Plant joins 30th birthday party (From Salisbury Journal)
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Plant joins 30th birthday party
4:19pm Thursday 2nd August 2012 in Entertainments
WOMAD festival
WOMAD, CHARLTON PARK, MALMESBURY, 16-29 JULY
THOUSANDS of festival-goers basked in the sun at the weekend and soaked up a dazzling array of musicians from all over the world.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary the World Music, Arts and Dance festival held at Charlton Park near Malmesbury, included everything from desert blues and psychedelic folk pop to reggae and electronic beats and breaks.
Among the stars performing were the Algerian king of rai, Khaled, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant with the Sensational Space Shifters and The Manganiyar Seduction from India, who performed the special birthday show of Rajasthani folk music by framing the musicians in 37 curtained boxes, which lit up as they played.
Indie-band Cornershop, which was a last-minute addition to the line-up after Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu had to cancel his appearance due to illness, also proved popular at teatime as the aroma of exotic foods filtered through the crowds.
And Khaled, performing an entertaining set on the main stage on Saturday evening with an incredible band, was truly sensational as he mixed Arabic and French lyrics in his rich, mellifluous voice and ended the show with the ever-beautiful Aicha.
Elizabeth Kemble
