rhythms. A lovely concert that delivered old music to modern shores and where friendship, joy, and respect were very much evident in its execution.

This review also posted on The Clothesline.