There Taranta Night 2026 returns to light up the Salento summer with its 29th edition. The big one Concertone final will be held on Saturday August 22, 2026 in Melpignano, in the province of Lecce, on the square of the former Augustinian Convent, led for the first time by Ermal Meta in the role of Concertmaster. Before the final evening, the festival crosses dozens of Salento squares with its itinerant stages, starting from July 30th.
Last update: 25 June 2026. This article collects all the official information gradually available on the 2026 edition: Maestro Concertatore, theme, guests and calendar of stages. Concertone guest list and details are being updated.
Ermal Meta, the Concertmaster of 2026
Conducting the Concertone della Taranta Night 2026 will be Ermal Metachosen by the Foundation's Board of Directors. Born in Fier, Albania, and raised in Bari, where he arrived at the age of thirteen during the great exodus of the nineties, the singer-songwriter had already been among the protagonists of the Concertone 2025, when he brought to the stage of Melpignano Lule Luleancient love song in the Arbëreshe language, e Mediterranean.
His appointment is linked to the theme of the edition, the Mediterranean intended as a meeting space between cultures, after the “Under the same sky” of 2025. As explained by the president of the Foundation Massimo BrayMeta's choice entrusts the direction of the Concertone to an artist whose personal story speaks of acceptance and dialogue between peoples. “It is a great emotion to know that you are part of such a profound tradition. It is also a great responsibility”declared the singer-songwriter.
The guests of the Notte della Taranta 2026
The Concertone guest list is still being defined. Among the first names announced are Alessandra Amoroso, Levant And Sayf. As per tradition, on stage together with the guests there will be thePopular Orchestra La Notte della Tarantathe permanent formation of the festival born in 2004, directed every year by the Maestro Concertatore on duty in the reinterpretation of the traditional Salento repertoire. The full list of artists will be updated here as soon as it is available.
The calendar of traveling stages
Before the Concertone di Melpignano, the Taranta night crosses Salento with its widespread festival. These are the official dates of the traveling stages, starting on July 30th.
| Date | Common |
|---|---|
| Thursday 30 July | Corigliano d'Otranto |
| Friday 31 July | Zollino |
| Saturday 1st August | Cursi |
| Sunday 2 August | Carpignano Salentino |
| Monday 3 August | Calimera |
| Tuesday 4 August | Sogliano Cavour |
| Wednesday 5 August | Nardo |
| Thursday 6 August | Alessano |
| Friday 7 August | Galaton |
| Saturday 8 August | Cutrofiano |
| Sunday 9 August | Sternatia |
| Monday 10 August | Sant'Andrea, Marina di Melendugno |
| Tuesday 11 August | Ugento |
| Wednesday 12 August | Lecce Wall |
| Thursday 13 August | Martignano |
| Friday 14 August | Lecce |
| Sunday 16 August | Soleto |
| Monday 17 August | Galatina |
| Tuesday 18 August | Castrignano de' Greci |
| Wednesday 19 August | Martano |
| Saturday 22 August | Melpignano, the final Concertone |
What is the Notte della Taranta
There Taranta night it is the most important popular music festival in Europe, born in 1998 to enhance traditional Salento music and pizzica through its revival and contamination with other musical languages. It takes place every August in an itinerant form in the squares of Salento, starting from Corigliano d'Otranto and culminating in the Concertone di Melpignano, which attracts tens of thousands of spectators every year.
Each edition of the final Concertone is entrusted to a Maestro Concertatore, who has the task of arranging the traditional music of Salento, fusing its rhythms with other musical traditions. The La Notte della Taranta Foundation, chaired by Massimo Braytakes care of the organization and production of the festival.
