THIS JUST IN: Ziggy Marley and Kim So Ra pull out of WOMAD 2020

Ziggy Marley

WOMAD NZ has today announced that, unfortunately, Ziggy Marley will no longer be performing at the festival Friday 13 March, TSB Bowl Of Brooklands, Brooklands Park New Plymouth.

The statement received from Ziggy Marley is as follows:

“I would like to apologise to all the music fans in New Zealand and Australia. Unfortunately, I won’t be making it down there for the music festival, the WOMAD music festival next weekend. I had some unforeseen family responsibilities that came up and I have to take care of it. I always love coming. I was really looking forward to this trip and we haven’t been there in a while so it was really sad that we’re not making it but alas, next year at the WOMAD festivals we will be there and so we will see you then. My apologies to everyone – WOMAD crew, music fans, music lovers, everyone. My apologies, but we’ll see you next year.” 

WOMAD NZ Director, Emere Wano, said there will be many upset, including herself that Ziggy Marley would no longer be coming to the festival.

“We are of course disappointed that Ziggy will no longer be joining us at WOMAD NZ 2020, but we understand and respect his decision that whānau come first in this situation. We are working quickly to secure a new artist to fill Ziggy’s Friday night timeslot, and we will announce the new artist in the coming days.” 

Odette

The festival still features more than 40 other incredible performances over 3 days, including award-winning Australian based singer Odette who we are excited to announce has joined our WOMAD NZ line up after embarking on numerous shows from as far afield as Dublin, London, Zurich and Paris.

British born, Odette has made her mark on the international music scene, the release of her highly acclaimed debut To A Stranger sparked a legion of growing fans and admirers resulting in the record amassing nearly 30 million streams, two consecutive Triple J Hottest 100 entries and two nominations in at the 2018 ARIAs including 'Breakthrough Artist.'

Deeply personal and captivating in presence, Odette is one not to miss and will be playing Saturday at 6.15pm and Sunday 2 pm on the Gables Stage.

Kim So Ra

In response to the New Zealand Government's travel restrictions, which have been put in place to manage the COVID-19, WOMAD NZ regrets that Kim So Ra (South Korea) is no longer be able to travel to New Zealand for WOMAD 2020.

“While this means changes to our schedule, we are very much looking forward to welcoming people to the 16th WOMAD here in Taranaki” - Emere Wano. 

WOMAD NZ 2020 will be held from 13-15 March in TSB Bowl Of Brooklands and Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, Taranaki.

COMING TO WOMAD 2020: Ziggy Marley

The call to stand together in activism through love rings out loud and clear from this eight-time Grammy Award-winning musician and reggae icon.  Singer, songwriter, producer, author, humanitarian and visionary, if anybody can encourage change through music, it’s Ziggy Marley. As much as he upholds a family legacy that began with his father, Bob Marley, he’s blazed a trail of his own.

His seventh studio album, Rebellion Rises, is a positive and peaceful manifesto for hope and change.

Make Sure you're at WOMAD on Friday Night, when Ziggy plays.  

See the WOMAD 2020 Schedule Here

Check out his Website Here

Check out his new album on Spotify: