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WOMADelaide Expands 2025 Festival Lineup.

WOMADelaide has today revealed 25 more outstanding artists for its 2025 festival, led by three global icons: the Queen of Afropop, Yemi Alade (Nigeria), and Grammy-nominated reggae/dancehall star Protoje & The Indiggnation (Jamaica), and legendary 90s hip-hop trio Digable Planets (USA).

They join 48 previously-announced artists, including Róisín Murphy (Ireland), PJ Harvey (UK), Mariza (Portugal), Khruangbin (USA), and Nitin Sawhney (UK), in Adelaide’s lush Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla from 7–10 March 2025.

‘The world’s festival’ is a vibrant annual celebration of music, arts, and dance, bringing the world to Adelaide while championing and providing a national platform for homegrown Australian talent.

Grammy-winning singer, actor and activist Yemi Alade(Nigeria) resonates with audiences worldwide. Seamlessly merging Afropop, dancehall, Amapiano, rumba, Afrobeat, reggae, and R’n’B, Alade’s dynamic discography and spectacular live shows have seen her win two MTV African Music awards, two nominations for the BET awards, and become the first African woman to be nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Born into a musical family, Protoje & The Indiggnation (Jamaica) blends hip hop, soul and jazz into the sounds of his native reggae and dancehall. A key figure in the ‘reggae revival’ movement, he gained mainstream recognition with Who Knows featuring Chronixx released in 2015. With a career-spanning seven albums, collaborations with artists like Jorja Smith and Alicia Keys, and two Grammy nominations – he continues to shape the sound of modern reggae.

Pioneers of jazz-informed hip hop, Digable Planets (USA) continue to captivate audiences over 30 years after their debut. Bursting onto the scene in 1993 and known for Grammy-winning hits like Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) they will perform their seminal release Blowout Comb, alongside a selection of their most iconic tracks.

Today’s announcement also includes contemporary folk singer-songwriter Bess Atwell (UK) and Nana Benz du Togo (Togo), whose ceremonial electro-voodoo-soul sound fuses hand-made instruments with electronic beats and powerful female voices. While Inuk artist Elisapie (Canada) – from a remote village in Nunavik, Quebec – has a powerful connection to her homeland, with its harsh environmental beauty and indigenous Inuktitut language shaping her music.

Electrifying London duo O. (UK) – baritone saxophonist Joe Henwood and drummer Tash Keary – deliver a fierce blend of jazz, metal and breakbeats. Peruvian-born, Berlin-based DJ SofiaKourtesis (Peru), mixes Latin American vibrancy with Berlin’s club energy. Kourtesis has performed at major international festivals including Glastonbury and Primavera, and earned accolades from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian, and The New York Times.

Sydney/Eora based artist DEVAURA (NZ/Aus) is a rising force in the Australian music scene whose music explores themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, reflecting her resilience as a queer, first-generation immigrant. Owelu Dreamhouse (Aus), a new ten-piece outfit created by Nkechi Anele and Nic Ryan-Glenie from Saskwatch, combines psychedelic soul with West African musical traditions.

The internationally acclaimed Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir (Aus) blends baroque choral arrangements with ancient sacred songs in Western Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara languages. And in celebration of the 50th year of Papua New Guinea’s Independence, The Australian Art Orchestra’s (AAO) Artistic Director Aaron Choulai has created a stunning choral concert, Ane Ta Abia, in collaboration with the 12-piece Tatana Village Choir.

The annual WOMADelaide x Northern Sound System Academy music development program unearths Adelaide’s newest and brightest emerging stars, with artists Bousta and Meena De Silva selected from the recent Academy Showcase set to perform at the 2025 festival. Bousta, a proud Eastern Arrernte man who shares his time between Alice Springs/Mparntwe and Adelaide/Tarntanya, is an exciting hip-hop MC who raps in English and Arrernte. De Silva, a Sri Lankan-Australian pop/R&B artist, melds her classical training with modern influences and soulful vocals.

French street theatre pioneers ilotopie (France), return to Adelaide for the first time since appearing at the 1992 Adelaide Festival in the Around the Park program with Les Gens de Couleur (Coloured People). This surreal, interactive performance transforms brightly painted performers into living sculptures, captivating audiences with poetic and thought-provoking encounters. Dear Stranger, from the mind of acclaimed actor Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Aus), turns letter-writing into an adventure, creating a joyful exchange of anonymous stories and unexpected human connections between strangers.

Sanctuary Restaurant returns in 2025, offering a refined dining experience inspired by Australia’s native ingredients and botanical richness. With views across Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla guests can enjoy shared plates featuring locally-sourced ingredients and bold native flavours led by Executive Chef Jamie Musgrave, Restaurant Botanic.

WOMADelaide returns to Adelaide’s Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla from 7-10 March 2025. For tickets, the full lineup and more information visit: www.womadelaide.com.au

A-Z of artists announced today: