By day 3 I was feeling pretty tired from the heat. But there was music to be enjoyed so with the aid of an ice neck wrap off I went. I would have liked to see more but the timetabling and staging made it a challenge trecking back and forth in the heat.

1. Andrew Gurruwiwi Band: From North East Arnhem Land this eight piece funk band rocked! Led by Andrew who is blind and plays the keytar. They packed a huge crowd for the start of the day. I ended up watching on the hill under a tree.

2. Sun Ra Arkestra: The sun had moved so the stage area was shaded and everyone was in the zone. What a coincidence! The vibes were perfect. Their respect and acknowledgement for Allan who couldn't be there (being 100 is a good reason) was throughout the show. Led by Knoel Scott and decked out in everything that glitters and shines, backflips on stage, jokes about the grammys, and peace / kindness this was a magical set. I remember this sense of immense calm and ease I had when watching them. Wonderful.

3. Protoje and the Indignation: I have a huge reggae hole of knowledge and whilst I've started to really enjoy it, I aint going to pretend here I know what I'm talking about. The crowd for this set was huge! I stood and watched next to the band Bala Desejo through the smoky haze.

4. Etran De L'Aïr: Nigerian family playing Tuareg style. It went off! They played non stop for an hour without any breaks. I kept thinking how sore their hands must be and how boring Khruangbin are who were headlining the following night. It was phenomenal to watch. Hilariously the band Bala Desejo arrived and were dancing up a dust storm right next to us. It was like a show within a show. When my friend had to go to the loo I went with, cos by this point I didn't want to look like a weird stalker. Sharing moments of music with other artists from Womad is one of the unique and by chance experiences of the festival. Last year I watched Yussef Dayes with the Zamrock legends Witch.

5. Yemi Adele: The third female to headline this year's festival and close the main stage, the Nigerian pop star seemed like a fitting choice. The Beyonce influence was notable (who she's also collaborated with) but there was also a good mix of Afro Beats and other styles throughout this high energy 90 min show. My little 9yr old neice was glued to the front stage rail in awe.

#womad #womadelaide #womadelaide2025 #sunraarkestra #jazz #yemiadele #afrobeat