Music Festival 2026

Sunday, June 21, 2026 Cremona officially returns to celebrating Music Day, joining the national network promoted by the Italian Association for the Promotion of Music Day (AIPFM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and hundreds of Italian cities that participate in the summer solstice event every year. 
The Music Festival, founded in France in 1982 and now widespread throughout Europe, involves thousands of artists and hundreds of Italian cities every year, transforming urban spaces and cultural venues into open stages accessible to all.

The initiative is promoted by theMusic Office of the Municipality of Cremona with the contribution of theCommunity Foundation of the Province of Cremona Onlusand the support of theCariplo Foundation and marks the return of the Music Festival to the city after many years of absence, with the aim of giving Cremona back a great public day dedicated to live music, cultural participation, and the promotion of young talent and local creative initiatives.
The project represents a significant cultural investment dedicated to the younger generations and urban creativity, forming part of the innovation initiative that the City of Cremona is developing within the framework of its music and youth policies.

For an entire day, the historic center will transform into a vast, widespread urban festival, spanning different styles and genres: from classical music to jazz, from punk to funk, from urban fanfare to electronic music, including songwriting, street music, vinyl DJ sets, and contemporary experiments. 
Squares, historic courtyards, shops, cultural centers, and public spaces will host concerts, traveling performances, and participatory activities, creating an inclusive and diverse program capable of engaging diverse audiences and new generations.

The heart of the event will be: the Pagoda in Piazza Roma, the Federico II Courtyard, and Piazza della Pace, alongside the widespread performances of the OpenStage project and numerous off-program initiatives organized by the city’s extensive network of festivals, associations, and cultural operators.

The guest of the 2026 edition will be the group Bandakadabra, one of the most original and recognizable Italian acts on the contemporary brass scene. Formed in Turin, the band combines the energy of a marching band with electronic and urban culture, blending wind instruments, percussion, and roaming performances into a highly engaging show. The group will headline two key events of the day: a traveling marching session departing at 7:30 PM from Piazza Stradivari, which will traverse the historic center, engaging the public in a true urban musical parade, and the evening concert at 9:00 PM on the stage of the Pagoda in Piazza Roma.

Among the most significant new features will also be the official launch of Openstage in Cremona, an innovative service dedicated to street music and the promotion of young urban talent. Openstage is a platform already active in numerous Italian and European cities that combines technology, urban art, and public participation through virtual stations bookable via an app, allowing artists to perform freely in public spaces. The launch of the project in Cremona will symbolically coincide with the Festa della Musica on June 21.
During the event, Openstage will take center stage with its own dedicated corner in Largo Boccaccino, where a special technological totem will be installed for live street music performances. For the occasion, a public call has been launched for musicians, performers, and emerging artists interested in applying to perform during the day: Call for Artists – Openstage Cremona

Significant attention will also be dedicated to training and new contemporary musical languages thanks to the collaboration with Hitinthebox, an organization active in training young DJs and producers. As part of the Festival, a new and innovative academy dedicated to electronic music production, DJing, and creative professions related to the world of digital music will be presented.
The academy’s young students will take center stage during a special public event in Piazza Roma starting at 7:30 PM, where they will showcase their artistic and performance journey through a collective DJ set that will kick off the evening portion of the Pagoda Stage program.&

The 2026 Music Festival was made possible thanks to a broad network of collaborations involving cultural institutions, artistic collectives, associations, and community organizations. 
Partners include the “Claudio Monteverdi” Conservatory, with ensembles from its own music education network, BeMyMusic with the Mousikè Orchestra. the Beat Festival, a historic event linked to beat and vintage culture that has arrived in Cremona this year, Balera Punk, a local project dedicated to punk and alternative sounds, Casa Siqueiros with the DALM project of the Department of Musicology and Cultural Heritage at the University of Pavia, featuring a project that intertwines visual arts and musical improvisation, and the numerous businesses in the historic center involved thanks to the collaboration with Le Botteghe del Centro.

The initiative confirms the City of Cremona’s commitment to investing in music as a tool for community building, urban revitalization, and cultural participation, strengthening the city’s role within national music circuits and consolidating Cremona’s path as a City of Music.

