# Rugby Sound Festival

The Rugby Sound Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held in the city of Legnano, in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the Lombardy region of Italy. Founded in the 1980s, the festival has evolved to host diverse musical genres from both local and international performers.
The festival's lineup includes a range of musical genres, including rock, folk, pop, hip hop, indie, rap and electronic dance music. The festival is now managed by Shining Production, which combines musical and street food offerings.

## History

The Rugby Sound Festival was founded in the early 1980s. It was created as the Parabiago Rugby team's end-of-year party. The festival became accessible to the public from 2000 and has become one of the most important festivals in northern Italy. In 2012, the festival organizers decided that the increasing popularity required professional management and started a collaboration with Shining Production. The organizers began collaborating with external professionals from diverse fields including communication, sponsorship, advertising, and street food. This allowed the festival to gain attendance and popularity. The Rugby Sound Festival held in 2023 had the largest number of visitors in the festival's history and became known as the "record" edition. The event was attended by 70,000 individuals and tickets sold out in 12 days, establishing it as one of the most popular festivals in Italy.
   Chi non avanza, retrocede.

### The Parabiago Rugby Team

The Parabiago Rugby team was created in 1948 by Pietro Dallù with Nino Cataldi as the first president. In two years the team was promoted to the first division (Serie A). Over 200 members of the Parabiago Rugby team, including men and women, subsequently formed a group named "Squadra dei 200" to promote sport and teamwork, and continues to actively contribute to the Festival by participating in security.

## Festival Locations
### Libero Ferrario Stadium

From 2000 - 2007 the Rugby Sound Festival was held at the Libero Ferrario Stadium, a football stadium located at Viale Guglielmo Marconi in the city of Parabiago. The stadium was originally opened in 1933 in honor of the cyclist Libero Ferrario and hosts Parabiago's home games, with a capacity of 700 seats.

### "Venegoni - Marazzini" sports court

From 2008 to 2016, the Festival was held at the Parabiago Rugby team's sports center, "Vengoni - Marazzini" Sports Court in Via Carso in the city of Parabiago. The centre has been home to Rugby Parabiago since 1985 when the club relocated from its previous headquarters, the "Libero Ferrario" Sports Centre. It is a conceptual modern construction that has been regularly updated and improved. It has spread across an area of approximately 38,000 m$^2$ to the southwest of the municipal jurisdiction.

### Visconti Castle

From 2017 - 2023 the Festival has been held at the Visconti Castle (Legnano) (also known as San Giorgio Castle) in Lombardy. The castle is located on raised ground to the south of Legnano (part of the Metropolitan City of Milan) and is situated on a small island created by the Olona river. The precise location of the 'Rugby Sound Festival' is P.zza della Concordia, 1, 20025 Legnano (MI).

## Organization

Since 2016 the Rugby Sound Festival has been organised with the collaboration of Shining Production, the Comune di Legnano and Parabiago Rugby, who provide volunteer support.
International and local artists are contacted in October and continue through November, with a concentration on international artists and groups until December. Italian artists are sourced immediately after the Sanremo Music Festival, which puts a hold on activities until February. The final names of the various artists are finalised between February and April. In response to increasing numbers the organisers developed a VIP experience and enhanced checkout procedures to shorten wait times.
Festival security organisation involves the Polizia di Stato, Municipal Police, Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza, Protezione Civile, Italian Red Cross and Agenzia di Sicurezza. It is supported with the aid of a surveillance system and emergency preparations. Security management for the 2023 Festival was the responsibility of Deputy Commissioner Ilenia Romano.
The Festival organization includes maintaining rules aimed at discouraging inappropriate behavior, alcohol abuse and violence.

## Street Food Parade

The Street Food Parade is organized by "Associazione Culturale Le Officine", a cultural organization that operates mainly in the provinces of Varese and Milan. The event consists of numerous food trucks coming from all over Italy, with particular regard to traditional Italian street foods. The event was held in Legnano for the first time in October 2016, and more than 30,000 people attended. Because of the unexpected popularity of the event, many food trucks ran out of food.
The success of the 2016 event led to cooperation between Shining Production and "Associazione Culturale Le Officine" to combine the music festival and food parade to realize "an event inside the event" In 2019 a portion of the island was assigned to the Street Food Parade for the duration of the festival. This allowed the visitors of the festival to try the different street foods while attending the musical events of the festival. The initiative was continued for successive editions of the festival.
| 2019 | 2022 |
| Hamburgers Fried Gnocchi Abruzzese Skewers American Barbecue Fried Vegetables Puglian Friselle Brazilian Picanha and Grilled Meat Hot Dogs Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich Japanese Takoyaki Modenese Tigelle Salsiccia and Friarielli Sicilian Arancini Grilled Vegetables Fried, Grilled, and Smoked Fish Piadina Romagnola Seadas with Pecorino and Honey Fish & Chips Sangria | Meatballs Steaks and Fillet Steak Modenese Tigelle Asian Food Gourmet Hamburger Panzerotti Abruzzese Skewers Burrito, Tacos and Nachos Pizza Japanese Takoyaki Hot Dogs Hamburgers with typical Roman ingredients Gourmet Bruschetta Octopus Sandwiches Waffles, Pancakes, and Crepes Various Street Desserts |

