The Meeting Music Contest 2024 announces the selection of the five finalists. After closing registration with a record 210 participating artiststhe musical contest, the result of the collaboration between Rimini meeting and the MEI – Meeting of Independent Labels of Faenzaannounces that on the evening of August 24th at the Fiera in Rimini these five artists will compete with their respective songs.
GEA – M-Love
IRENE RUGIERO – Tao Chaos
LUCA FOL – Live Gracefully
SAMUELA – Monster
I AMALASKA – After me
Gea, Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with Spanish origins, blends contemporary elements with traditional sounds, creating deep emotional connections. You have composed soundtracks for TV series, participated in talent shows and international festivals. Her music ranges from soul to jazz, electronic, blues and pop. With the guitar, she improvises and writes in four languages, offering engaging, barrier-free performances.
Irene Rugiero, singer-songwriter and performer from Ferrara, studied jazz singing at the Frescobaldi Conservatory and participated in The Voice of Italy in 2019. She collaborated with artists such as Roberto Bartoli and Andrea De Marco, and launched the single “Se crede” with CDF Records. She is currently working on her first album and performs in various jazz ensembles with artists such as Maurizio Piancastelli and Davide Falconi.
Luca Fol, singer and multi-instrumentalist from Rimini born in 1994, published two albums in English between 2016 and 2018. Since 2020 he has been writing in Italian, mixing electropop and songwriting. He released the album “I am less English than tea” in 2022 and participated in the X Factor. 2023 sees the release of new singles and his second album “LUCA FOL” was released in March 2024. His music explores themes of humanity and social balance.
Samuela, born in ’96, is a singer-songwriter from Bologna. After a childhood dedicated to competitive sport, she found a form of expression in music and began studying singing, developing a personal songwriting style. She enriches her musical background by studying guitar and composition. In 2019 she participated in Like a Star, reaching the final. In 2022 she won the “Vocality and singer-songwriter sensitivity” award at the Onda Rosa Independent contest. On September 22, 2023, she released her third single: Leggera.
Federica De Angelisknown as I’m Alaska, is a Roman singer-songwriter born in 2000. Raised musically between choir, drums and piano, she achieved popularity on TikTok during the pandemic. After her debut with “Pupille” in 2022, she collaborated with Marta Gerbi and Alessandro Forte, experimenting with unique sounds. She has won prizes in various contests and released successful singles such as “Lenzuola nere” and “After me”.
This year, the participants measured themselves on the theme of the Meeting: “If we are not looking for the essential, then what are we looking for?” taken from a phrase by the American novelist Cormac McCarthy, presenting previously unpublished passages.
The final performances will be enriched by the presence of prestigious guests: Filippo Grazianisinger-songwriter and son of the famous Ivan Graziani, who will also celebrate the new album dedicated to his father at the MEI, and Francesco Arpino, producer and musician. Their participation will offer added value to the Contest, guaranteeing an educational and stimulating experience for all participants.
The Meeting Music Contest was born in 2021 from the synergy between Meeting for friendship between peoplesEurope’s largest cultural and youth summer event, and the MEI – Meeting of Independent Labels of Faenza, the most important national scouting platform of the Italian independent recording scene, with the partnership of Radio Bruno. The competition is aimed at emerging artists between the ages of 14 and 40, offering them the opportunity to express and share their creativity through music.
With regard to the prices, the winner of the contest will perform at the MEI – Meeting of Independent Labels 2024, which will be held from 4 to 6 October in Faenza. Furthermore, they will receive the recording of their single at the Lotostudio 2.0 in Ravenna, the printing of CDs by MEI and AMG Disk, digital distribution through MEIDigital / Indies Digital MEI, and promotion through the L’Altoparlante press office and on social media of the MEI.
Otello Cenci, artistic director of the Meeting Music Contest, expresses his satisfaction: « It is a truly exceptional edition of the contest! The number of participants is extraordinary and, after listening, we can say that the quality of the songs is also very high. August 24th will be a truly beautiful evening for the jurors and the public who will come to listen to the 5 finalists at the Rimini Meeting.”
“There is great satisfaction,” he added Giordano Sangiorgi, artistic director with Cenci and patron of the MEI, «for the enormous participation in the contest. The MEI (Meeting of Independent Labels) finds considerable interest in all its proposals, such as the new Santa Balera orchestra and many other projects that are gathering great acclaim, also in this case with particular attention from the younger generations. There are over 210 participants, with five finalists who represent the new way of making music, also thinking of the new generation of singer-songwriters.”
www.meetingrimini.org.
