Africa Oye versus Womad

[Purpledawn]

I just thought it would be interesting to share the comments that a few of my Facebook friends made regarding Womad in a post about Africa Oye. These folks were seasoned Womaders who have decided that they no longer want to attend because they feel that Womad has lost it's soul since moving to Charlton Park. Here's a few of the comments that I thought you might find interesting:

" Why I love Africa Oye over WOMAD" said my pal, and serial attender Wendi "is the mix of the audience. You hardly ever see a black face in the audience at WOMAD" . And she was right. There was a real mix in the lovely friendly crowd. And all ages...people brought their kids, their aunties, their dogs, their picnics. Shimmying round barbecues... sipping wine in the sunshine. The odd whiff of weed. The wall-to-wall sunshine did help.A right good, free to all, life-affirming do. It's what everyone needed in these strange times.

Several other folks went on to compare Africa Oye to Womad as follows:

"The audience vibe better, the presence of masses of children & teenagers, groups of Angolan, Ivoirean & Zimbabwean ex-pats revelling in seeing their stars live, a vast array of stalls, good-naturedness, most of all an ATMOSPHERE, which WOMAD has sadly lacked since its slide into the Songlines corporate exotic holiday promoter role. WOMAD lost a fair bit of spirit around the turn of the millennium and they show little sign of regaining it and no interest in siting it where British festival​-goers can access it without several days drive (slight exaggeration but it frequently feels like that)".

"They don't want 'festival-goers' at WOMAD any more".

"Dead right, we went right off WOMAD a few years into Charlton Park. An anaemic sanitised event now".

"The industrial estate in Reading was marvellous..."

I have mixed feelings about Charlton Park. At first I hated it and decided not to go for a couple of years because it was so different to the Reading vibe. For me, Reading was special because of the random pop-up parties, the drumming circles and all night adventures. However, Charlton Park is a much more pleasant venue and although I agree with most of what my friends have said, I wouldn't miss it now for anything.

[mikey]

Never went to Womad at Reading so cannot comment on that. But do like the rich array of world music and, dare I say, not just African music which some would like to dominate the whole weekend (I first went to Womad to fulfill an ambition to see Taraf de Haidouks live).
No complaints about the charlton park site and why discriminate against more rural locations by insisting festivals have to be the city.
And yet each year womad seems to introduce little things which appear more for commercial benefit than celebrating world music. It is nice to have the world of well being with people who work hard to make a living from the summer festivals, but is the spa an essential element? And why oh why do spa patrons need to have a back stage pass as part of the package?
The main stage was in the perfect position, but why was it moved last year, was it really because the organisers thought this was for the better or to fit in more food and merchandise outlets.
Do we really need a mini train?

On the other hand, womad costs a fortune to put on, bringing artists from all round the world to perform just at Womad ( ok it most likely runs at a deficit which someone kindly bails out each year). It could become a heck of a lot more commercial but doesn't. And following recent events, cost of security and policing may go up considerably this year.

All things considered, would not have it any other way.

[mikey]

Oh and if talking about atmosphere at Womad, then that is something we can work on ourselves. Looking forward to seeing Dels exclusive outfits.