## 2023 Festival "Record" Edition

The 2023 Rugby Sound Festival at Legnano Castle island ran from 29th June to 10th July and included concerts, performances and free DJ sets at the end of the night. It had a record attendance of 70,000 people, with a total of six sold-out performances, two of which sold out three weeks before the start. The event achieved The festival was structured as follows:
* 29th June: performance by Planet Funk, an Italian electronic band, followed by the Motel Connection
* 30th June: performance by a pop and punk band Finley, followed by a music party called Teenage Dream. This date is one of the two that sold-out three weeks before the start of the Festival
* 1st July: the lineup featured the dance-pop band Eiffel 65, followed by a dance-themed music party named Zarro Night.
* 2nd July: the singer Cristina D'Avena along with the band Gem boy
* 3rd July: performance of a young rapper known as Rondodasosa, followed by 4 other rappers: Neima Ezza, Medy, Neza, and Artie5five
* 4th July: started with hip-hop band Articolo 31, composed of singer J-Ax and DJ Jad, followed by dance, pop, and hip-hop DJ Wlady
* 6th July: Sfera Ebbasta, the rapper with the highest number of streams (on Spotify) in Italy
* 7th July: two rappers performed, Salmo followed by Nitro
* 8th July: pop band Boomdabash
* 9th July: two rappers from Naples, Luchè followed by Geolier
* 10th July: comedian Andrea Pucci - the second of the two shows that reached full capacity three weeks before the start of the festival

