WorldSong live at Earlsdon Festival
Review
I know I've praised the recorded output of WorldSong, including their current album ‘Together As One: A Celebration of Community Singing' and you can find their single "Kaval Sviri" on the most recent edition of ‘Hot Music Live Presents', but you really do have to experience them live to appreciate their full glories.
I did just that this afternoon at the 2025 Earlsdon Festival & you may well feel that a packed & noisy Earlsdon Street was far from ideal for an a cappella choir but frankly I felt their set went down magnificently & judging by the crowd, that's not purely my view.
Yes, there are no instruments when they play. There were just three microphones which conveyed the many voices a bit further, but most singers were effectively off-mic. And the rapt audience meant that we could hear their every word.
The connection with the audience was therefore based upon the excellence of the performance. This, as listening to the record would have already shown you, involves complex songs in tongues not known to the singers using often unfamiliar song structures. However live you get much gesticulation which is impossible to replicate on record and the audience was further engaged by being invited to contribute to this: and indeed to ululate as appropriate.
Musical Director Una May Olomolaiye also transcends her role in this environment, acting as MC and cheer leader, explaining the songs, enthusing the crowd & providing a highly mobile & charismatic visual focus unusual in a choir format.
The songs range in mood & theme yet overall WorldSong not only promote a sense of community among highly diverse and heterogeneous observers but also an overall sense of joy & bonding not necessarily related directly to the lyrics of every song. That the sun came out during their set may just be a coincidence but….
In a week when diversity & inclusion have received something of a battering, it was great to experience a rebuttal like this: there is power in unity & uplift in being exposed to different cultures. In a city proud of diversity, there really is no act with a repertoire of this breadth and the membership appears reflective of this too.
I recommend enhancing your enjoyment of WorldSong's music by catching them live: there next concert is on 24th May at St Andrew's in Rugby (by candlelight too!) and I bet that indoors their impact is even more affective.
