WOMADelaide 2024 headline act announced as Ziggy Marley

One of the world’s biggest reggae stars will make his WOMAD debut next year, four years after cancelling a show.

WOMADelaide will rock to a reggae beat next year thanks to Jamaican music legend Ziggy Marley, who will headline the four-day festival.

Four years after he cancelled his performance on the eve of the event, Marley will return for his WOMAD debut and his first Australian performance in more than a decade.

The multi-Grammy award winner and son of reggae icon Bob Marley leads a stellar list of musicians added to the March festival’s line-up.

Also revealed today are American Afro-funk outfit Budos Band, vocalist Arooj Aftab and Brazilian music king Gilberto Gil.

Ziggy Marley will perform at this year’s WOMADelaide festival. Pictures: Tim Cadiente

Marley was set to perform as WOMAD’s headline act in 2020, but pulled out five days before his show, citing family reasons.

Now he’s back on the bill, and will join artists from 25 countries at the Botanic Park festival, along with the recently-announced Swedish folk hero José González and British jazz star Yussef Dayes.

Marley, 54, whose soulful reggae tunes have secured eight Grammy Awards, is perhaps best known in Australia for his 1988 record Conscious Party, which produced the hit song Tomorrow People.

Other acts revealed today for the March 8-11 festival include Ukrainian quartet DakhaBrakha, Senegalese superstar Baaba Maal and British musician, producer and composer Nitin Sawhney.

Organisers have also announced a new festival hub called the WoMARKETS, which will feature more than 40 retail stalls showcasing wares from different cultures.

WOMADelaide director Ian Scobie said he was “thrilled and honoured” to announce the festival’s headline acts, including Marley, Gil and Maal.

More performers will be added to the program next month.

Visit: womadelaide.com.au