The Ravenna Festival is returning, the event that every year, from the Adriatic Riviera, unites fans of great music and culture, but above all of unexpected combinations. An “eccentric” direction for the programme, which, this year, among others, will intercept the routes of the Kula Shaker and their post-Britpop (on 29 June at the Pavaglione in Lugo), of Calexico with their psychedelic country-folk ( 5 July at Palazzo San Giacomo di Russi), but also by Dalibor Pavičić (guitarist of the Croatian group Bambi Molesters) and by Don Antonio and their new project Ghost Guitars.
But not only. In fact, a very special guest will be present at Ravenna Festival: Anohni and The Johnsons, shouting “it's time to feel what's really happening”. A unique opportunity, as the artist has chosen the Romagna city as the only Italian stop on his European tour (Ravenna will mark the second stop, which will start from Athens and continue to Madrid, Paris, London, Ghent, Berlin and Copenhagen). The appointment is for Saturday 15 June, 9.00 pm, at Pala De André.
During the evening, Anohni and the Johnsons will perform songs from the new album My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross (released in 2023 and voted album of the year by New Yorker) but also repertoire songs. Everything, always, in the name of urgency and the need to put ourselves in community with other human beings, ourselves, and above all the planet. These are not new themes for the band, which since 1998, the year of its birth, has dealt with topics such as eco-feminism and animalism. All supported by constant references to the history of these movements before them, be it John Waters or Klaus Nomi, Billie Holiday or the transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson (from whom the band took its name and also the cover of the last album).
Also accompanying the show were nine musicians, including Julia Kent (cello), Maxim Moston (violin), Doug Wieselman (multi-instrumentalist) and Jimmy Hogarth (producer who has worked with James Blunt and Amy Winehouse among others).
Anohni's performance finds a marked commonality of intent with the 2024 edition of the Ravenna Festival, which this year aims to reflect on the consequences of climate change. The recipe prescribed by the artist to heal collectively? Courage, expressiveness, resilience, celebration, honesty. Essential actions, because, as you underline, «for me, there is no otherworldly relief: creation is a continuum on a feminine spectrum and we are still an inalienable part of nature».
The complete program of the Ravenna Festival is available on www.ravennafestival.org.