A final change has been made to the WOMADelaide line-up for 2024, with Angelique Kidjo and Mildlife being added to the bill a week out from the festival kicking off. The two acts have been brought in as a replacement for Nitin Sawhney, who will be unable to travel to Australia due to a medical emergency.
“Can’t say what it is, but I’m about to go through something pretty major,” Sawhney tweeted yesterday. “Wish me luck.” WOMADelaide organisers, for their part, noted that they hope to have the London-based DJ and musician on a future line-up. “He is deeply saddened not to be able to travel at this time, but hopes to be back in the future,” they wrote in a statement. “We wish him a speedy recovery.”
Kidjo, who was already scheduled to perform in the city as part of Adelaide Festival next week, will now join the WOMADelaide line-up in Sawhney’s stead on the closing night of Monday March 11th. It will mark her first appearance at the festival since 2018. Since she was last at the festival, she has released two studio albums – Celia (2019) and Mother Nature (2021) – as well as two collaborative tracks with Sampa The Great, ‘Free & Equal’ and ‘Let Me Be Great’.
Angelique Kidjo – ‘Agolo’
Mildlife, meanwhile, are fresh from the release of their third studio album Chorus, which came out last Friday. Last month, the band announced a run of headlining shows in support of the album, which will take place across June and July 2024. The band will perform at WOMADelaide on its opening night this Friday, March 8th.
WOMADelaide’s 2024 festivities were first announced back in October 2023. In the first line-up announcement were acts such as José González, Gilberto Gil, WITCH and Yussef Dayes. The following month, more additions were made including Morcheeba, Jen Cloher, Mo’Ju and Lisa O’Neill. In total, over 70 artists will perform at the festival this year. Tickets for the four-day event are still available via the festival website.
Further Reading
Morcheeba Announce 2024 Australian Tour, Added to WOMADelaide Lineup
A Guide to Every Australian Music Festival Happening in 2023/24
