The Complete Showcase Artists Lineup For WOMEX 23
offWOMEX and Opening Artists Released
The Worldwide Music Expo is excited to unveil the final roster of artists for its upcoming, highly anticipated 2023 edition in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, taking place from 25 to 29 October. With today's announcement completing the lineup, including both offWOMEX and the Opening artists, the upcoming 29th edition will host 61 artists from 47 countries on 7 stages. Since 1994, WOMEX has consistently showcased the most exciting and innovative artists from around the world, establishing itself as the premier international gathering for global music professionals. In line with its tradition, this year's event promises to be a remarkable global celebration of diversity, culture, and music, uniting music enthusiasts from across the globe, transcending boundaries, and fostering connections. The lineup for WOMEX 23 includes an eclectic mix of artists representing a wide range of musical styles and cultural backgrounds.
WOMEX 23 Opening: Resounding Picasso
This year -2023 - marks the international celebration of the work and artistic legacy of the Spanish artist for two significant reasons: on the 8th of April it was the 50th anniversary of Picasso's passing; and, on the 25th of October, this year's WOMEX Opening in A Coruña coincides with the anniversary of Picasso's birth. To celebrate Picasso's lifetime of continual artistic Innovation, and to honour his deep connection to his homeland — Spain — we will travel the artistic thread of Picasso for the WOMEX Opening evening's line-up with four bands/artists representing those key places that marked his childhood and youth: Andalucía, where he was born; Galicia, where he began his artistic journey; and Catalunya, where he held his first exhibition and connected with the most avant-garde artists. The four artists performing at the Opening ceremony are:
Caamaño & Ameixeiras (Spain)
Karmento (Spain)
Niño Josele (Spain)
Tarta Relena (Spain)
This year’s Opening is presented by A Coruña City, Xunta de Galicia, INAEM, ICEX-Sounds from Spain and ICEC-Catalan Arts. The artistic direction was done by Marc Lloret (MMVV).
offWOMEX Artists
Amidst the limited number of slots available each year as part of WOMEX's official showcases, offWOMEX provides an additional integrated platform for artists to present themselves and their music to the WOMEX audience attending from around the world. The 2023 offWOMEX line-up is:
Almir Meskovic & Daniel Lazar Duo (Bosnia Herzegovina/Serbia/Norway)
Fawn Wood (Canada)
Haratago (France)
Jausmė (Lithuania)
Jinj (Armenia/France)
Júlia Kozáková & Manuša (Slovakia)
Nimkii & The Niniis (Canada)
The Breath (UK)
ZeMe (Latvia)
The offWOMEX Stage is supported by UPBEAT, the European Showcase Platform for World Music; The Baltic Culture Fund, Music Information Centre Lithuania; Mundial Montréal, International Indigenous Music Summit, Small World Music and Global Toronto; The Katapult Creative Accelerator Program.
Official Jury-Selected Artists
Announced earlier
The official programme is put together from the pool of proposals that are received from around the world during an open call for submissions - open to any artist residing in any country worldwide. Altogether more than 1500 conferences, showcases, and film proposals were received. The official programme is curated together by the annually changing independent and international WOMEX Jury, also known as the '7 Samurai': five focusing on the Showcase proposals and two on the Conference.
79rs Gang (USA)
Aleph Quintet (Tunisia/Belgium)
Ana Carla Maza (Cuba/Spain)
Ánnámáret (Finland)
Avalanche Kaito (Burkina Faso/Belgium)
Baiuca (Spain)
Bamba Wassoulou Groove (Mali)
Cocanha (France)
Danûk (Syria/Türkiye/Spain)
DefMaa MaaDef (Senegal)
Elephant Sessions (UK)
Elshan Ghasimi (Iran/Germany)
Erini (Greece/USA)
Florence Adooni (Ghana)
Francesco Loccisano - Marcello De Carolis “chitarra battente duo" (Italy)
Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys (Canada)
Haepaary (South Korea)
Killabeatmaker (Colombia)
Kin'Gongolo Kiniata (DR Congo)
Ko Shin Moon (France)
Kutu (Ethiopia/France)
La Sonora Mazurén (Colombia)
Les Héritières - Tribute to Cheikha Rimitti (Algeria/Tunisia/France)
Liraz (Israel/Iran)
Livia Mattos (Brazil)
Matt Carmichael (UK)
Mouvman Alé (La Réunion)
Puuluup (Estonia)
Roger Damawuzan (Togo/France)
Symbio (Sweden)
Teo Collori & Momento Cigano (Slovenia)
Ustad Noor Bakhsh (Pakistan)
Widad Mjama & Khalil Epi “Aïta mon amour” (Morocco/Tunisia/France)
Club Summit Artists
Announced earlier
The Club Summit curator, Daniel Fernando Wahl (Mexico/Germany), is a Germexican DJ, also known as Daferwa, based in Cologne, Germany. In addition, he is a radio journalist and music curator with WDR Cosmo. Daniel along with the WOMEX Showcase team hand-picked the upcoming DJs and electronic music producers from the underground scenes around the world for the Club Summit programme.
Asna (Cote d’Ivoire)
Caribombo (Venezuela/France)
Danykas DJ (Portugal/UK)
DJ Pö (Ghana/France/Uganda)
Pekodjinn (Tunisia/Italy/Switzerland)
The Regional Stage: Atlantic Connections Stage
Announced earlier
Continuing the annual tradition of representing and supporting talents from the host country and its connections, this year's WOMEX programme edition will once again feature a regional stage: 'Atlantic Connections'. Through the Atlantic Connections stage, WOMEX celebrates the intertwining threads of Galician history, language, and migration that shaped the vibrant musical tapestry and its profound ties to Latin America, along with the representation of the Iberian region and the Canary Islands. Here are the artists that will perform live at Teatro Rosalía de Castro in A Coruña:
Ailá (Spain)
Arnaldo Antunes and Vitor Araújo (Brazil)
Beatriz Rosário (Portugal)
Magalí Sare & Manel Fortià (Spain)
Neomak (Spain)
Rodrigo Sosa y la Quenistica (Cuba/Argentina)
Trilitrate (Spain)
Valeria Castro (Spain)
Vivi Pozzebón (Argentina)
The Atlantic Connections stage is kindly supported by Oficina de Artistas and Foundation International School of Tamboreras, Argentina; Etxepare Euskal Institutua; ICEC-Catalan Arts; Xunta de Galicia; WHY Portugal; BM&A and ICEX-Sounds from Spain.