Fun Rolled Into One Word – WOMAD
Whoever has been to a WOMAD festival knows that there’s not much that tops the experience – the sun shining over the many stages, stalls, artisans and small and big festival goers. Plus, the atmosphere of reaching out to each other and learning from each other through the universal languages of music, arts and dance make WOMAD such a unique experience.
Image: Heather Rai
According to the official website, the World of Music, Arts and Dance festival’s aim is to “celebrate the world’s many forms of music, arts and dance” and to “excite, to inform, and to create awareness of the worth and potential of a multicultural society.” It is this emphasis on caring, nurturing and educating each other that distinguishes WOMAD from so many other commercially oriented events.
Peter Gabriel, one of the festival’s many prominent founders, makes his point very clear:
“The festivals have also allowed many different audiences to gain an insight into cultures other than their own through the enjoyment of music. Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism.”
That is so true! I strongly believe that if more people would meet and simply sing together, the amount of misunderstanding and hatred would decrease significantly. I mean, think about it: How could you sing a beautiful song with someone and have a negative thought about him or her at the same time? Even if you found something not to your liking, it would probably pale in comparison to the joyful, shared experience of singing together.
Image: DreamwizarD
But back to WOMAD. Founded already in 1980 by former drummer and record label owner Thomas Brooman, entrepreneur Bob Hooton and singer Peter Gabriel, the first concert took two years to organize. Remembers Brooman: “It was a very physical, hand-held experience and in 1982, it was some achievement to pull all this off.” Surely, without cell phones, fax machines, e-mail and the Internet. Can you imagine writing a letter to artists in Indonesia, China and Nigeria because they didn’t have a landline and then waiting for their response? (For more about the exact challenges, read Brooman’s excellent article in tpi magazine.)
Image: DreamwizarD
With relatively little advance planning and even fewer advance sales (people just showed up on the day), it is little surprising that the festival almost folded before it really began. But a temporary reunion of Genesis and Peter Gabriel brought in the masses and therefore the money that helped establish WOMAD as a recognized musical event that was also financially viable.
Today, WOMAD is an international celebration with multiple stages, workshops, events and children’s activities – a festival for the whole family. Since the first festival in 1982 in the UK, there have been more than 160 worldwide in 27 countries, presenting over 1,000 artists from about 100 countries. The audience size has grown tremendously too: from a few thousand to over a million! In fact, WOMAD is in the 2001 Guinness Book as the biggest international music festival.
Other posts you may like: Uplifting quotes about music and life, Treat your body like a Temple, Enigma, Fantastic New age music Singers.
Other posts you may enjoy: Fall in Love with New World Music, Journey through New World Music, Traveling the Road to Lhasa.
Parada by new age music vocalist Marcomé
New age music artist singer Marcomé - song Parada South America, you’re lying in a hammock on the sea shore, yet, it’s strangely silent. You only feel the very light warm breeze caressing your face. It’s getting really warm. The air barely moves in the deep green...
New age music vocal artist Marcomé – Lux Eterna
New age music artist singer Marcomé new song - Lux Eterna Prepare to be enraptured by Marcomé's angelic voice, as she weaves a tapestry of profound emotions through her evocative voices and enchanting melodies. "Lux Eterna" is an ode to the enduring power of light and...
New age music with female vocals – Marcomé Song To Montanaro
Marcomé takes new age music to a new level with catchy rhythms and dreamy melodies and airy vocals. Female vocalist and proficient keyboardist, Marcomé has been touted as being Canada's counterpoint to Enya in 1994, and later 2002. But this most recent song called "To...
New age music female vocals on Spotify: meet Marcomé
Marcomé Voices & Music Marcomé has carved out a career both as a well-respected sound engineer and a musical artist. A super songstress whose mostly wordless vocals display anew why the human voice is that most incredible and flexible of all instruments. Her...
The Art of Space: Viva de La Luna – relaxing vocal music by Marcomé
There are times in life when you realize that the distance between you and your life seems to grow. After all those years of creation, it appeared to me that the journey never stops! Who am I, why am I here? are among all the questions that never ceased to haunt me....
Zen Voices Meditation Chants by New Age Music Artist Marcomé
Relaxing Music Artist Marcomé brings us deep in the moment with Zen Voices Meditation Chants. Blissful and profoundly relaxing, Zen Voices is a musical tale that envelops body & Soul. Marcomé's pure and sultry voices mingle graciously into nature's sounds and...
Zen Voices Meditation Chant Luminaria by New Age Music Artist Marcomé
New age Music Artist Marcomé brings us deep in the moment with Zen Voices Meditation Chants. Blissful and profoundly relaxing, Zen Voices is a musical tale that envelops body & Soul. Marcomé's pure and sultry voices mingle graciously into nature's sounds and...
Relaxing music: 1 Hour Meditation Love Prayer Chant by Marcomé
1 Hour Meditation music to relief stress, practice yoga or meditation and give or receive a massage or simply help to go to sleep! Of course you could use it for other purposes, I love calming background music when I cook! Marcomé ♥ “Through my love for you, I...
Peace in my heart by Marcomé
Peace in my heart is a love music song about dancing with life, caring for oneself and others. Slowly and gently, life brings us closer toward what we’re meant to become which is… Love! And that love to be fulfilling has to be unconditional. I sincerely wish you to...
Healing with Music Quotes
“Music makes people interpret their own emotions with the music and it makes them ponder their own life a lot: Am I happy in my work? Am I happy in my relationships? What am I striving for?” – Enya