A world of music from England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland/Alba and Cymru/Wales
The Horizons partnership celebrates the diverse music that comes from England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland/Alba and Cymru/Wales – helping talented artists gain international recognition on the world stage.
For 10 years, the Horizons partners have joined together at WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) to ensure our grassroots musicians reach wider audiences by providing advice, funding, showcasing opportunities and assistance at the event.
WOMEX is the perfect platform to introduce our homegrown artists to peers and industry professionals from across the globe, with plentiful learning and networking opportunities across the five-day exhibition and conference.
The Horizons partnership is managed by British Underground on behalf of Arts Council England, Culture Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Creative Scotland, Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Wales and British Council.
ABOUT HORIZONS
WOMEX 2026
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21 - 25 October
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GRAN CANARIA
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WOMEX 2026 • 21 - 25 October • GRAN CANARIA •
our partners
OFFICIAL SHOWCASING ARTISTS 2025
Look back at the four talented artists who performed official showcases at WOMEX 2025 in Tampere, Finland:
Listen and immerse yourself in the Horizons at WOMEX 2025 playlist.
Enjoy sounds that connect past and present, local and global in a celebration of musical diversity and heritage.
Malkit Singh/
GOLDEN STAR
Living Bhangra legend Malkit Singh (MBE) – often hailed as the ‘King of Bhangra’ – is a true Punjabi icon in today’s Bhangra industry.
Malkit was listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling bhangra solo artist of all time, with sales over 4.9 million records in his 30 year plus career. Since his first release Nach Giddhe Vich in 1986, Malkit has toured to over thirty-six countries and released twenty-one albums, receiving endless awards and accolades along the way.
Spafford Campbell
To listen to London-based duo Spafford Campbell is to dive into the time being, to enter an interior of vast scope and detailed texture, where images linger, lights dim and glow and sounds exchange in ways that command utter presence. They garnered five-star reviews for their debut album, 2022's You,
Golden, a refreshingly unadorned take on traditional, and traditional-sounding, tunes. In March 2024 came 102 Metres East, an EP digitally released on the Real World X imprint and titled for the recent, scientifically measured shift of the global meridian line from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich through a bin-strewn wasteland. “A nice metaphor for England,” they say.
DUR-DUR BAND
INTERNATIONAL
Dur-Dur Band International is the legendary Somali funk group reformed with a mix of founding members and new players. In the mid-1980s Mogadishu was the epicentre of Somalia’s golden age of music, and Dur-Dur Band was one of the most well-known acts on the Mogadishu disco & funk scene.
One of the few remaining bands of this era, Dur-Dur Band International is the UK regrouping of many of the original founding members.
Zawose Queens
Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania. The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose (Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).
Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first time that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers.
music SHOWCASES
at WOMEX
Showcases at WOMEX are famous for celebrating the diversity of global music, from Colombian psychedelic chicha to Estonian neo-zombie post-folk.
Venues across the chosen city host the artists with genres spanning everything from folk, acoustic, traditional roots and jazz, to urban and electronic music.
England
Emma Salmon - Soundwave
Esteban Perez
Hannabiell Sanders - Harambee Pasadia
Harkirit Boparai - The Crescent York
Ian Solomon Kwaye - May Project Gardens
Lilia Yaovi
Noha Al-Maghafi - Al Yamaniah
IRELAND
Claudia Schwab - Musician
Corner Boy- Musician
Sina Theil - Musician
Tom Sherlock - Artist Manager
NORTHERN IRELAND
Israh Castro - Utropiks
Luigi Cirillo - Fusionarium
Rebecca McPolin-Clulow - Antrim School of Music
Vicky Kyles - Antrim School of Music
Scotland
Laurie Cuffe - Ceòl is Craic
Mhari McLeman - Shetland Folk Festival and MHARI
WALES
Angharad Jenkins - Musician
Dilwyn Llwyd - Neuadd Ogwen
Elan Evans - WAI, Merched yn Gwneud Miwsig, Beacons Cymru
Gwen Màiri - Musician
Wynne Roberts - The Welfare, Ystradgynlais
HORIZONS CONNECT DELEGATES 2025
Horizons Connect is a professional development programme managed by British Underground to enhance international networks at WOMEX.
In-person orientation presentations and community building will take place during the conference, alongside creative development, networking, speed meetings, collaboration and partnership building.
The 2025 Horizons Connect delegates are:
The tampere express overland reSidency
The Tampere Express Overland Residency is a pilot programme offering a small group of music creators and producers the opportunity to travel overland and sea to WOMEX 2025 in Tampere, Finland. This low-carbon, slow-travel journey is framed as a creative and professional development residency - supporting deeper engagement with cultural showcasing, sustainability, and sector resilience.
Rather than treating WOMEX as a standalone destination, this residency, led by Dr Daniel Ford (British Underground), positions the journey itself as a shared space for reflection, peer learning, and values-led international practice. The programme aligns with Arts Council England’s Investment Principles, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and British Underground’s commitment to showcasing work that speaks to contemporary cultural and social movements.
Artwork: Ria Nightingale
The 2025 Tampere Express Overland Residency explorers are:
ENGLAND
Hannah Deeble
Harkirit Boparai
Noha Al-Maghafi
Hannabiell Sanders
WALES
Deborah Keyser
Gwen Màiri
Angharad Jenkins
Brighter Sound
Tom Rabbani
Evie Moran
conference programme
The WOMEX conference programme invites expert speakers from around the world to present their topics, projects and passions to the WOMEX delegates. Explore the 2025 conference programme here.
film Programme
Film screenings at WOMEX include outstanding documentaries featuring musicians from all around the globe or those focused on music-related topics.
In 2024, British Underground’s short film The Broadside Hack, explored the UK’s alt-folk scene through performances, dances, and conversations. Watch the trailer here.
