Yothu Yindi in WOMADelaide artist lineup for 2026
WOMADelaide Festival organisers have released details of first acts for 2026, including iconic Australian band Yothu Yindi – who will celebrate 35 years of their ARIA-award winning album Tribal Voice.
Programming an artist who has never had the opportunity to play at WOMADelaide Festival delivers a unique thrill for the event’s long-time director Ian Scobie.
Announcing the first 49 artists for WOMADelaide 2026, Scobie says he is particularly excited about Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. The remaining 15 performers will be announced in late November.
“Presenting an artist or style of work which might be new to our audiences is a thrill and next year’s exclusive Australian performances of the extraordinary groundbreaking choreographic work of Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker with Rosas danst Rosas will be a highlight,” Scobie says.
“We are of course excited to be able to bring hundreds of amazing artists together and being surrounded by our ‘WOMAD family’.
A diverse cross section of artists from a variety of places including Bhutan, the Kimberleys, Cuba, India, France, Greece and Ukraine will take to Adelaide’s Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla over the long weekend of March 6 to March 9 .
They include iconic Australian band Yothu Yindi who will celebrate 35 years since the release of their ARIA-award winning album Tribal Voice.
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London-based Nigerian artist Obongjayar, who featured on the Fred again.. smash hit ‘adore u’, is in the lineup along with New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams, complete with Kapa Haka group Ngā Mātai Pūrua, 82-year-old First Nations gospel singer Kankawa Nagarra, and Palestinian DJ Sama’ Abdulhadi – who makes a return to WOMAD after seven years.
WOMADelaide associate director Annette Tripodi says the organisation received more than 600 proposals from artists keen to take part in the 2026 line up, with 65 groups in the final mix.
“We start with a wish list of artists we’d love to have in the program, some of whom may be artists who were not available on our last attempt because they were on another tour, or recording a new album at the time, for example,” Tripodi says.
“And it is always exciting to have an artist from a country we have not previously had represented at the festival – with Bhutan a first next year as the Bhutan Balladeers make their first visit to Australia for WOMADelaide.
“Every year is a fresh adventure. If an artist is making a return to the festival, there are usually a few years between visits.
“We listen to, read about and see as many artists live as we can to try and create an excellent, diverse and entertaining mix of established and emerging artists, and traditional and contemporary sounds from across the globe. Little by little, the program starts to take shape and decisions about ‘who’s next to invite’ become clearer.”
Other musical offerings over the four days next year include all-female Gnawa group Asmâa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou (Morocco), Australian Troy Cassar-Daley performing with a South Australian string quartet, Xylourides (Greece), The Zawose Queens (Tanzania), Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy (Ghana), Jyoty (UK), Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek (Turkiye), Džambo Aguševi Orchestra (Macedonia), GANNA (Ukraine) and La Perla (Colombia).
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Returning in 2026 are WOMADelaide favourites such as Taste the World – where artists are invited to cook dishes from home, the WoMarkets, a hub of more than 40 retail stalls, the KidZone with hands-on arts activities for children; the Planet Talks sessions discussing environmental and other global issues and solutions and The Sanctuary Restaurant at Adelaide Zoo.
Ticket prices and options vary, with a four-day adult ticket costing $465. There are also concession and youth options available and children 12 and under are free.
When it comes to ticket cost, Scobie says “WOMADelaide isn’t just another music festival”.
“It is a unique experience across four unforgettable days in the stunning Botanic Park. There really is nothing else like it – not in scale, not in spirit, not in how it makes audiences feel to be part of it,” he says.
“The entry ticket isn’t just entry to a festival or to see a specific artist; it’s four full days and nights of live performances, with over 700 artists from every corner of the globe across eight stages. It includes incredible music, dance, art, workshops, markets, talks and a celebration of cultures unlike anything else in Australia.”
For those who have never engaged with the festival, Tripodi says, “Dive in, come for a day, bring your friends and family and see how truly beautiful it is. We find that most people who attend for their first time return again and again, without hesitation.”
Details of the Planet Talks program will be released in January.
The full list of WOMADelaide artists announced today is:
- Åkervinda (Sweden)
- Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy (Ghana)
- Annahstasia (USA)
- Any Young Mechanic (AUS)
- Ashkan Shafiei (Iran/AUS)
- Asmâa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou (Morocco)
- Australian Art Orchestra with Kojoe & Hikaru Tanaka — Raw Denshi (Japan/AUS)
- 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 and Zebras (AUS)
- BVT (Phillipines/AUS)
- Chloe Loftus Dance – The Air Between Us (NZ)
- 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 (Turkiye)
- Džambo Aguševi Orchestra (Macedonia)
- Ganavya (India/USA)
- GANNA (Ukraine)
- Iron & Wine (USA)
- Jalen Ngonda (USA/UK)
- Jyoty (UK)
- Kankawa Nagarra (AUS)
- La Perla (Colombia)
- The Lazy Eyes (AUS)
- Lewis Major Projects – Triptych REDUX (AUS)
- MĀ (NZ)
- Mantis (Vanuatu)
- Marlon Williams (NZ)
- Maryam Rahmani (Iran/AUS)
- My Chérie (South Africa/AUS)
- Nattali Rize (AUS/Jamaica)
- Obongjayar (Nigeria/UK)
- Orange Blossom (France)
- Osadía (Spain)
- Roberto Fonseca (Cuba)
- Rosas – Rosas danst Rosas, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker (Belgium)
- Sama’ Abdulhadi (Palestine)
- Sn Dragan (AUS)
- Stan’s Café – Of All The People In All The World & The Commentators (UK)
- Troy Cassar-Daley (AUS)
- Xylourides (Greece)
- Yothu Yindi (AUS)
- Yuka Okazaki (Japan/France)
- The Zawose Queens (Tanzania)
WOMADelaide Festival, March 6-9, Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, for more information go to womadelaide.com.au
