Womad 2017 review - the perfect family festival
Womad is that rarest of festival beasts - a long-established and much-cherished annual get-together that has expanded without losing its heart.
Thirty five years since the first event took place, 35,000 people descended on the beautiful setting of Charlton Park in Wiltshire for Womad 2017.
It’s a festival that has retained its family feel. Family in the sense that there are clearly many regular faces, and family in the sense you couldn’t find a better way to introduce your kids to the festival experience.
It says a lot that even a typically temperamental British summer did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the two youngest members of our camping party, aged four and six.
The site manages to be both compact enough for even of the smallest of legs to navigate yet big enough for festival-goes to stumble across new delights every day.
Whilst the adults entertained themselves with some of the best in world music, the kids had a ball in the children’s field.
Some of the fun was decidedly old-fashioned and all the better for it - our six-year-old had a ball learning how to make paper aeroplanes and fly them around the obstacle course.
Our youngest, meanwhile, was enthralled making a spectacular bird headdress for the traditional Sunday night parade.
Regardless of the delights for children, the music is still what draws most people to Womad and it was an eclectic mix of old and new.
Among the highlights for were reggae legends Toots and the Maytals, who helped a huge Saturday night crowd ignore the rain.
Brilliant Swedish psychedelic outfit Goat gave a predictably unpredictable performance in the Siam tent.
We also loved Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté and Loyle Carner, even if we had to race to cover the kids’ ears during certain parts of the London rapper’s set. Eliza McCarthy delivered a memorable performance on the main stage.
Even the acts we had been previously unaware of served up the goods. I consider myself reasonably musically-literate, but had to confess to being ignorant of Friday headliners Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra - although my lack of prior knowledge didn’t detract from my enjoyment of a barnstorming set.
The festival ended on a high when it was announced that Womad is extending its stay at Charlton Park until at least 2030 - we’ll be back, and we expect everyone else will be too.
