It’s time to start counting down the days until WOMADelaide is on again! Day one kicks off at 6 pm on Friday the 9th of March and the Festival finishes up around midnight on Sunday the 11th of March.

We’ve made it a little easier for you and picked out the events that we think you’ll enjoy.

Blue King Brown

The brainchild of percussionists Natalie Pa’apa’a and Carlo Santone, Blue King Brown incorporates touches of reggae, afro-beat, Polynesian and Latin music, underscored by the fiery vocals and political lyrics of Pa’apa’a.

Circle of Rhythm

Celebrated rhythm-makers Greg Sheehan, Bobby Singh* and Ben Walsh (previously with Pablo Percusso, Skin and Utungan Percussion) will be joined at WOMADelaide by guests Sarangan Sriranganathan on sitar and vocals, and multi-instrumentalist Matt (Mathew) Ostila, paying homage to multicultural Australia with modern percussive power that remains respectful of tradition.

Gotan Project

The ultimate in tango-cool, this Paris-based ensemble The Gotan Project features French DJ Philippe Cohen-Solal, Swiss programmer Christoph H. Müller and Argentinian guitarist Eduardo Makaroff helping to create a smouldering blend of techno-tango – part saloon-sophisticated, part-nostalgia, part street-cred funky. The live show is accompanied by stunning projections.

Femi Kuti & The Positive Force

Eldest son of the late Afro-beat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti, singer/saxophonist Femi Kuti respects his father’s formidable political-funk-for-the-people legacy with his own steaming group. The Positive Force creates modern Afro-beat with biting lyrics, pulsating rhythms, complex sax-driven jazz-funk and phenomenal dancers.

Mr Scruff

Manchester’s Mr Scruff (Andy Carthy) has been mixing it up on UK dancefloors since the early 1990s. His eclectic sets include surreal funk, deep house, rocksteady reggae, breakbeat, electronica, African hip-hop and Latin – as have his remixes for Dub Syndicate, Nightmares On Wax and Badly Drawn Boy.

Fat Freddy’s Drop

This Wellington group Fat Freddy’s Drop deep-dub has plenty of phat beats and basslines – but no drummer or bass player. Bandleader Chris Faiumu (aka DJ Fitchie) mixes the soulful groove, underpinned by singer Dallas Tamaira (aka Joe Dukie), some reggae-tinged guitar, funky keyboards and a killer horn section.

San Lazaro

Greek/Macedonian percussionist Lazare Agneskis formed this nine-piece band after returning to Melbourne from a lengthy stay in Cuba, fusing the rhythms of reggae, hip-hop and cumbia with funky horns and MC rhyming. Joining San Lazaro at WOMADelaide is esteemed Cuban dancer Aloy Junco Bell.

Celenod

The traditional music of New Caledonia’s Kanak people has been shaped into the modern form of kaneka by Celenod – an acoustic mix of dance percussion, polyphonic vocals, acoustic guitars and contemporary instrumentation.

Bill Cobham

Panamanian-born Bill Cobham has been drummer of choice for jazz icons from Miles Davis to Oscar Peterson and is undoubtedly one of the best kit drummers in the world. Bill has also explored music in worldly collaborations with Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana and L.Subramaniam amongst others.

Mad Professor

Neil Fraser, aka UK dub and reggae producer The Mad Professor, has pushed stereo technology to the limit on more than 150 albums since 1981, from Massive Attack, the Beastie Boys and Jamiroquai, to his own Dub Me Crazy series. On stage, he presents a fully live electronic dub show with radical digital equipment manipulation.

Tickets can be bought through the WOMADelaide website – http://www.womadelaide.com.au/