## Festival summary by year

| Edition | Year | Dates | Location | Headliners and prices | Attendance |
| 13th | 2012 | June 26th - July 1st | Sport Court “Venegoni – Marazzini “ - Rugby Parabiago | 26/06 - Battle of the Bands 2012 - Free entry 27/06 - Egidio Brugali & The Jamaican Bus + Rootical Foundation + Legend (Bob Marley Cover Band) - Free entry 28/06 - Maddog + Rumatera + Linea 77 - Free entry 29/06 - Vito War Dj Set + Giuliano Palma & The Bluebeaters - 5€ after 9:00pm 30/06 - Nena & The SuperYeas + Planet Funk - 5€ after 9:00pm 01/07 - 667 + Clairvoyants and Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden Cover Band) - Free entry | |
| 14th | 2013 | June 23rd -June 30th | Sport Court “Venegoni – Marazzini “ - Rugby Parabiago | 23/06 - Rock This Town, Rock n Roll festival - Tony Tuono and the Black Roosters + Backseat Boogie + The Good Fellas - Free entry 24/06 - Goodbye To Gravity - The Bastard Sons Of Dioniso - Free entry 25/06 - Battle Of The Bands 2013 - Free entry 26/06 - War Machine AC/DC Tribute Band - Blackin Head Metallica Tribute Band - Free entry 27/06 - Egidio Brugali unplugged + Vito War + Serious Thing Dj Set+ Mellow Mood + Alborosie - 10€ 28/06: Merdonald's + Maddog + Punkreas - 5€ 29/06 - Junior Sprea + Good Vibe Styla + Sud Sound System - 5€ 30/06 - Club Dogo - 5€ | |
| 15th | 2014 | July 11th - July 20th | Sport Court “Venegoni – Marazzini “ - Rugby Parabiago | 11/07 - Dj Gabry Ponte + Dj Set Borotalko (Valtellina cuisine) - 10€ 12/07 - Giuliano Palma + Monaci del Surf (Hungary cuisine) - Free entry 13/07 - Rock’n’Roll Kamikaze + Izzy + the Catastrophics (USA cuisine) - Free entry 14/07 - ‘Bottle of Band’ presented by Chiara Karse di Radio Deejay (Rome cuisine) - Free entry 15/07 - Ki-Mani Marley + Raphael + Eazy Skankers + Serious Things (Austria cuisine) - Free entry 16/07 - Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti + Figli di Madre Ignota (Sicily cuisine) - Free entry 17/07 - Salmo (Spanish cuisine) - 10€ 18/07 - Bunny Wailer (Mexico cuisine) - 10€ 19/07 - Motel Connection + Boosta (Milan cuisine) - 10€ 20/07 - Cristina D’Avena + Gem Boy - 10€ | |
| 16th | 2015 | June 26th - July 5th | Sport Court “Venegoni – Marazzini “ - Rugby Parabiago | 26/06 - Caparezza - 10€ 27/06 - Sud Sound System + Train to roots + The Black Beat Movement - 5€ 28/06 - Lollipop + 50s festival + Olly Riva & the SoulRocket + Messer Chups - Free entry 29/06 - Battle of the bands - Free entry 30/06 - Folkstone + Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards (Celtic Night) - Free entry 01/07 - Rumatera + L’invasione degli omini verdi - Free entry 02/07 - The Fratellis + i Monaci del Surf - 10€ 03/07 - Punkreas + Vallanzaska + PAY - 5€ 04/07 - Mellow Mood + Dub inc - Free entry 05/07 - Ruggero de I Timidi + Manolo Strimpelli Nait Orkestra - Free entry | |
| 17th | 2016 | June 24th - July 3rd | Sport Court “Venegoni – Marazzini “ - Rugby Parabiago | 24/06 - Lacuna Coil - Free entry 25/06 - Bandabardò - Free entry 26/06 - Salmo - 10€ 27/06 - Four Fighters - Free entry 28/06 - Shandon + Gli Statuto - Free entry 29/06 - Derozer Punk Rock - Free entry 30/06 - Alborosie + Mahout + Vito War - 10€ 01/07 - Davide Van De Sfroos - 10€ 02/07 - Gogol Bordello -10€ 03/07 - IRON MAIS - 10€ | |
| 18th | 2017 | June 30th - July 9th | Island of Visconti Castle (Legnano) | 30/06 - Elio e Le Storie tese - 15€ 01/07 - Planet Funk - 5€ 02/07 - Paddy’s la Festa Irlandese - Free entry 03/07 - I Legnanesi - Free entry 04/07 - Boomdabash - Free entry 05/07 - Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti - Free entry 06/07 - The Darkness - 15€ 07/07 - J-Ax & Fedez - 30€ 08/07 - Litfiba - 20€ 09/07 - Holi – The Festival of Colors - Free entry | 40.000 |
| 19th | 2018 | June 29th - July 8th | Island of Visconti Castle (Legnano) | 29/06 - Ziggy Marley - 10€ 30/06 - Fabri Fibra + Gemitaiz 01/07 - Max Pezzali - Nek - Francesco Renga - 23€ 02/07 - Saor Patrol - Free entry 03/07 - Lacuna Coil + Rezophonic - Free entry 04/07 - Alborosie + Mellow Mood - 11,65€ 05/07 - Sfera Ebbasta - 28,75€ 06/07 - The Hives + I Ministri - 17,25€ 07/07 - Deejay Time - Free entry 08/07 - Negrita - 23€ | 45.000 |
| 20th | 2019 | June 28th - July 7th | Island of Visconti Castle (Legnano) | 28/06 - The Bloody Beetroots + Nitro + Destroy The Disco - 5€ 29/06 - Subsonica - 20€ 30/06 - Max Gazzè - 20€ 01/07 - Gazzelle + Coma Cose - 25€ 02/07 - Omar Pedrini + Alex Uhlmann - Free entry 03/07 - J-Ax & Articolo 31 - Mr. Rain - 32,80€ 04/07 - Folkstone + Luf - Free entry 05/07 - Salmo - 32,80€ 06/07 - Zarro Night with Il Pagante - free entry 07/07 - Skunk Anansie + The Sweet Life Society - 35€ | 50.000 |
| - | 2020 | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic |
| - | 2021 | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic | cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic |
| 21st | 2022 | June 30th - July 10th | Island of Visconti Castle (Legnano) | 30/06 - Lacuna Coil + Moonlight Haze - 1€ (free entry for children under 10) 01/07 - Sud Sound System + Vito War + Train To Roots - 1€ (free entry for children under 10) 02/07 - Deejay Time - 12€ 03/07 - Litfiba - 34,50€ (free entry for children under 10) 04/07 - Paky + Shiva + Rhove (opening Nerissima Serpe) - 21,74€ (free entry for children under 10) 05/07 - Gemitaiz - 30,44€ (free entry for children under 10) 06/07 - Punkreas + The Bastard Sons Of Dioniso - 1€ (free entry for children under 10) 07/07 - Irama - 33,91€ (free entry for children under 10) 08/07 - Subsonica + Bluvertigo - 30€ (free entry for children under 10) 09/07 - Zarro Night with Il Pagante - 12€ 10/07 - Fabri Fibra - 33,91€ (free entry for children under 10) | 55.000 |
| 22nd | 2023 | June 29th - July 10th | Island of Visconti Castle (Legnano) | 29/06 - A/V Show, with Planet Funk and Motel Connection 30/06 - Finley + Teenage Dream 01/07 - Eiffel 65 + Zarro Night 02/07 - Cristina D'Avena + Gem Boy 03/07 - Rondodasosa + Neima Ezza + Medy + Neza + Artie 5ive 04/07 - Articolo 31 + Wlady 05/07 - Voglio tornare negli anni ’90 06/07 - Sfera Ebbasta 07/07 - Salmo + Nitro 08/07 - Boomdabash 09/07 - Luchè + Geolier 10/07 - Andrea Pucci | 70.000 |