GRACE JONES REVEALED AS WOMADELAIDE SATURDAY NIGHT HEADLINER
WOMADelaide today announces the inimitable Jamaican singer Grace Jones as the Saturday night headliner for the 2026 festival, completing the extraordinary lineup for the celebration of music, arts and dance held over the March long weekend (6–9 March 2026) in Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla.
Jones, who emerged from the legendary Studio 54 nightclub in Manhattan, is a superstar, music legend, gay icon, art-rock symbol, Bond film villain, Keith Haring muse and so much more. With classic tracks such as ‘Pull Up to the Bumper’, ‘My Jamaican Guy’ and the enduring ‘Slave to the Rhythm’, The New York Times noted after her appearance on Beyonce’s 2022 Renaissance album that “pop music has been tattooed with Jones’s influence for 45 years”.
Jones promises to deliver an unforgettable live experience when she takes to the Foundation Stage for her WOMADelaide debut on Saturday night, 7 March. At age 77, her distinctive, husky voice is still as commanding as ever, and her powerful, theatrical stage presence is unrivalled.
“In the annals of pop music and fashion, there has simply never been anyone else on earth quite like her—strong, severe, and otherworldly in every way, Jones has blazed a trail through popular culture over the past four decades that remains unrivalled in terms of boldfaced originality.” – Pitchfork
WOMADelaide’s lineup for 2026 – which showcases 600+ artists in 70 groups from 38 countries – will deliver a four-day festival unlike any other in Australia.
Jones joins the recently announced Arrested Development, who were the first hip-hop artists to win Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards, one of Africa’s greatest female voices and activists Oumou Sangaré, beloved Italian pop icon Jovanotti, Canadian jazz-fusion group BADBADNOTGOOD, American gospel family band Annie & The Caldwells – whose latest album was been praised by the likes of Sir Elton John – and psychedelic Amsterdam-based six-piece Nusantara Beat, whose music is a nod to their Indonesian roots.
Other sonic joys set to hit the WOMADelaide stage in 2026 include iconic Australian bandYothu Yindi, celebrating 35 years of Tribal Voice, Yolngu rapper and dancer Baker Boy, Scandinavian female folk group Åkervinda, Marlon Williams, complete with Kapa Haka group Ngā Mātai Pūrua, the Afro-funk Fred again.. collaborator Obongjayar, and many more.
“What an utterly inimitable artist Grace Jones continues to be.” – The Guardian
Quote from WOMADelaide Director, Ian Scobie: “We are delighted to have the one and only Grace Jones join us for WOMADelaide. She is guaranteed to bring a thrilling and memorable energy to the 2026 festival.”
Quote from Minister for Tourism South Australia, Zoe Bettison: “Adding Grace Jones to the already strong WOMADelaide lineup is hugely exciting for the festival and our State. Each year, WOMADelaide transforms our glorious Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla into another world celebrating art, culture, and connection in the heart of Adelaide – and 2026 will be no different. I welcome everyone to lock in their plans and experience why South Australia is officially the Best Event State.”
The full A-Z list of WOMADelaide 2026 artists is:
- Åkervinda (Sweden)
- Alcides Neto (Brazil/AUS)
- Alfio Antico & Go Dugong (Italy)
- Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy (Ghana)
- Annahstasia (USA)
- Annie & The Caldwells (USA)
- Any Young Mechanic (AUS)
- Arrested Development (USA)
- Ashkan Shafiei (Iran/AUS)
- Asmâa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou (Morocco)
- Australian Art Orchestra with Kojoe & Hikaru Tanaka — Raw Denshi (Japan/AUS)
- BADBADNOTGOOD (Canada)
- Baker Boy (AUS)
- Balaganesan & Bageswari (India)
- BARKAA (AUS)
- Beoga (Ireland)
- Bhutan Balladeers (Bhutan)
- Blinky Bill (Kenya)
- Bobby Alu (Samoa/AUS)
- Born in a Taxi – Higher Order, Illuminati, Please Wait Here, Sleep Keepers & Zebras(AUS)
- BVT (Philippines/AUS)
- Chloe Loftus Dance – The Air Between Us (NZ/Belgium)
- Cie Hors Surface – Le poids des Nuages & HOME, Damien Droin (France)
- Crazy P (DJ set) (UK)
- Daughters of Donbas (Ukraine/Canada)
- Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek (Germany)
- Džambo Aguševi Orchestra (Macedonia)
- Fantastic Negrito (USA)
- Ganavya (India/USA)
- GANNA (Ukraine)
- Georgia Knight (AUS)
- Grace Jones (Jamaica)
- Iron & Wine (USA)
- Jalen Ngonda (USA/UK)
- Jovanotti (Italy)
- Jyoty (UK)
- KAIIT (PNG/AUS)
- Kankawa Nagarra (AUS)
- La Perla (Colombia)
- The Lazy Eyes (AUS)
- Lewis Major Projects – Triptych REDUX (AUS)
- MĀ (NZ)
- Mama Kin Spender (AUS)
- Mantis (Vanuatu)
- Marlon Williams (NZ)
- Maryam Rahmani (Iran/AUS)
- Meganesia (PNG/AUS/West Papua)
- Megatronic (UK)
- Mungo’s Hi Fi feat. Eva Lazarus (UK)
- MY BABY (The Netherlands/NZ)
- My Chérie (South Africa/AUS)
- Nattali Rize (AUS/Jamaica)
- The Necks (AUS)
- Nusantara Beat (The Netherlands)
- Obongjayar (Nigeria/UK)
- Orange Blossom (France)
- Osadía (Spain)
- Oumou Sangaré (Mali)
- Roberto Fonseca (Cuba)
- Rosas – Rosas danst Rosas, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker (Belgium)
- Sama’ Abdulhadi (Palestine)
- SAN DRAGAN (Myanmar/China/AUS)
- Stan’s Café – Of All The People In All The World & The Commentators (UK)
- Troy Cassar-Daley (AUS)
- Xylourides (Greece)
- YASHA (Japan/AUS)
- Yothu Yindi (AUS)
- Yuka Okazaki (Japan/France)
- The Zawose Queens (Tanzania)
- Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange (AUS)
Tickets and more information can be found at: womadelaide.com.au
