ABOVE: The Lucca Summer Festival held in Italy’s Tuscany region is a highly anticipated annual music event that draws a large number of concertgoers. (Courtesy: Lucca Summer Festival)
With this week ushering in the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere on Thursday, June 21, it’s the perfect time to kick off a monthlong summertime celebration.
The 21st annual Lucca Summer Festival begins June 23 and continues through July 26. It is the main event of Italy’s Tuscany region, bringing some of music’s most influential national and international talent to the stage every year. The highly anticipated concerts are held in the historical square of Piazza Napoleone in Lucca, Italy.
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This year’s event once again will deliver a rich and diverse experience, showcasing an impressive lineup of 16 sensational concert performances presented by varying musical genre artists and groups.
Queens of the Stone Age kicks off the Lucca Summer Festival this weekend on Saturday, June 23. (Courtesy)
Some of the acts performing at the 2018 Lucca Summer Festival will be Roger Waters (July 11); Gianni Morandi (July 22); Ringo Starr (July 8); James Taylor (July 20); Lenny Kravitz (July 18); and Hollywood Vampires (July 7) — made up of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp — which honors the music of rock stars who died from excess in the ’70s.
The Queens of the Stone Age, which received a Grammy Awards nomination earlier this year for best rock album for its newest release, Villains, will open the festival on Saturday, June 23.
Closing out the festival on Thursday, July 26, will be a double show featuring American jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a bass guitarist, Marcus Miller and multiple award-winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones, who will deliver her blend of jazz, country and blues music.
The Hollywood Vampires, featuring Joe Perry, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp, perform at this year’s Lucca music event. (Courtesy)
The inaugural Lucca Summer Festival in 1998 featured four acts that included Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, George Benson Band, and Latin Crossing featuring Steve Winwood, Tito Puente and Arturo Sandoval.
Since its beginnings two decades ago, the popular Tuscany music fest has held a total of 253 shows, featured 269 artists and drawn 915,000 attendees.
Throughout the years, the event has seen many performers returning multiple times, including Bob Dylan, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, James Taylor, the Backstreet Boys and many others.
Rock musician Lenny Kravitz has performed at several of Lucca’s music fests and will again this year. (Courtesy)
People have acknowledged and celebrated the importance and onset of the summer solstice since the time of the ancient Greeks, as it marked the start of the Greek calendar year.
Today, it is recognized for being the longest day — having the most daylight hours — of the year, signaling the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The event traditionally has been a time for feasts, bonfires, picnics, and song and dance — certainly a time when a monthlong music fest seems quite appropriate.
For the full concert lineup and to purchase tickets, visit the event’s website.
