abc– Midnight Oil have been announced as the headline act for a very different Womadelaide in early 2021, which will see the acclaimed world music and dance festival confined to a series of sunset concerts in Adelaide.
International travel restrictions and the ongoing threat of COVID-19 have put significant constraints on the annual four-day festival, with organisers instead opting to produce seated concerts over four nights in the east Parklands.
Midnight Oil has been a regular visitor to Adelaide throughout its 28-year career but has not performed at Womadelaide since 1997, despite band members such as drummer Rob Hirst continuing to perform at the festival with other acts.
“The idea of coming across to Womad, where we played some time ago, and where occasionally some of us have gone along and participated in different ways … it’s one of those great festivals that we absolutely love,” lead singer Peter Garrett told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“We’re really chafing at the bit to get out and play.”
Other headline acts include 2020 ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Archie Roach, Sarah Blasko, Sampa The Great, and a collaborative act between singer-songwriter Lior and Australian composer Nigel Westlake with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Additional artists will be announced in early 2021.
Crowds restricted to 6,000
Womadelaide, along with the Adelaide Festival and Fringe Festival, was one of the last big events to take place unrestricted earlier this year before the arrival of COVID-19 put a temporary end to large gatherings of people.
Director Ian Scobie said regular consultation with SA Health had made it clear it would not be possible to present a traditional Womadelaide festival in early 2021 across seven stages at Botanic Park.
“The event will be presented with a program on a single stage [and] audiences will have individually reserved seats that are COVID-safe spaced apart in an arena we’re going to create in King Rodney Park,” he said.
Mr Scobie said just 6,000 people would be able to attend each of the concerts — much less than the record 97,000 people who attended the festival in March this year.
