Ten years. It’s been ten years. If that doesn’t make you feel old, then the line-up at this year’s WOMAD (World of Music, Arts & Dance) anniversary festival will. The main players have been selected from years past, a choice that can either be looked at as something really special, or really boring. Fortunately, the line-up is interesting enough that we’re going with the former, more optimistic perspective. On Friday, the uplifting Asian Dub Foundation (UK) headline; Saturday’s big name is Youssou N’Dour (pictured); and the final performers, on Sunday, are Daara J from Senegal. In between, we’ll see acts including Bobby Friction and Sheila Chandra. True, our branch of Peter Gabriel’s world-connecting concert doesn’t have the breadth or weight of the UK one, which celebrates its 25th this year, but ours has been here for a decade, and that’s quite impressive considering how much Singapore’s music scene (of both local and international artists) has grown in that time. And the organisers are looking to expand even further – there’s talk of making it a camp-out festival like its sister events in coming years. In the meantime, Fort Canning has extended its size to accommodate an expected attendance of more than 20,000. With a new holistic corner, cooking workshops and WOMAD margaritas on offer, all tastes (aural and culinary) should be catered to.

Full Artist List for Womad Singapore 2007
Asian Dub Foundation, Bobby Friction & Nihal, Clube do Balanco, Daara J, David D'Or, Ensemble Shanbehzadeh, Etran Finatawa, Johnny Kalsi (of Dhol Foundation), Mahotella Queens, Muntu Valdo, Oki Dub Ainu Band, R-H, Sheila Chandra, Shooglenifty, Youssou N'Dour and The Super Etoile de Dakar.

Click here for Womad Singapore website