Play is pleasure, fun, a form of competition free from rivalry. To “step into the game” means leaving one’s comfort zone behind, thus, exposing oneself, embracing risk, and accepting transformation in order to pursue personal or artistic growth. It requires courage, reinvention, and the ability to turn fear and uncertainty into possibility.
Piedicavallo Festival has been willing to step into the game ever since, five years ago, it chose to open itself to new artistic visions, new sonic landscapes, and new ways of experiencing performance.
Five years later, that journey has transformed the festival into one of the most compelling gatherings within the Italian – and international – landscape of alternative and avant-garde music.
But how does play translate into music? Perhaps by following the rules while simultaneously trying to break them — much like the cleverest children do in the middle of a game. It is within this grey area that magic happens: tradition collides with experimentation, rigid scores intertwine with free improvisation, and tensions dissolve into a growing constellation of harmonies where confrontation, contrast, and cohesion become part of the final composition.
At Piedicavallo, nobody ever truly loses – everyone wins, like at a fairground ride – because its real strength lies in collective play: an ever stronger bond between the team, the audience, and the landscape that hosts us.
The meeting point remains the same: the playground of the Alta Valle Cervo.
Three days of celebration, games, encounters, and joyful chaos – and yes, there will be music too.
Press play.

Alessandro Gambo Artistic Director, lüria