The 2009 WOMADelaide Sounds of the Planet festival started on Friday with some 380 artists from more than 20 countries gathering together in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia state for this annual music event.

This year, WOMADelaide organizers have engaged Greening Australia to help offset carbon emissions generated by the three-day festival through revegetation.

Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traore will have audiences purring with her experimental sound in Adelaide on Sunday before taking her show to the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australian Associated Press reported.

Lo Cor de la Plana, a French collective featuring six male vocalists, will combine complex harmonies with boisterous percussion.

Performing exclusively at WOMADelaide, 26-year-old Nigerian saxophonist and vocalist Seun Kuti is one of the most talked about performers this year. He released his first CD in Australia this month and promises to bring his family's signature Afro-beat magic mixed with soulful grooves and hip-hop rhythms.

Edging closer to being a sell-out of all tickets, organizers are expecting a crowd of about 21,000 each day and have closed off Internet and phone sales.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2009)