English folk-rock singer and activist Billy Bragg, who weighed in on the Australian election last week with criticism of the âunappetisingâ choices facing voters, will make his debut appearance at WOMADelaide next year.
In the first 2014 festival announcement, WOMADelaide director Ian Scobie said Bragg would perform on the closing night of the event.
âIn an increasingly superficial music market, weâre delighted to program one of the worldâs most endearing champions of âsongwriting with a messageâ in Billy Bragg,â Scobie said.
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Braggâs message posted to his 145,000 Facebook followers last Friday â and picked up by a number of music websites â was that the Australian election on Saturday presented an unappetising prospect and he pitied the citizens âhaving to cast a vote by law, compelled to order something from the menuâ. In his rundown of the âmenuâ options, which attracted more than 800 likes and 270 comments, he said: âEveryone knows that theyâre good for you, but in the testosterone driven political climate of the Antipodes, will enough people order the Greens to make a difference to the outcome?â
Bragg is currently touring on the back of his latest album, Tooth & Nail â his first studio album released in five years â and is a guest at this weekâs Bigsound music industry conference in Brisbane. He was also presented this month with the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the Association of Independent Music Awards in London.
Scobie described him as âpassionate and charismaticâ, saying Braggâs performances were as much about thoughtful songs as his âcompelling and often hilariousâ storytelling in between.
The next WOMADelaide program announcement will be on October 21.
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