The Night of Taranta 2018

Show Salento, Italy

Every year, more than 100,000 people take over the streets in Melpignano, dancing to the sound of the tambourine, infecting with their enthusiasm rock stars and artists of the diverse music genres, called to perform the "Concertone" on stage, the final act of this festival established in 1998. Dedicated to the rediscovery and promotion of Salento’s folk music and its crossovers with other musical languages, from world music to rock, jazz and symphonic music, the festival starts around August 8 featuring daily concerts in 14 different piazzas, including Lecce, and ending with the grand finale in Melpignano. The big standout is the Night of Taranta Folk Orchestra, which has among its masters Giovanni Sollima, Ambrogio Sparagna, Mauro Pagani, Ludovico Einaudi, Goran Bregovic and Stewart Copeland. The Festival hosts several guests, Italian stars and artists from the international music scene, although the Pizzica remains the song and dance staple of this liberating experience to live during the Salento starry nights.