Arezzo, July 2, 2024 – There’s only one week to go and MEN/GO MUSIC FEST is ready to return with a new edition and celebrate its twentieth birthday in style: from 9th to 13th July – always with free admission – the splendid setting of Parco il Prato in Arezzo, will host what for twenty years has been one of the most anticipated events of the season in Tuscany and beyond. The complete line-up of the Festival includes more than thirty artists who will alternate on stage.
Explosive start on Tuesday 9th July with OVERA, VENERE GOMMOSA, COCA PUMA, CACAO MENTAL, AFRICA UNITE, SUD SOUND SYSTEM. Wednesday 10th July will be the turn of NOVELLA, MILLEALICE, LAMANTE, MARTA DEL GRANDI, ELE A, ROSE VILLAIN; on Thursday 11th July CAPALEO, FRAMBO X SCICCHI, VISCONTI, IL MAGO DEL GELATO, THRU COLLECTED, MACE will take the stage; Friday 12th July will be the turn of BARKEE BAY, SANTAMAREA, BIRTHH, STUDIO MURENA, MURA MASA (dj set), JOHN TALABOT (dj set), SIMON SAYS B2B ESTREMO (dj set) and the final evening on Saturday 13th July will close with a bang RONDINE, GAIA MORELLI, BLUEM, SARAFINE, DARGEN D’AMICO, OKGIORGIO DJSET, COSMO, KLANG CLUB (dj set aftershow). A special event will close the week: Sunday 14th July at dawn PAOLO BENVEGNÙ will perform at the Fortezza Medicea for a magical performance (tickets available at the link: Libraesva ESG has detected a possible phishing attempt from “voodoocomm.voxmail.it” https://www.ticketone.it/event/paolo-benvegnu-fortezza-medicea-18698562/).
An eclectic and extremely contemporary line-up as always, that of MEN/GO MUSIC FEST 2024, which welcomes some of the most anticipated tours of the summer and offers an accurate and refined cross-section of the current music scene.
But like every year, music will not be the only protagonist at MEN/GO: MEN/GO CINEMA curated by Marco Compiani is back again for this edition, at the Arena Eden of the Cinema Eden in Arezzo with a series of exclusive screenings and meetings. Sunday 7 July starts with El paraiso by Enrico Maria Artale, who will be present at the screening together with Edoardo Pesce (moderated by Silvia D’Amico and Marco Compiani), Friday 12 July two episodes of the series Antonia will be screened, in the presence of the leading actress Chiara Martegiani, Sunday 14 July instead two short films made by the students of the Liceo Classico Petrarca with the Cultural Association Ideatica APS and Cocoricò Tapes.
MEN/GO CULT will instead bring to Sugar in Corso Italia a series of meetings with some of the artists who will perform at Parco il Prato moderated by journalists Gianmarco Aimi and Pierfrancesco Pacoda.
To complete the program of collateral events of MEN/GO MUSIC FEST a series of events in collaboration with Spazio Seme: Tuesday 9 July at 9.15 pm at Spazio Seme “Vecchia Italia” will be performed, a concert of swing music with the Papillon Vintage swing ban; it continues on Saturday 27 July at 9.15 pm at the Teatro Petrarca with the concert “Jazz on Broadway”. For the third year in a row this important concert on the history of jazz offers the city of Arezzo a repertoire taken from the best Broadway musicals. Finally, on Saturday 5 September a voice and piano concert by Gianni Bruschi and Santiago Fernandez at Spazio Seme: “Concerto d’estate”. A musical project that ranges from the repertoire of the great Italian singer-songwriters to ethnic Mediterranean music, from Jazz classics to Afro-American spirituals.
After the great numbers of last year, the anticipation for this 20th edition of MEN/GO MUSIC FEST is growing. Through music and by gathering in Arezzo some of the most important artists of the current scene, MEN/GO MUSIC FEST has become over the years, with the collaboration of the Institutions, partners and sponsors of the event, a fundamental event for the promotion of cultural tourism, a field still to be explored in Italy.
MEN/GO MUSIC FEST is a project of the ASSOCIAZIONE MUSIC! with the patronage, contribution and organizational collaboration of the Department of Sport and Youth Policies of the Municipality of Arezzo, patronage and contribution of the Tuscany Region, patronage and contribution of the Regional Council of Tuscany, collaboration and support of the Arezzo Intour Foundation and the Guido d’Arezzo Foundation. The main sponsors of the event are ESTRA, UNOAERRE, ATAM, KOZEL, CMG GERVASI.
Paco zzi, artistic director of the Festival, comments: “It is a great satisfaction for me, for us, for the organization, to be able to present the twentieth edition of the MEN/GO Festival. It is an important milestone for the event that every year continues on its path of growth, of development of emerging artists and young local talents alongside artists of national and international fame. Also this year the logic of the twentieth edition is based on this, with the desire to present a great party to achieve this goal. It will range from Dargen D’amico to Rose Villain up to big international names such as Mura Masa, John Talabot. From the evenings dedicated to the 90s, to Africa United with Sud Sound System to a lot of quality proposals from young people in great growth such as Ele A, Thru Collected, Sarafine, Birthh, Marta del Grandi and many others, up to the big names of the Italian musical proposal such as Cosmo, Mace… so there will be a great variety for five free evenings that will culminate with the icing on the cake, the dawn concert by Paolo Benvegnù in the Medici fortress to close this important edition for the goal achieved. A big thank you goes to the Tuscany region and the regional council for the patronage, contribution and support to the event that are renewed every year allowing us to work on the artistic proposal of the festival”.
