First Official Showcase Artists for WOMEX 19 Revealed

After months of preparation, we are thrilled to share with you the first announcement of the jury selected WOMEX 19 showcase artists. It would be great if you could spread the good news.

In the coming weeks and months, we will be announcing more programme announcements. If you have any requests regarding the artists or their press material, please do not hesitate to get in touch by replying to this email.

I wish you a great day and week ahead.

WOMEX, Tampere, Finland, 23 – 27 October 2019

Berlin/Tampere: WOMEX – the World Music Expo today revealed the much-awaited first set of jury-selected showcase artists that will be performing at WOMEX 19 in Tampere, Finland, this October. This year marks the momentous 25th-anniversary edition of WOMEX, and the 5-day event once again affirms to be the most diverse music meeting worldwide. The first sixteen artists announced by Piranha Arts, the organisers of WOMEX, already represent twenty-two different countries on stage, confirming an extensive range of musical styles unparallelled in any other showcase event around the world.

From more than a thousand proposals coming in from all over the world, our independent, international jury - the 7 Samurai - selected the official showcase artists (and the soon-to-be-announced conferences). Each year the WOMEX showcase concerts bring into the spotlight the very best of emerging acts from across the globe: those that are inspiring, eclectic and most sought-after in their style, showcasing the diversity of global musical talent. WOMEX bridges, facilitates and connects international artists and their teams with leading international professionals in the music and entertainment business who gather together over the five days to meet, discover and network. Not just that: WOMEX as a platform initiates trustworthy guidance from music industry veterans to better understand and navigate current changes and challenges of the day, and to recognise what and where the new opportunities are for young professionals and upcoming artists in a continually developing music economy and ecosystem.

WOMEX 19 may well still be five months away, but this special edition's programme is already coming together impressively. Our programming team has been working round the clock to schedule the most incredible lineup of Showcase artists, Conferences, and Films, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2019 selection so far already represents a gamut of genres and styles. All great! A few 'for instances' among equals: French Slam-poetry-meets-Mali to Tango Punk; urban-edged Senegambian sabar drums to the polyphonic singing tradition of Georgia; the deluxe five-string fiddles of Finland to Brazil's 'Queen of Carimbó'; a 13-piece Iranian orchestra performing songs based on the poetry of Hafiz, Saadi and Rumi, to a father-son duo on the Sindhi sarangi fiddle from the Rajasthan desert; Korean pansori singing meets reggae-maestros to the 21st-century sacred steel guitar gospel blues intensity all the way from Florida, USA!

Please see the full list below.

The Daytime Showcases will be held in the daytime trade fair and conference venue, Tampere Hall. The Nighttime Showcases, Club Summit, Opening Ceremony and Award Ceremony will be happening in and around Tampere Hall as well as at Torni in Paja Kongressi, Klubi and Pakkahuone.

Artist quotes, press photos, audio, and background info below!

"We are so thrilled to play Korean spiritual reggae at WOMEX 19!"

- NST & The Soul Sauce meets Kim Yulhee (South Korea)

“For WOMEX to recognize my style of Blues music means so much not only to me but to the whole Sacred Steel movement. It is indeed a high honour I am humbled and extremely excited too."

- Roosevelt Collier (USA)

"Wow! We've been selected from the vast group of fantastic artists! It's a privilege and an honour and we hope to make the best of it."

- Duo Emilia Lajunen & Suvi Oskala (Finland)

"The most important international professional market of world music of every kind. This international fair brings together professionals from the worlds of folk, roots, ethnic and traditional music and also includes concerts, conferences and documentary films. It contributes to networking as an effective means of promoting music and culture of all kinds across frontiers." UNESCO Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity

WOMEX - the annual five-day event comprises of curated showcase concerts in the nights plus a daytime professionals’ programme featuring a packed trade fair, an extensive conference and selected films.

In 2018, the 24th edition of WOMEX brought over 2,700 professionals, including 300 performing artists, from over 92 countries altogether to its 2018 host city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

More than 60 acts on 7 WOMEX Showcase Festival stages including the Opening Concert; 750 exhibiting companies at the Trade Fair; 100 speakers and mentors at the Conference; 16 Film Screenings and the Award Ceremony made for 5 packed networking days and rather short nights.

Together with WOMEX's parent company Piranha Arts, WOMEX 19 will be realised with Rockadillo Production Oy as the main local partner, and the largest conference and concert centre in the Nordic countries, Tampere Hall, as the heart of the conveniently located WOMEX activities. The event is supported by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, City of Tampere and Visit Tampere, and Music Finland as the strategic partner. Registration and stand bookings will open in Spring 2019.

Since its first edition in 1994, WOMEX has been roaming all across Europe from Berlin (1994), via Brussels (1995), Marseille (1997), Stockholm (1998), Berlin (1999 + 2000), Rotterdam (2001), Essen (2002 + 2004), Newcastle (2005), Sevilla (2003 + 2006-2008), Copenhagen (2009-2011), Thessaloniki (2012), Cardiff (2013), Budapest (2015), Santiago de Compostela (2014 + 2016), and Katowice (2017), and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2018).

First Official Selection of Showcase Artists for
WOMEX 19 Revealed

The first set of jury-selected WOMEX 19 Showcase artists are:

Artist Quotes:

First Official Selection of Showcase Artists for WOMEX 19 Revealed

The first set of jury-selected WOMEX 19 Showcase artists are:

Artist Quotes:

First Official Selection of Showcase Artists for
WOMEX 19 Revealed