WOMADelaide reveals 2027 line-up marking 35 years of The World's Festival

South Australia's revered WOMADelaide festival has been bringing top-tier sounds, arts and culture from around the world to Adelaide since 1992.

Dubbed The World's Festival, the appeal is obvious: Come for the international drawcards, stay for a smorgasbord of fresh musical discoveries. 

The 2027 line-up is no exception.

The first instalment of the event's 35th-anniversary edition features 36 artists who'll enliven Bonython Park on Kaurna Country over four days in March.

Leading the announcement is British dance music royalty Underworld. Best known for their iconic Trainspotting needle drop Born Slippy .NUXX, the duo have been delivering vital electronica and intense, uplifting shows for more than 40 years.

Making his WOMADelaide debut is Texan soul sensation Leon Bridges. A revered performer blessed with a silky croon, he'll aim to get people up and moving with his feel-good, groove-laden new album Happiness Anytime.

Jetting from Quebec to Australia for the first time is Angine de Poitrine, who swiftly went viral with their paper mâché, polka-dotted alien look and peculiar yet hypnotic take on instrumental rock.

British ska pop icons Madness return down under for the first time in a decade, armed with all their hits: Our House, It Must Be Love, Baggy Trousers, One Step Beyond and House Of Fun. 

Stage and screen actress-turned-acclaimed singer-songwriter, Fatoumata Diawara, who has made fans out of everyone from Disclosure and Nubiyan Twist to Gorillaz with her soulful Malian roots music and sensational voice, is also on the bill.

World-famous nomadic Tuareg group Tinariwen are back in the country, this time showcasing the blazing West African desert blues of their latest album, Hoggar, filled with songs of protest, hope and connection.

Other stand-outs include Dutch-Turkish crew Altin Gün, who excel at Anatolian psych-rock, carnivalesque LA synth-pop duo Haute & Freddy, groundbreaking Spanish vocalist-composer Maria Arnal, and London-based DJ, label head and Boiler Room original, Bradley Zero.

Closer to home, Australian icon Christine Anu invites you to join her party and culturally diverse musical roots. Also on the bill is prolific First Nations rapper-producer Trials and his solo debut Hendle, while Ngaiire will showcase emerging PNG talent from her mentorship program Musik Blok.

There's also returning luminaries such as Kyiv-based DakhaBrakha who blend Ukranian folk and contemporary sounds, and Indian violin virtuoso Dr. L. Subramaniam, who played the first-ever WOMADelaide.

"To have stood the test of time and become one of Australia's longest running and most cherished festivals is an enormous honour," festival director Ian Scobie said in a statement.

"But what makes it truly special is that the spirit of discovery, connection and celebration that sparked WOMADelaide in 1992 is as alive today as ever."

In that spirit, you can investigate Japan's ex-punks Seppuku Pistols, India's first all-female hip hop collective Wild Wild Women, Irish folksters The Haar, Afro-psychedelic Soweto seven-piece BCUC, the empowering dub of Jamaica's Hempress Sativa, and innovative accordion player Yegor Zabelov from Belarus.

There's plenty more for adventurous ears to unpack next March, and in WOMADelaide's upcoming artist additions.

Here's the first artist announcement:

Altin Gün, Ambiguous Dance Company, Angine De Poitrine, BCUC, Bhutan Balladeers, Bradley Zero, Christine Anu, Claudio Rabe, DakhaBraka, Dr. L. Subramaniam, El Laberinto del Copo, Eilza Hull, Fatoumata Diawara, Gravity & Other Myths and SAZ — Mortal Coil, Haute & Freddy, The Haar, Hempress Sativa, Jamaica Moana, Kenny Dope, Khun Narin, Leon Bridges, Les Goulus — The Horsemen, Equicoaches and Cupids, Luke Jerram — Helios, Madness, Mambe, Maria Arnal, Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, Musik Blokby Ngaiire, Seamas Carey – Community Service,Seppuku Pistols, Tarta Relena, Tinariwen, Trials, Underworld, Wild Wild Women, Yegor Zabelov

WOMADelaide runs from March 5 to March 8 in Adelaide's Bonython Park on Kaurna Land. Tickets are on sale.