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WOMAD – a beginners' guide

As Radio 3 returns with live coverage and highlights from this year's WOMAD, music journalist Nige Tassell guides us through what to expect from this unique annual event...

So what is it?

WOMAD is the World Of Music, Arts and Dance, an annual festival that celebrates cultural expression from all four corners of the globe - but music in particular. It's been around since 1982, when former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel and a bunch of like-minded and musically curious Bristolians put on the first bash. Since then, WOMAD has played a large part in changing the face of music festivals in the UK.

What was so different about that first festival?

Before WOMAD's inauguration, festivals were often the domain of denim-clad longhairs living on a strict diet of heavy rock and tins of Party Seven. That first season offered something completely different. 'Continuous performances from artists from four continents,' boasted the poster, along with 'a large selection of non-Western foods'. It was also pioneering in offering performer workshops and a variety of kids' activities. And all for just £8.

Was it a great success?

Not exactly. While many who went to that first event loved the concept of a bill that combined established acts like Echo & The Bunnymen and The Beat with unknown pleasures like The Drummers Of Burundi, simply not enough people turned up. To cover the debt, Peter Gabriel had to join up with his former Genesis bandmates to play a one-off benefit show.

Baaba Maal's session with World on 3 earlier this year - he joins us at WOMAD

Baaba Maal - Baayo (World on 3)

Baaba Maal live at the CCA in Glasgow for BBC Music at Celtic Connections

Gabriel later said, "as scary and depressing as the financial realities of the first festival were, they weren't enough to quell our natural enthusiasm and optimism". These hopeless romantics embarked on a series of festivals at locations across the UK, from Carlyon Bay in Cornwall, to Mersea Island in Essex and Morecambe Bay in Lancashire. A die-hard audience soon grew and made an annual pilgrimage to get their fix of global rhythms.

Today, WOMAD has become a global affair, having put on more than 160 festivals in 27 countries over the last 33 years. The annual Australian version has a cute name too – WOMADelaide.

World on 3 guest Abdullah Ibrahim in session

Listen to Abdullah Ibrahim in session for World on 3

South African jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim in session for World on 3

No. The festival has played an enormous part in the boom in what's called 'world music' over the past three decades, especially the music of Africa, thanks to regular WOMAD appearances from the likes of Youssou N'Dour and Toumani Diabaté. As in 1982, though, the WOMAD bill is always too slippery a beast to sum up in a simple two-word phrase. This year, it's got everything from Saharan desert blues, Cambodian pop, sacred theatre from India, Balkan brass bands, Brazilian hip-hop, fiery Argentinian tango and a funk band from Tokyo...

Sounds good... how do I get involved?

World on 3 sessions: Ngawang Lodup - Homesick

World on 3 sessions: Ngawang Lodup - Homesick

Can't get there in person? Listen live to WOMAD on Radio 3

This summer's gathering is held on July 29-31 at Charlton Park near Malmesbury in Wiltshire. Radio 3 will be broadcasting more live music and discussion from the festival site than ever before. Hear 6-piece trad-Russian band Otava Yo, Kel Assouf and Moh! Kouyate from Guinea.

Learn more about Radio 3's broadcasts from this year's festival

More World Music from BBC Radio 3