2022 Red Wine Bluegrass Party in Genoa, Italy – photo © Alessandro Ardy
For the past decade and a half, our Italian friends in the Red Wine band have thrown a big concert every year to celebrate with their friends and family in their home town of Genoa. Of course a great many locals come out as well, and many get their first bluegrass experience at these shows.
For 2022 they held the Bluegrass Party with a number of guest performers on November 11-12 in the La Claque room at Teatro Della Tosse.
Mandolinist and vocalist Martino Coppo has shared this brief report along with photos from the two nights in Genoa.
Will the Circle be Unbroken – 50th Anniversary was the title for the Bluegrass Party #14, which has been entirely dedicated to celebrate and honor the release in 1972 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band of one of the most influential and popular albums in the history of country and bluegrass music.
Many fans all over the world, and in Italy particularly, have discovered these musical genres thanks to this triple LP, and the following Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, so we decided to include in the show songs from all three albums, plus some of the Nitty Gritty’s most popular hits: from My Walking Shoes Don’t Fit me Anymore and Hold Whatcha Got to Flint Hill Special; from Valley Road by Bruce Hornsby to Lowlands from Gary Scruggs; from Mr Bojangles to Bajou Jubilee and Fishin’ in the Dark; from Lost River (Michael Martin Murphy) to Stand a Little Rain, ending up of course with all the musicians on stage for Will the Circle be Unbroken.
Helping us out this year were Davide ‘Zazza’ Zalaffi on drums (Red Wine 5th honorary member), Paolo Ercoli from Milano on dobro and pedal steel, Matteo Minchillo on keyboard, plus some special appearances by long time friends Stefano Tavernese from Rome on fiddle, Paolo Bonfanti on electric guitar, and Fabio Consani on harp.
A special moment had been performing the Italian song, Quelle Navi, written by the late Vittorio De Scalzi, a singer/songwriter from Genova, who passed away last summer, joined by his brother Aldo De Scalzi on clarinet.
The show was a success, with two sold out nights in a row, and we’re already thinking about the next year’s 15th edition!
All photos by Alessandro Ardy.
