Almamegretta

Twenty Years of Barezzi Festival: Almamegretta live in London

In its twentieth year of major live events, Barezzi Festival comes to the UK. True to the spirit that has always defined its programming, the festival continues to build bridges between music and culture, places and people.

Alongside the artists already announced in recent weeks – Peter Hook & The Light, Arab Strap, Sleaford Mods, Glen Hansard, John Grant and Gaia Banfi – the new edition will symbolically open with a very special live performance. Following the Barezzi Way event featuring Einstürzende Neubauten on 12 September, the festival will celebrate not only its own twentieth anniversary in 2026, but also the thirtieth anniversary of one of the most distinctive albums in Italian music, “Indubb”. To mark the occasion, Almamegretta return to where it all began: multicultural London, where the sounds and history of Jamaican music converge.

The British capital has never been just another stop on the band’s journey, it has been woven into their artistic identity from the very beginning. It was in London’s clubs that the idea of creating a new musical language first emerged, blending Neapolitan musical tradition with Caribbean influences. The offbeat pulse of reggae, the atmospheres of jungle and drum & bass, and the rich heritage of Southern Italy’s ancient tammurriata rhythms became the foundations on which albums such as “Figli di Annibale”, “Animamigrante” and “Sanacore” were built.

It was with the acclaimed “Sanacore” that Almamegretta strengthened their relationship with Adrian Sherwood, one of the most influential figures in British dub and founder of the legendary On-U Sound label. His name also remains central to the creative chemistry of “Indubb”, released in 1996 as a collection of previously issued tracks reworked and remixed by the band alongside a number of high-profile guests, including Bill Laswell and Sherwood himself. The result is an album where roots are never boundaries, but rather the starting point for new forms of musical hybridisation.

On Sunday, 1 November, Almamegretta perform at Earth Hall in London, adding another chapter to a journey that has always embraced cross-cultural exchange rather than any fixed sense of belonging. It is a compelling artistic vision. One that feels, once again, more relevant than ever.