Return the Bindi Awardthe historic festival dedicated to new Italian songwriting, which since 2005 has paid homage to the figure of Umberto Bindi. The XXII edition will be held on Thursday 9th, Friday 10th and Saturday 11th July at the Umberto Bindi Amphitheater in Santa Margherita Ligurein the province of Genoa. The three evenings will be hosted by the radio and television host Claudio Guerrini and the actress, presenter and journalist Chiara Buratti.
Organized by the Le Muse Novae Association with the artistic direction of Zibbaand supported by the Municipality of Santa Margherita Ligure and the Liguria Region, this year too the festival features prizes for big names on the scene, the competition for emerging singer-songwriters and a series of collateral events.
The Bindi 2026 awards: from Levante to Maurizio Carucci
Among the main awards, the Bindi Award special mention “Let me dream” – Singer-songwriter goes to Levantwho will collect it on the occasion of his concert on August 29th at the Umberto Bindi Amphitheatre. The special mention in the Author category goes to Maurizio Caruccivoice of the Former Otagowho will receive it and perform on July 9th.
Three more prizes are scheduled for July 9th. The Future Awardin collaboration with the Reloaded Word Festival, goes to Pierdavide Caronethe next protagonist of “The Year to Come”, a work dedicated to his mentor Lucio Dalla. The Bindi New Generation Awardreserved for those under 30 already active in the scene, goes to Matteo Alienoauthor, producer and multi-instrumentalist born in 1998. Il Bindi Craft of Song Awarddedicated to those who work behind the scenes, goes to the non-profit association Slow Music ETSborn in 2018 on the initiative of Claudio Trotta.
| Award | Assigned to |
|---|---|
| Mention “Let me dream” – Singer-songwriter | Levant |
| Mention “Let me dream” – Author | Maurizio Carucci (Former Otago) |
| Future Award | Pierdavide Carone |
| Bindi New Generation Award | Matteo Alieno |
| Song Craft | Slow Music ETS |
The Bindi Prize Plaque: the 8 emerging singer-songwriters competing
The heart of the festival remains the competition for Bindi Award Plaquewhich on Friday 10 July will see eight emerging singer-songwriters competing, selected from those who signed up to the free call. They will be evaluated by a jury of professionals chaired by Massimo Poggini and composed by Gianmarco Aimi, Antonio Laino, Francesco Pastore, Claudio Trotta, Silvia Villoresi and Riccardo Vitanza.
In addition to the main Plaque, the jury will award the “Giorgio Calabrese” Plaque to the best author, the “Armando Corsi” Plaque to the best musician and the “Beppe Quirici” Plaque to the best arrangement. Each finalist will perform live with four songs: three of their own and one by Umberto Bindi. These are the eight in the race.
| Bindi Prize Plaque Finalists 2026 |
|---|
| Davide Amati |
| Diletta Calicanto |
| Emsaisi (band) |
| Gabriele Spira |
| Matteo Salzano |
| Matteo Trapanese |
| Pit |
| Sofia Ara |
The winner of the final on July 10th will receive, thanks to the partner NEWIMAIE and to the Notice Art.7 L.93/92, a contribution of 10 thousand euros to carry out a tour of at least five dates. The partnership with Soundreefwhich offers a cash prize to the winner.
Guests, documentary and the exhibition of The Island That Wasn't There
In addition to the awards, the festival hosts meetings, debates and presentations. The documentary is presented on July 9th “Umberto Bindi. Music is (not) over”produced by Quantica Produzioni with Rai Documentari, written by Veronica D'Agostino and directed by Dario Acocella, with the participation of Silvia Salemi and the presence of the director on stage.
Among the guests on July 10th the pianist and composer Fabrizio Grecchi brings “Beatles Piano Solo” to the stage, while the artistic exchange with the Music for Change Award leads to Santa Margherita Rossana De Pacewinner of the 16th edition of the Cosenza festival.
This year, 30 years after the birth of the Cultural Association L'Isola della Musica Italiana, the Bindi dedicates an exhibition to the most iconic covers of the magazine The Island That Wasn't Therefrom Lucio Dalla to PFM, from Pino Daniele to Francesco De Gregori, from Lucio Battisti to Vinicio Capossela. The exhibition, with free admission, will be set up at the sixteenth-century Castle of Santa Margherita Ligure, inaugurated on 9 July at 6.30 pm and open to visitors on 10 and 11 July.
The Bindi Prize, twenty years of songwriting
Born in 2005 on the initiative of the singer-songwriter Bruno Lauzihistoric friend of Umberto Bindi, the award has grown over the years thanks also to the artistic direction of Giorgio Calabreseestablishing itself as one of the points of reference for new Italian songwriting, alongside events such as the Premio Tenco, the Pigro, the Gaber Festival and the Ciampi Prize. Over the years, names such as Gino Paoli, Niccolò Fabi, Morgan, Coma_Cose, Motta, Marco Masini, Nada, Emma Nolde, Paola Turci and the Nomadi have appeared on the Bindi stage.
As for the competition for emerging artists, the latest edition saw the Calabrian singer-songwriter triumph Alessio Ali with the song “Fear of change”, while in 2024 the Targa went to Santoianni. Names that confirm the role of the Bindi as a springboard for the new Italian songwriting.
