British Library Sound Archive: WOMAD 2024

The British Library’s relationship with WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is nearly as long as the festival's existence, with a small team from the sound archive attending the festival to record and archive performances since 1985. The concentration of so many diverse and talented musicians in one place allows us to document musical styles from around the world right here on our doorstep. And, after 40 years, we now hold around 2,500 hours of music recorded at WOMAD, backed up digitally for preservation and access. With WOMAD taking a year off in 2025, we thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit some of the recordings we made last Summer. There were too many fantastic performances to choose from, so this is just a small selection of staff highlights, including some debut appearances and memorable moments. All recordings made by the British Library WOMAD 2024 team: Michele Banal, Greg Green, Karl Jenkins, Grace Johnston, Finlay McIntosh and Gail Tasker. Selection and mix by Finlay McIntosh. Thanks to all the artists for agreeing to have their recordings shared on NTS.