Are there MUSIC FESTIVAL in ITALY?

Too bad. You were looking for a professional review of the huge quantity of festival that Italy can supply. And you arrived in this blog, which is all but professional. But come on, tourists always complain they do not want to see the "touristy" things, they want to see the REAL Italy, the one ITALIANS enjoy.

If you ever thought those things when on holiday, then keep reading: don't waste an occasion to read a fascinating report about Italian MUSIC SUMMER FESTIVALS, written by an Italian, a musician, and a New Yorker.

So here we go: let me tell you I am a little biased when it comes to music (who isn't?!), so I'll write exclusively of the following two events, which - in my humble opinion - are the two more valuable events of the Summer:

• Umbria Jazz, one of the best music festival for (guess what?) jazz, surely in Italy, probably in Europe;
• I suoni delle dolomiti, a much less famous festival, but increasingly good quality, ranging from folk to jazz, to choral and pop;

Let me start by saying that no two festival could be so different, and - needless to say - that this is not an exhaustive list of the  music scene in Italy. Nonetheless, I picked those two because they are quite interesting and in some sense reflects both the internationalitism and the regionalism of Italy. Ok, let's not get carried away. 

Umbria Jazz is a rather typical festival: set in Perugia, Umbria, it attracts a lot of international musicians and a lot of people from all around Italy. There's music in the street pretty much all the day long, concerts at night in Theaters and Stadiums, and 'round midnight jam session for practitioners. 

Perugia is an amazing city, with a medieval center-town over a hill, and thousands of pretty neighborhoods all around. The vibe is great, and there are plenty of international musician and young people hanging around for the whole period (10 days or so).

OTOH, I suoni delle dolomiti has a really different vibe: it is set in Dolomiti mountains, the part of the Alpes to the north east of Italy. Concerts take place above some (not really high) mountains, in different locations for a period of a couple of months. The musician playing there are great, some are indeed international, but most are people who enjoy the mountain, sort of spiritual artists that can't wait to play in such an inspiring landscape (Dolomiti are one of those jewels you'll love about Italy).

What to say?! Satisfied?! I will be back to the topic to cover some other festivals, by now make all it's possible to come over and enjoy the Italian perspective to world music.

Cheers,

Guido.