Luglio Suona Bene in Rome
Rockers, hipsters, crooners and lovers of classical music will all be able to find something of interest at this year's Luglio Suona Bene festival at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica.
Although there are still five months to wait, tickets for all the shows scheduled so far went on sale on 26 February, and, after 10 sold-out shows in last year's line-up, this season is bound to sell fast as the roster is super strong.
Kicking things off on the 24 June are Il Volo, the young trio who just won Italy's biggest televised music festival and competition, San Remo; and Bjork will close proceedings on the 31 July with the only Italian date of her long-awaited Vulnicura tour.
Other artists visiting Renzo Piano's fantastic outdoor mini-arena, or Cavea, include Counting Crows, Lindsey Stirling, Of Monsters and Men, Burt Bacharach, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Anastacia, 2 Cellos, Paolo Conte, Toto, Mark Knopfler and the Buena Vista Social Club. More artists are due to be announced in the coming months.
Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino who officiated at today's press conference from his offices at Campidoglio, spoke about how Luglio Suona Bene is aiming to become Italy's most important music festival both in names and numbers. Marino said he was proud of how the city's music scene is going in a new direction than it has taken in the past and hoped that soon all of Europe will be jealous of Rome's pulling power when it comes to cultural events.
Events for Luglio Suona Bene take place both in the theatres inside the Auditorium and the magnificent Cavea, which Wall Street Journal lists as one of the top five music venues in Europe. With seating for 3,700 (an additional 600 from last year) it is an amazingly intimate space in which to watch your favourite artists.
See you there!
Victoria Wyatt