“This is the third year – recalled Councilor Federico Scapecchi – that the Men/Go has been funded thanks to the three-year call published in 2022 and designed specifically for a summer music festival. After leaving every organizational role, I will enjoy the event again this year in the dual role of Councilor for Youth Policies and spectator. Twenty years is not trivial, also because it is increasingly difficult, for a public administration as for a private entity, to organize an event of this magnitude due to the bureaucratic obligations to be supported and overcome. We strongly wanted the presence, during the five days, of the street workers of the Dog association, great connoisseur of the youth reality of Arezzo. The synergy of Lfi and municipal police, confirmed by President Bernardo Mennini and Commander Aldo Poponcini, is the confirmation that the Men/Go also opens the way to alternative mobility, by train, in an attempt to limit traffic inconvenience. In this regard, the closure of Via Ricasoli is planned from 5 pm on the days involved, with guaranteed access to the upper part of the historic center for residents”.
Antonio Mazzeo, President of the Regional Council of Tuscany, echoes him: “This is an important edition, the twentieth, and it is proof that this is one of the most important Festivals in the country. It all started with a group of young people who wanted to dare, go further, and try to propose frontier music and today that idea has come true in a place where many girls and boys from all over Italy meet. It is a very beautiful space for socializing where the future is built and where the best energies are gathered. It is an important event, one of a kind, and we are happy and proud as a Regional Council to give our contribution”.
Lucia De Robertis, Regional Councilor of Tuscany, also added: “I have experienced all twenty editions of the Festival – says Lucia De Robertis, regional councilor representing the territory and president of the Environment and Territory commission – and it is a wonderful opportunity to come and get to know Arezzo”. “My thanks – continued Lucia De Robertis – go to the organizers and all the volunteers, but a thank you also goes to the many young people who experience the Festival and eagerly await the program to choose which evening to participate in. It is a very heartfelt event and we are proud to present it to the Regional Council”.
“We have been a long-time and enthusiastic supporter of the Men/Go Music Fest,” says Simone Chierici, president of the Arezzo Intour Foundation and councilor for tourism for the Municipality of Arezzo, “a festival that has become important in the pop and rock music scene and that offers a young audience an unmissable opportunity to get to know our territory.”
“This year too we are happy to be able to collaborate with the Men/Go that for some years now has not limited itself to the stage on the lawn, but ideally goes beyond the walls of the fortress to contaminate the summer program in the fortress with its energy. A synergy that for three years now has contributed to increasing the offer of quality rock/pop concerts for the people of Arezzo and beyond”. This is the comment of Lorenzo Cinatti, director of the Guido D’Arezzo Foundation.
“Men/Go Music Fest – these are the words of Francesco Macrì, president of Estra – is now one of the events that contribute to determining the modern cultural identity of Arezzo. Its growth, in 20 years, has been progressive and unstoppable, a sign of the intuition and cultural sensitivity of its organizers. Arezzo summers are increasingly linked to this event that Estra supports in relation to its quality and its results”.
“For almost a hundred years,” says Luca Benvenuti, CEO of Unoaerre, “Unoaerre Industries Spa has dedicated a constant commitment to the promotion and support of the Arezzo area, actively contributing to local initiatives and projects that promote community development. This is why we have chosen to support the MEN/GO MUSIC FEST, an event that for twenty years has brought to the city of Arezzo not only established artists in the Italian music scene, but also actively promotes local culture and identity.”
“It is with great pleasure – comments Carla Tavanti, administrator of Atam – that we are inaugurating this new edition of the MEN / GO MUSIC FEST which represents an essential event in the cultural panorama of our city, an event that every year manages to involve thousands of people, giving emotions and enriching our community with moments of music, art and sharing. We are proud to be sponsors of this festival that not only enhances the talent of local and national artists, but also has a significant impact on the social and economic fabric of Arezzo. We firmly believe that investing in culture is essential to promote the development and well-being of our city, and the MEN / GO MUSIC FEST is a concrete demonstration of how collaboration between the public and private sectors can generate value and opportunities for everyone. I would like to thank the organizers, the volunteers and all those who worked with dedication to make this event possible. Their commitment was extraordinary, especially in a complex period like the one we are going through. I conclude by wishing everyone a festival full of emotions and unforgettable moments. Atam will continue to support initiatives like this, because we believe in the power of culture to transform and improve our society.”
“We are particularly happy – they add from International Motors – to renew our support for this event, which over the years has become increasingly important, bringing some of the main artists of the current music scene – explains Valentina De Santis, General Manager of International Motors. – Our presence in Arezzo, combined with the strong desire to create a positive impact on the territory, promoting art, culture and literature, have meant that it was natural for us to contribute to the realization of one of the most significant events of the Tuscan concert season”.
