In the heart of Molise, in Macchia d’Isernia, Macchia Blues comes to life every summer, a festival that has celebrated blues music and culture with passion, participation and community spirit since 1996. Born thanks to the initiative of the “Under the Tree” association, the festival has gone through pauses and revivals, until it has consolidated itself as an eagerly awaited event capable of combining music, culture and social reflection.
After the first five editions curated by a small group of volunteers, Macchia Blues came back to life in 2005 thanks to the “La Fenice” association. Since then, the festival has grown involving more and more residents, artists and fans, transforming into a collective and shared experience.
The festival is not limited to concerts in the square – although it boasts performances by artists of international caliber such as Johnny Winter, Deitra Farr and Carey Bell – but has gradually spread throughout the village. Forgotten squares, slarghi and even stretches of street are transformed into evocative stages: this was the case with Johnny Winter’s 2008 performance in the Trinity location, or Roberto Ciotti’s performance in the archaeological site of Santa Maria in 2010.
Among the initiatives born with the new management are the after-festival “Blues in Lanes,” with nightly jam sessions in the alleys of the village, and the “Paolo Fardone”Guitar Competition, aimed at young talents. There is no shortage of training moments, such as Franco Morone’s guitar seminar and the pedal steel guitar clinic conducted by David Hartley.
Each edition of the festival is linked to a social theme, which serves as a common thread for concerts, exhibitions, screenings and debates. In 2010, for example, the theme of undeclared work inspired the birth of “Cineblues”a review of films and documentaries accompanied by talks by experts. The following year, with “Questioni Meridionali,” the festival offered a journey through history through 19th-century periodicals, cultural encounters and musical contaminations between North and South.
In 2012, dedicated to childhood, Macchia Blues involved illustrators, visual artists and musicians in a choral experience, shaping an event that goes beyond music, becoming a symbol of aggregation, memory and creativity. With the motto “bring your instrument and play through the streets of the village”, the festival continues to bring the blues to life as a collective feeling, rooted in the land and open to the world.