Portrait

world of music, arts and dance, otherwise known as WOMAD, is a huge international organization that is synonymous with some of the worlds biggest and most extravagent festivals, carnivals and celebrations of music and dance and most other forms of art. brazil, the united states of america, africa, singapore are just a few of the exotic locations that have played host to WOMAD festivals over the past decade or so, WOMAD organizing sometimes more than 15 festivals in one year, across the globe. this year, as many of you may have already noticed, good ole colombo has been picked as the newest hot-spot on the WOMAD map.

without further ado, i suggest that ALL OF YOU do not miss this opportunity to get your lazy asses down to the WOMAD sri lanka festival of drums events starting…well, today. its already begun. there is a fantastic line-up, and i cant even begin to imagine what a wonderful experience this is going to be. there are drummers and musicians from all corners of the world, japan, burundi, USA, india, iran, colombia, UK, cuba…and ofcourse, sri lanka itself. over the next five days, staying rooted mostly in colombo, but moving to negombo and kandy for an acoustic concert in each city, WOMAD has organized a breathtaking festival and this is not be missed. for a detailed overview of the entire programme of events, times and locations, i suggest you take a look at the WOMAD site, but here’s the basic gist…

at the galle face green : a free event. with performances by all artists on two stages, with workshops and the stalls that create the ‘global village’. saturday the 24th and sunday the 25th, from 6.00pm to 12.00mn.

at the bishop’s college auditorium : performances by various artists on various nights, this will be a seated theatre event for which entrance will be by ticket (rs. 2800/-) only. wednesday the 21st to friday the 23rd 7.30pm to 10.00pm, and saturday the 24th 3.30pm to 6.30pm.

at the gallery on the beira lake : a free event, workshops conducted by the artists performing at the festival, giving anyone the chance to meet and learn from the artists themselves. thursday the 22nd, to sunday 25th from 5.00pm to 7.00pm.
: club sessions with DJ sets as well as WOMAD artists jamming together to bring you a night of fun. entrance by ticket (rs. 1500/-) only. but this is a cover charge, so its more than worth it. thursday the 22nd to sunday the 25th from 9.00pm to 12.00mn.

take a look at the detailed schedule everyone, and here are a few tips. DO NOT MISS wicked aura, billy cobham or the drummers of burundi, although everyone else is probably not to be missed either. club session on thursday night is bound to be the best of the lot, as there will be DJ sets as well as the WOMAD artists jamming. on some club nights, you will only find some of bands and not too many or all of the artists nor any DJs.

stand back, and let the drumming begin…