FESTA DELLA MUSICA 2026
Cremona – Sunday, June 21, 2026

PROGRAM

PAGODA STAGE - PIAZZA ROMA

10:30 AM - Festival Beat soundsystem (DJ set - 60s 70s)
11:00 AM - Festival Beat presents: Famiglia Cobram (live - jazz funk)
12:00 PM - Festival Beat soundsystem (DJ set - 60s 70s)

5:00 PM - Balera Punk presents: The Asini (live - punk rock)
5:40 PM - Balera Punk presents: Køle (live - pop punk)
6:40 PM - Balera Punk soundsystem: Robotik Punk (DJ set - punk rock)

7:30 PM - HitIntheBox (DJ set & presentation - DJ & producer academy)
9:00 PM - Bandakadabra (live - techno brass band / urban fanfare)
10:30 PM - Ape?Sì (DJ set - pop & disco) 

PALAZZO STAGE - FEDERICO II COURTYARD

10:00 - C. Monteverdi Conservatory presents: OnlySax (saxophone quartet)
11:00 - Casa Siqueiros and DALM present: La Magnolia & The Borderscapers (visual arts and musical improvisation)

16:30 - BeMyMusic presents: Mousikè Orchestra
5:30 PM - C. Monteverdi Conservatory presents: Monteverdi Orchestra
6:30 PM - Sandro Barosi (songwriting)

PIAZZETTA STAGE - PIAZZA DELLA PACE

MATTINA VINILE 
12:00 PM - Liam (DJ set - house & funk)
1:00 PM - Alex Negri (DJ set - 90s & 00s house classics)

PACE COLLECTIVE PARTY 
8:00 PM - Gravity (DJ set - house & tech house)
9:00 PM - TooGoodToBeCareless (DJ set - house & tech house)
10:00 PM - Enigma (DJ set - tech house & techno)
11:00 PM - back-to-back

FDM26 x WALKING BRASS BAND
from 7:30 PM - departing from Piazza Stradivari
Bandakadabra - marching session (live - techno brass band / urban fanfare)

FDM26 x OPENSTAGE - LARGO BOCCACCINO
from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
OpenStage totem live corner (street music)
 
FDM26 x OPENSTAGE - street music
Palazzo Cittanova
Piazza Stradivari
Corso Campi 
Corso Mazzini 
Piazza Marconi

FDM26 x BOTTEGHE
Bar ai Portici - from 12:00 PM - Davide Monteverdi & Sox DJ set
Hollywood Saleone - from 5:00 PM - Peppe White DJ set
Caffe del Corso - from 5:00 PM - Bossanova live
Bonacasa21 - from 6:00 PM - Palanti & Bocca DJ set
Nuovo Sole - from 7:00 PM - Ezio Spoldi DJ set

FDM26 x OFF
    • Friday, June 19 - starting at 6:00 PM - Monteverdi Festival: Recitar Cantando | Monteverdi Academy - former Church of S. Vitale
    • Friday, June 19 - starting at 8:30 PM - Monteverdi Festival: The Marriage of Thetis and Peleus - A. Ponchielli Theater
    • Saturday, June 20 – starting at 12:00 PM – In tono antico Monteverdi Festival: Davide Rebuffa – Antonio Stradivari, “Giustiniani” guitar, 1684 – G. Arvedi Auditorium – Violin Museum
    • Saturday, June 20 - 6:00 PM - Monteverdi Festival: La Dea delle Scene - G. Arvedi Auditorium - Violin Museum
    • Saturday, June 20 - 9:00 PM - Enrico Nigiotti - Infinity1 
    • Saturday, June 20 - starting at 9:30 PM - Classics' Streetball Party - Robi Telli Memorial - Colonie Padane
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 5:30 a.m. - Monteverdi Festival: Dawn Concert - Summer Solstice - Cortile dei Canonici
    • Sunday, June 21 – starting at 11:00 AM – C. Monteverdi Conservatory presents: piano recital – Virginia Carini Dainotti Hall, Cremona State Library
    • Sunday, June 21 – starting at 12:00 PM – In tono antico Monteverdi Festival: Lena Yokoyama – Nicolò Amati, “ex Hepton” violin, 1665 – G. Arvedi Auditorium – Violin Museum
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 4:00 PM - Monteverdi Festival: The Marriage of Thetis and Peleus - A. Ponchielli Theater
    • Sunday, June 21 - 5:00 PM - Timpani: collective listening workshop, curated by dewrec - Circolo Arcipelago
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 6:30 PM - Sui Generis: workshop on musical genres, curated by the Pop Up collective - Circolo Arcipelago
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 7:30 PM - Fiesta Mexicana with Mariachi Gavilan - Casa Siqueiros 
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 7:30 PM - DJ Erbo: vinyl DJ set - Circolo Arcipelago
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 9:00 PM - Il respiro delle Corde - Accademia Stauffer 
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 9:00 PM - I Want to Go Back to the ’90s - Infinity1 
    • Sunday, June 21 - starting at 9:30 PM - Monteverdi Festival: Amor Tiranno - A. Ponchielli Theater
    • Monday, June 22 - starting at 9:00 PM - Cremona Summer Festival: Royal Holloway Choir of London - Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
    • Monday, June 22 - starting at 9:00 PM - Intime Armonie - Accademia Stauffer  
    • Monday, June 22 - 9:00 PM - Alfa - Infinity1