Womadelaide headline act Ziggy Marley cancels performance as Adelaide Festival hit by triple trouble

Headline Womadelaide act Ziggy Marley has pulled out of performing at the world music festival this weekend. It’s one of three major misfortunes to hit the Adelaide Festival within hours.

NO WOMAD, NO DRY. Ziggy Marley has pulled out of this year's Womadelaide festival but says he’ll make it to the festival in 2021. Picture: Tim Cadiente

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Reggae star and Womadelaide headliner Ziggy Marley has pulled out of this weekend’s world music festival.

The 51-year-old son of Jamaican legend Bob Marley was set to perform as Womadelaide’s headline act on Monday night, but pulled out on Thursday afternoon, citing family reasons.

“I would like to apologise to all the music fans in New Zealand and Australia,” Marley said in a statement.

“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.”

Marley said he would endeavour to perform at next year’s festival.

“I always love coming,” he said.

“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.”

Womadelaide director Ian Scobie said it was deeply disappointing that Marley would no longer be coming to the festival.

“We are sad that Ziggy will no longer be joining us this weekend, or our sister festival in New Zealand next weekend, but we have been assured that this decision was not made lightly,” Mr Scobie said.

“We wish Ziggy and his young family only the best.

“We are now working hard to secure a new artist to fill Ziggy’s Monday night timeslot, and we anticipate that we will be able to make an announcement about this in the coming days.”

Mr Scobie said Womadelaide would not be offering refunds to Marley fans, saying festival line-ups were always subject to change and Womad was greater than any one artist.

“We’re working really hard right now to find a replacement artist,” he said.

“To be honest, at this time of year our hearts are always in our mouths. With 42 acts and 600 individuals coming in from 32 countries there’s always something that can go wrong.”

Meanwhile, two other misfortunes have hit the Adelaide Festival.

The entire season of High Performance Packing Tape by Branch Nebula – which was going to open on Thursday night – has had its five sold-out performances cancelled following an accident during rehearsal on Wednesday night.

Performer Lee Wilson does acrobatic feats supported by packing tape which he strings around him, but last night he fell and broke his hand. The show had no understudy.

Performer Lee Wilson in High Performance Packing Tape by Branch Nebula. Picture: Tristan Still

In another blow, Brett Dean – who inspired an Adelaide Festival Beethoven concert and was to play viola and lead the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s performance – has withdrawn because he has pneumonia. Conductor Richard Mills will replace him.

There were also notable setbacks for the Festival in its opening week.

Writers Week lost arguably its most controversial speaker when Bruce Pascoe, the author of Dark Emu about indigenous farming practices in pre-settlement Australia, had to withdraw because of bushfire damage to his farm.

A series of other writers were late cancellations from the event due to illness or family reasons. These include Ma Jian, whose novel China Dream satirises present-day China, Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans, along with authors Andrea Lawlor, Elliot Perlman, Heather Rose and Tommy Orange.

Dimanche, the Belgian theatre show for family audiences about global warming at the North Pole, very nearly cancelled after its sets were disembarked en route to Australia to make room for urgent coronavirus supplies.

State Theatre stepped in and built new versions of the missing sets in an all-night effort so the show’s opening night was set back only two and a half hours.

E^ST, one of the Festival’s late-night music attractions, suddenly withdrew from this Sunday’s performance without giving a reason.

Originally published as Womadelaide headline act Ziggy Marley cancels performance as Adelaide Festival hit by triple trouble