WOMAD presents a weekend of World Music at the Tower of London

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Peter Gabriel's celebrated festival of world music WOMAD is to come to London for the first time in over 10 years . As part of the Tower Festival, WOMAD Presents World Music at the Tower will take place over the weekend of 19th – 20th September at the historic and prestigious Tower Of London. WOMAD and The Tower Festival (in association with Songlines) have come together to offer a unique World Music experience set in the historical grounds of the Tower of London. As part its biggest project ever staged in London, WOMAD will be bringing with it the crème de la crème of world music artists, workshops offering its audience the opportunity to discover what makes the artists tick.

Since the first festival in the UK in 1982, WOMAD has held more than 160 festivals, creating events in twenty-seven countries and islands all over the world but amazingly this will be its first full festival in London. WOMAD has presented more than one thousand artists at their festivals, bringing the expression of more than 100 different countries to a live audience of over one million people.

Saturday 19th of September is headlined by legendary artist Khaled, the Algerian singer is universally acknowledged as one of the biggest stars of world music. Rai musician Khaled is a phenomenon in the Arabic world, with a popularity that has reached almost surreal proportions. In 1992 his monster hit single 'Didi' sold over a million copies in European, Arabic and Asian countries, and made him more popular than Michael Jackson in India. He was also elevated to the status of nationwide celebrity and ambassador for the Arab minority in France, when his first French-language single, 'Aicha', put his brand of rai, a blend of traditional Algerian music and more Western styles such as soul, reggae and rock, at the top of the French charts for months, and sold 700, 000 copies in France alone.

Also on the 19th, the Imagined Village featuring a stellar cast including Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood will perform a thrilling live show. The brainchild of Afro Celt Sound System veteran Simon Emmerson, The Imagined Village certainly has a stellar cast list with contributors from across the British musical spectrum to create a formidable line-up of contrasting styles. The project aims to reinterpret some of England's most venerable folk songs by fusing old and new sounds to reflect the multicultural society of the country today.

Sunday 20th of September is headlined by the groundbreaking improvisational sound clash of The Bays and The Heritage Orchestra following on from their storming performance at the Big Chill and their sellout show at the Royal Festival Hall last year, the TOWER FESTIVAL is their only London performance in 2009 with the project. The Bays and The Heritage Orchestra are pioneering UK groups, recognised for their individual take on dance and orchestral music and at the festival they will come together in an adventurous multifaceted collaboration. The Bays, throw away every accepted notion about live music, creating electronic dance grooves on the spot to fit the moment. Extensive appearances on the Festival circuit are testament to their huge success. The mighty Heritage Orchestra, led by talented composer and conductor Jules Buckley, is one of the most exciting and radical young orchestras in the UK.

The Bays and The Heritage Orchestra's drummer Andy Gangadeen commented " We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring our unique project to such a unique historical setting as the Tower Of London. Our music, improvised on the spot, reflects our environment. What better venue to take energy and inspiration from for our performance than at WOMAD in The Tower Festival! We look forward to it."

Also performing on Sunday is the legendary Tony Allen.
One of the world's great original rhythmatists, Nigerian drummer Tony Allen is revered for his work with Fela Kuti, co-creating the style they call Afro-Beat while in the infamous orchestra Africa 70. Their heady brew of jazz, highlife and various other mostly local ingredients was at its peak between 1969 and 1978 . Fela once stated that, "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat." He has also been described by Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived." Bandleader, composer and husky rapping vocalist, Tony Allen has recorded a string of groundbreaking solo albums since parting company with Fela. In 2006, Tony Allen joined with Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, and Simon Tong as drummer for The Good, the Bad and the Queen. His solo album is due out in June 2009.

As part of the event there will be participatory workshops, where the audience has a chance to meet and learn about the visiting artists and their music.

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