Live Review: WOMADelaide 2018 - Day One

In a city famed for its offbeat festivals, WOMADelaide remains one of Adelaide’s crowning jewels.

The festival, handily placed towards the tail-end of the sequin-studded tornado known locally as Mad March, is a stunning highlight for all world music fans. However, its sheer popularity comes from its opportunity for escape, as visitors and locals alike are encouraged to lose themselves in the bohemian wonderland waiting behind its colourful gates.

This year’s WOMADelaide arrived with a brilliant burst of sunshine, a remnant of South Australia’s slowly fading summer. The festival is globally celebrated for its art installations as well as its music, and this year’s decorations are particularly breathtaking, including a gorgeous inflatable luminarium designed by UK sculptors Architects Of Air. The Arboria installation is like a neon fairy grotto, where visitors can briefly wander away from the hustle of the festival and lose themselves in the dreamy soundscape of an Ecuadorian cloud forest.

After a Welcome To Country from Jamie Goldsmith, the Foundation stage was christened by the rollicking brass section of Brazillian act Bixiga 70. The dynamic 10-piece tore up the newly laid stage with their funky Afrobeat rhythms, punctuated by squealing saxophones and the occasional burst of finely-tuned static. Irrepressibly charming, the boys in brightly patterned shirts pulled the crowd into a gigantic conga line, where friends and strangers alike grabbed each other’s sweaty shoulders and boogied in the warm afternoon light.

Next up on the agenda was the “Fresh New Prince” of Arnhem Land, also known as Baker Boy, or Danzal Baker in his downtime. Bursting onto the stage, the young rapper effortlessly switched between spitting rhymes in English and Yolngu Matha, pausing only to show off some seriously slick dance moves. The 21-year-old artist is already a powerhouse of a performer and quickly got the whole crowd stamping its feet to a chunky anthemic remix of Yothu Yindi’s Treaty. A highlight of the set was a live performance from 15-year-old Kian Brownfield, whose silky-smooth vocals on Cloud 9 effortlessly harmonised with the joyous strains emitting from the gathered crowd.

Heading back to Foundation stage, we found ourselves completely enraptured by the hauntingly beautiful refrain of Anoushka Shankar’s sitar. This year marks the virtuoso’s first return to the festival since playing with her father, Ravi Shankar, in 2009; a poignant moment for both the artist and her diehard fans. Sitting in the centre of her four-piece ensemble, Shankar’s face was the picture of serenity.

As the mystical, winding notes cascaded through the air, the crowd was lulled into an almost dreamlike state, watching spellbound as Shankar’s fingers drifted up and down the neck of her sitar. A staunch activist, the artist played mainly songs from her 2016 album, Land Of Gold, juxtaposing darkly thrumming bass lines with jarring excerpts of news clips from the largely forgotten ongoing refugee crisis.

The crowd then hurried to Stage Three for Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. The Chicago-based eight-piece are WOMADelaide veterans and bring a wild, unrestrained energy to each set that never fails to get the crowd grooving. Determined to “get the party started”, the brothers quickly launched into a bespoke selection of their most raucous hits, including a show-stopping rendition of The Hunger Games’ track War.

"WOMADelaide’s sparkle is as strong as ever."

The boisterous, bouncing brass section had hips waggling and hands clapping all over the dance floor. Blending Chicago street hip hop stylings with cosmically mystical jazz notes, the ensemble’s performances are a must-see for any WOMADelaide-goer looking for an excuse to shake what their mother gave them.

Kicking our way through piles of feathers left over from Gratte Ciel’s surreal aerial circus act Place Des Anges, we walked back to Foundation stage to see Rodrigo y Gabriela’s first Adelaide performance in over 10 years. The 10.30pm timeslot is always reserved for WOMADelaide’s biggest stars on the line-up, and tonight was no exception.

The Mexican classical guitar duo have a raw chemistry that makes them spellbinding to watch, even from the very back of a 500-person crowd. We found our jaws dropping as they synchronised their rhythms, their highly technical guitar-picking blending together seamlessly into a gorgeous flurry of flamenco-inspired melodies. Highlights included a sitting-down cover of Mason Williams’ Classical Gas, which brought the high-energy set to a deceptively comfortable lull, just before the duo launched into a blistering rendition of their infamous single Hanuman.

The last act of the night, Rodrigo y Gabriela exited the stage to thundering applause, leaving the crowd breathless from hours spent in a carefree, happy haze of dancing and celebration. WOMADelaide’s sparkle is as strong as ever and is continuing to bring a special touch of magic to Adelaide’s parklands.