Featuring Maria Mazzotta, Rachele Andrioli, Bojken Lako, Antonio Castrignanò and Salento Grooves Band

Admission is free. Booking is recommended. Please reserve your place by calling +39 347 546 8393.

A celebration of twenty years of music

More than an anniversary, NOSTOS – CONCERTO DEL VENTENNALE is conceived as a celebration of twenty years of music, encounters and cultural exchange.

Hosted at Teatro Apollo as part of Armonie del Mediterraneo – Viaggi, Miti e Ritorni, the event brings together the artists, collaborators and audiences who have accompanied BandAdriatica throughout its remarkable artistic journey.

Recognised as one of Italy's most distinctive and internationally acclaimed world music ensembles, BandAdriatica has built an unmistakable musical identity in which popular traditions become living, contemporary forms of artistic expression, open to dialogue across cultures, histories and geographical boundaries. This ever-evolving vision has taken the ensemble to leading international festivals throughout Europe and beyond.

The concert

The performance retraces the defining moments of the ensemble's twenty-year artistic journey, celebrating a musical language in which Apulian brass bands meet Balkan fanfares, Middle Eastern melodies, North African rhythms and the traditions of Salento.

The evening also becomes a celebration of shared memories, as the group performs many of the works that have marked its artistic development, welcoming back to the stage numerous artists who have been part of its story.

The long-standing line-up—remarkably, seven of its eight members have been together since the ensemble's foundation—is led by Claudio Prima (diatonic accordion and vocals) and features Emanuele Coluccia (saxophone), Andrea Perrone (trumpet), Vincenzo Grasso (clarinet), Gaetano Carrozzo (trombone), Morris Pellizzari (guitars), Giuseppe Spedicato (bass guitar) and Ovidio Venturoso (drums).

Joining them for this special anniversary concert are Maria Mazzotta, Antonio Castrignanò, Rachele Andrioli and Albanian singer Bojken Lako, artists whose careers have intersected with that of BandAdriatica and who share its commitment to artistic exploration, cultural dialogue and the continual reinvention of tradition.

Opening event

The celebrations begin at 7.00 p.m. with a performance by Salento Grooves Band, presenting brass band arrangements of music from BandAdriatica's repertoire before leading audiences in a festive street parade through Lecce's historic centre to Teatro Apollo.

Prior to the concert, the theatre foyer will host the opening of a photographic exhibition tracing the ensemble's history through archive images, concert photography and documentary material, offering a visual journey from its earliest performances to its international tours.

The twentieth anniversary tour

The Lecce concert marks the opening of BandAdriatica's twentieth anniversary tour, which will continue throughout the summer with performances across Europe alongside many of the musicians who have contributed to the group's artistic development.

Confirmed dates include Tirana (21 May), Budapest (2 June), Lake Balaton (3 June), Korčula (28 June) and Rudolstadt (4–5 July).

Returning to places that have shaped its artistic journey, the tour combines celebrated repertoire with new arrangements and previously unseen collaborations. Rather than a nostalgic retrospective, it reaffirms the ensemble's creative vision of the Mediterranean as a space of encounter, dialogue and continual transformation.

About BandAdriatica

The only Italian ensemble selected for both the Babel Med Music showcases in Marseille (2017) and the Semana Internacional de Música (SIM) in São Paulo (2019), BandAdriatica has performed at major international festivals across Hungary, the Netherlands, Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, Albania, Croatia, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Portugal, establishing itself as one of the leading voices on the European and Mediterranean world music scene.

International critics have described BandAdriatica as "one of Italy's finest live acts", praising its unique ability to blend the sound of Southern Italian brass bands with Balkan fanfares, local folk traditions, Middle Eastern rhythms and the rich musical heritage of Salento.

Over the course of its career, the ensemble has collaborated with leading international artists including Rony Barrak, Savina Yannatou, Burhan Öçal, Kocani Orkestar, Raiz, Boban Marković Orchestra, Michel Godard and Eva Quartet.

The concert forms part of the programme of Armonie del Mediterraneo – Viaggi, Miti e Ritorni, conceived and promoted by the Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Heritage Agency, in collaboration with the Municipality of Lecce, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Tourism through the National Tourism Fund (FUNT) – 2025 Current Expenditure Programme (Project Code CUP F89I25002020001).