Village Celimontana 2020: Jazz Music Festival in Rome

A Roman holiday filled with music till October 31st

Village Celimontana makes a comeback to the Eternal City with its fourth edition. Every day till October 31st, get ready to dive deep into music, culture and elegance in Rome. After last year’s success, Village Celimontana proposes more than 100 live concerts and a jam-packed program. A festival which will see some of the greatest jazz musicians, swing and manouche formations on stage, alternating with Italian big bands and some serious rock’n’roll. And for this event, the perfect setting awaits you: Villa Celimontana, an elegant and evocative location that recalls the charm of old Rome. This year the festival celebrates 100 years since the 1920s and the birth of Dixieland, a period of great hope, artistic and musical creativity. In fact, the history of Dixieland and the path that leads to swing will be the main theme of Village Celimontana which, with the story of a golden age for music, launches a message of vitality to the Roman public. Before visiting it, you’d better look though these festival photography tips to take really great photos.

The festival will kick off on August 7th with the Roman Classic Jazz Festival curated by Lino Patruno, telling us the the history of jazz through music till August 22nd. The protagonist on Fridays will be Emanuele Urso “The King of Swing”, an icon of traditional jazz with his style “Benny Goodman” style. There will be social evenings, organized with the Nazionale Jazzisti and the Casa di Peter Pan, and some great concerts including that of Bepi D’Amato, Carlo Capobianchi that pays homage to Bix Biderbecker, Maurizio Giammarco, Max Paiella & the Rabbits, Greg & Cat Pack and the tribute to Fred Buscaglione by Stefano Abitante. On Tuesdays get ready from the SWING SWING SWING evenings with Charleston and tip tap lessons, dances that are very representative of the “Roaring Twenties”.

SWING SWING SWING ON TUESDAYS

A show dedicated to Swing dance, the Lindy hop, the Charleston, and the Tip Tap. Many will be dressed in Vintage style.

FRIDAYS: EMANUELE URSO “THE KING OF SWING”

Emanuele Urso “The King of Swing” is the protagonist and star of the swing nights of Village Celimontana. Emanuele Urso is a fantastic drummer, a refined clarinetist and an excellent conductor, able to perfectly recreate, in an uncommon philological effort, the atmospheres of the swing era and dance hall of the 40s. The original arrangements by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Fletcher Henderson are studied, and reinterpreted and then re-proposed in a live concert that before being a real show seems to open a space-time door to plunge directly into perhaps the most brilliant and exciting period of the 20th century.

SUNDAYS: ROCK’N’ROLL

A show dedicated to the Rock’n’roll of the 50s, for those who love to dance in the style of Grease and American Graffiti, many dress up in style and the Village Celimontana will be rich in 50s animations like hula-hoops, mechanical surfs, cotton candy and popcorn, to recreate the right atmosphere.