The New Year’s Concert returns to Palermo after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The full cast of artists with which Palermo audiences will celebrate the beginning of 2023 was officially presented in Piazza Ruggero Settimo, in front of the Politeama, with the Sicilian actor Sergio Friscia conducting directly from Striscia la Notia and Rds with Ylenia Totino.
The program of the evening
Five hours of music, joy and happiness starting at 8pm with performances by three young Sicilian artists, Esdra, Bruna and Kid Gamma; then the Sicily Pop Orchestra conducted by Antonio Zarcone with the participation of Mario Incudine and Alessio Bondì. After 11 p.m., Francesco Gabbani will give a much-anticipated performance to toast the new year, followed by the Sicilian collective Shakalab. The concert will also be available on live TV and streaming.
Present at the conference, held at the Palazzo delle Aquile, were the Mayor Roberto Lagalla, the Councilor for Culture Giampiero Cannella, the conductor and actor Sergio Friscia and the representatives of the constituent ATS, composed of GoMad Concerti Srls, Maurilio Cassata for Utopia Srls and Carmelo Galati for the Wilder Cultural Association .
“After years of pandemic and isolation – says Lagalla – Palermo finally returns to celebrate the New Year in the square, with a moment of great music and joy that I hope will give the people of Palermo an unforgettable day . I thank the Giunta and all those who, with great commitment and work, have made this event possible.” “The people of Palermo will celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Politeama”, declared Councilor Cannella, in the city’s most traditional square with an event of great artistic importance . Sergio Friscia and Francesco Gabbani need no introduction. Alongside this, up-and-coming Sicilian artists such as Mario Incudine, Alessio Bondì and the Shakalab ensure an evening of music and joy. The New Year’s Concert is not just a party for local audiences, but an attractive event, essential to consolidate international reputation among the many tourists who flock to Palermo during these festive days.”
Francesco Gabbani, who will liven up a real concert that will last about an hour and a half (starts a few minutes after 11pm, then a 10-minute break for the countdown to continue with another 45 minutes of great music) with a line-up with the energetic, positive and fun songs, looks forward to partying in Palermo in the Politeama square and tells an anecdote about his connection to Sicily: “I am connected to Sicily because my first guitar teacher Alessandro Di Dio Masa is a real Sicilian , but also because every time I have the opportunity to play there it is a great emotion.And I have a boundless love for the master Franco Battiato.I bring my music, my energy and my emotions in a so special one Moment of the year when a point is made and the doors open for the coming year I wish and hope great positivity I thank the entire municipal administration Hungarian I will put all my energy into it. See you on the 31st”.
“I’m happy to be able to spend the last night of the year in my beloved city, in the splendid Piazza Politeama, together with the people of Palermita and all those who will be visiting us. We toast a year 2023 full of health, peace and serenity, we do it with lots of music and lots of laughter. Speaking of music, it will be a pleasure to share the stage with Francesco Gabbani, a great songwriter and extraordinary entertainer full of energy and joy. I’m sure we’ll have a fantastic evening, both on stage and in the audience, it’ll be a big party with friends, in a square full of families. I invite everyone to join and have fun with us. The stage will be a great showcase for talented Sicilian artists who will perform throughout the evening. There will be some welcome surprises. Password: fun!” And as I always say, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, friends… be happy!” Yours, Sergio Friscia.
The event is organized by the constituent ATS, composed of GoMad Concerti Srls, Maurilio Cassata and Alessia Billlitteri for Utopia Srls and Carmelo Galati for the Wilder Cultural Association – in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Palermo – young entrepreneurial realities in the cultural events that have decided to invest their experience and passion in Palermo and Sicily: “We want to sincerely thank the Mayor Roberto Lagalla and the Councilor for Culture Giampiero Cannella for accepting our proposal. Palermo is the city we chose, the heart brought us home – explains the organization – Now more than ever we are sure and convinced that after years of training and work in the capitals of Italy we have returned to live here live and work and Europe, it was the right idea. The great opportunity offered to us to use our skills, abilities and passion in the service of the city we love to carry out one of the most important events of the year makes us proud and makes us really happy. We want to say a big thank you to the representatives of the municipal companies of the Municipality of Palermo who, with their availability, the fruitful exchanges in the continuous daily meetings, their service and the work of their teams, once again form a “group for the realization of great events”.
“The union of our production realities and the experience gained over the years – he continues – in the field of cultural events in collaboration and with the support of the Municipality of Palermo gives us the strength to imagine and wish a magical and unforgettable night. a great one Show offered to the whole city and to the thousands of excited citizens and tourists who will come to celebrate the arrival of the New Year in the square.” The Sicily Pop Orchestra (soloists: Giuliana Di Libero, Pamela Barone and Katya Miceli ), a collective of musicians and artists from across the province of Palermo, led by Antonio Zarcone, with the aim of spreading Sicilian popular music in giro per il modo, with the participation of Mario Incudine, Italian singer, theater actor and multi-instrumentalist, Exponent of Sicilian popular music and one of the most representative figures of the new Italian hen world music, and Alessio Bondì, whose folk roots mix with his music contemporary rhythms and the exotic sound of his native language, the Palermo dialect. Following Gabbani will be Shakalab – a Sicilian reggae/hip-hop collective formed in 2010 and founded by Jahmento, Lorrè, Br1 and Marcolizzo – now one of the most influential groups in the entire Italian urban/black panorama.
At the opening, space for young talents from Palermo such as Kid Gamma, singer, pianist and beatmaker born in 2002, with the video for the new single “Farci Male” in an exclusive preview on MTV New Generation. Esdra, a 21-year-old Sicilian singer-songwriter, competed in the finals of Music For Change 2022 (“Music Against the Mafias”), a competition where she won the Musa Factory Award and was the next contestant at Casa Sanremo 2023. The brunette, singer and writer of the class ’97 of the Sicilian label Lo Stato Dell’Arte, his first single “Diario” was presented in the program “Che ci fatto qui” on Rai3 in prime time.