In a Womad rush
No-shows and Covid19 fail to quell festival’s spirit and sounds.
Was this our last dance? The last hurrah under the darkening shadow of the new Sars coronavirus? As Auckland’s Pasifika Festival was cancelled and the service to mark the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings shelved, 17,000 people filed into New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park for the city’s 16th Womad festival.
Optimistic? A year ago, it was Andrew Little who opened Womad after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern rushed back to Wellington following news of the shootings. This year, he returned to launch the three-day event as a celebration of inclusivity, cultural diversity and togetherness: “We will reflect on that event [of 2019] and welcome those who come here and make New Zealand their home.”
Reckless? Canisters of hand sanitiser hung in bathrooms, queues for wash basins snaked through passageways; hugs and hongi, we were told, would give way to elbow bumps and raised eyebrows in the world’s first no-contact Womad. But still they came – a swarm of Kiwis fitted out in Birkenstocks and fairy lights, glittery facepaint and sunblock.
As hands-on grandparents, first-time attendees Bruce and Elizabeth from Auckland did have “some thoughts”, but seeing the Blind Boys of Alabama was too enticing. “We were worried about what family would think – they are okay, but it will be interesting when we get back. Most people are pretty careful.”
“If it had been cancelled, I’d have understood but I would have been disappointed,” said Shane from Christchurch. “But we are not worried – we’re just pleased to be here.”
Some acts didn’t show: Korea’s Kim So Ra because of travel restrictions, headliner reggae star Ziggy Marley for “unforeseen family responsibilities”, but this was made up for by an upbeat and unfaltering Shapeshifter performance.
Within that slightly potholed beginning, there were some star acts. Belgium-based brass band KermesZ à l’Est kicked off the Friday with a high-energy mix of fireside Balkan traditions and punk bravado. Ghana’s King Ayisoba brought a range of ab-taxing dance moves and percussive beats and Scottish band RURA moved swiftly from toe-twitching rhythm to pensive melody in an accomplished mix of guitar, fiddle, bodhrán and bagpipe.
On Saturday, ex-San Francisco, ex-Lyttelton singer-songwriter Reb Fountain took to the demanding space of the TSB Bowl stage with a lingering, haunting, pitchperfect performance that was one of the best of the weekend.
The next day, Chris Dent – the Albi of Kiwi band Albi and the Wolves – assured us Sunday was Womad’s dessert course. And it was. The extraordinarily accomplished, varied and provocative 10-piece Minyo Crusaders remixed the Japanese folk tradition of min'yō with Latin American, African and Caribbean rhythms.
New York’s Flor de Toloache, an all-female Mexican/Puerto Rican ensemble, scaled the range of voice with defiant panache; Destyn Maloya from Réunion combined sound and spectacle in a high-energy performance of African/Creole percussion, costume and dance; renowned Afro-pop musician Salif Keita from Mali took us down another rabbit hole of cultural and political protest and celebration; Orquesta Akokán, a 12-piece big-band collective from Havana, channelled the smooth swing of pre-revolution Cuba.
Top of the bill was the Womad-spirited collaboration between NZ’s the Black Quartet and Mali’s Trio Da Kali.
Top of the bill was the consummate Womad-spirited collaboration between New Zealand string quartet the Black Quartet, who played a spellbinding set with cellist Rachel Wells the day before (marred only by Elton John and Queen covers), and the stunning vocals and percussion of Mali’s Trio Da Kali. It was dynamic, flawless and joyous.
“There’s a different energy now,” said Mike from Canterbury. “It felt a little uneasy yesterday, with the virus and the mosque-shooting anniversary. We had no second thoughts [about coming to Womad], but I wonder if that feeling of ‘should we be here?’ was feeding into that slight apprehension.”
For many of the artists, the apprehension lingers – future gigs hang in the balance – but for the thousands of perhaps reckless music fans, a patchy start rolled out into a stellar final day.