WOMEX 2025 kicks off tomorrow

WOMEX 2025 kicks off tomorrow in Tampere, Finland, marking a significant return to the city after six years. From October 22 to 26, the Worldwide Music Expo will draw artists, industry professionals, and audiences from across the globe to a cluster of venues that include Tampere Hall, Tavara-asema, Paja Kongressi, Olympia, and Arthouse Cinema Niagara. Known for its role as a premier international platform for global music, WOMEX’s 31st edition places a strong emphasis on cultural diversity and artistic innovation.

The 2025 program continues WOMEX’s tradition of showcasing a wide spectrum of music styles that resonate with jazz professionals and world-jazz fusion audiences. This year’s lineup includes Ethiopian jazz pioneer Dawit Yifru, whose decades-long career reflects the deep roots and adventurous spirit of Afro-jazz traditions. From Nigeria, Etuk Ubong and the Etuk Philosophy Band bring a rhythmic blend of Afrobeat and highlife, while Mali’s Kankou Kouyaté et Les Etoiles de Garaná fuse West African blues with contemporary jazz influences. Tanzania’s Zawose Queens, carrying forward a rich family legacy, also feature prominently, bridging traditional and modern sounds.

Dawit Yifru

The regional focus expands beyond Africa with Brazil’s Suraras do Tapajós offering Indigenous carimbó rhythms, while UK’s Manchester-based band Gangstagrass combines bluegrass roots with hip-hop aesthetics, reflecting WOMEX’s commitment to genre cross-pollination.

Club Summit artists highlight innovations in global electronic music fused with indigenous sounds. La Réunion’s Jako Maron presents electro maloya rhythms; Missex blends tropical beats with electroclash across their Colombian-Spanish collaboration; and MzRizk, a Lebanese-Australian DJ, incorporates Middle Eastern and North African motifs into inclusive dancefloor sets.

Jako Maron

Beyond performances, WOMEX maintains its role as a vital meeting place for networking, panel discussions, and trend-setting conversations. Key topics this year include increasing inclusivity within concert halls, unlocking regional market potential, and bridging global diaspora communities — issues of growing relevance for jazz and world music professionals alike.

Tampere’s compact layout and layered cultural heritage—from its scenic lakeside setting to its identity as the “Sauna Capital of the World”—provide an intimate yet dynamic backdrop to the event. This offers attendees a blend of artistic excellence and local flavour that has come to define WOMEX’s success.

Etuk Ubong

As the world’s leading convenor of music professionals invested in diverse cultural expressions, WOMEX 2025 stands as a timely opportunity for the jazz community to engage with evolving global sounds, acquire new perspectives, and cultivate collaborations that transcend borders and genres.

More information at the Womex website.