First Waves Youth Fest at The Cage

Four categories are competing for the call for artists, each headed by a jury of experts composed of members of the Youth Policy Board of the City of Livorno, which promotes the entire project, and some well-known faces of the city, all in the role of “judges”: music (with Francesco Pellegrini for bands and Violet for soloists), dance (Lorenzo Martelli for street and modern and Silvia Angiolini for classical), theater (Alessia Cespuglio for monologues and Michele Crestacci for stand-up comedy) and visual arts (Carolina Rapezzi for photography, Michele Stagni for drawing and Alessandro Squadrito for comics). Many young people have responded to the call, especially among musicians, testifying to the artistic and creative vocation of our city. Registrations for the contest, promoted by the Youth Policy Board of the City of Livorno, closed on April 14th and on Saturday, May 10th, the winners of the four categories will finally be awarded, with the opportunity to showcase their talent to the public: the winners of the music, theater, and dance categories will perform live, and those from the visual arts category will exhibit their works.

“It is a great satisfaction to have reached the end of this adventure, which has seen the realization of both the Boia De’s Got Talent and the Prime Onde Youth Festival – says Chiara Pellegrini, musician and coordinator of the Youth Policy Board of the City of Livorno – especially considering that both were realized by young people, for young people. We hope this is the first edition of a path that will continue, a taste of what we can achieve in the future for the young talents of Livorno.” Also satisfied is the artistic director of the Villa Corridi theater, Toto Barbato: “We are very happy to host a beautiful and important event like this, which offers space and voice to the young people of our city and reflects the spirit of The Cage: we must learn to give space to young people and their expressive needs, instead of judging and criminalizing them.”

Proud of the results achieved is the Youth Policy Assessor Michele Magnani: “The Prime Onde Youth Fest is the concrete result of a path of listening, participation, and sharing between the new generations and the Municipal Administration of Livorno. For years, the Municipality has been working to strengthen the role of young people in public life, not as mere recipients of policies, but as true protagonists capable of bringing ideas, energies, and new visions. The realization of the Festival represents a milestone and a new beginning for both the board and youth policies. It is proof of how young people, if listened to and given the opportunity to express themselves, are capable of imagining and realizing innovative and inclusive projects rooted in their community.”

THE PROGRAM – The doors of The Cage will open at 4:00 pm and the performances of the winners of Boia De’s Got Talent will start at 4:30 pm. The stage will be set up outside the live club, in the garden, and the winning works of the visual arts section will be displayed in the external spaces, precisely under the Magic Tent. A market with Livorno and Tuscan artisans will be set up in the garden (with booths from Helehandcraft, Hekamacrame, VillaLoca, and Uffi)), the cooperative Thisintegra will be present with its food truck serving hot and cold food, and Francesco Boni will entertain the park with juggling. The award ceremony is scheduled for 7:00 pm in the presence of Mayor Luca Salvetti, Assessor Michele Magnani and Silvia Bartoli from CRED. From 7:30 pm onwards, there will be a break for relaxation and dinner before the live performances inside the theater. At 8:30 pm, Livorno stand-up comedian Marco Cavazza will open the evening; followed by Adriana and, finally, the main band of the evening, the Milanese Matrioska. From midnight, the DJ set branded The Cage with Trouble Kidd, Duam, and Matteino Dj on the console will start.

THE WINNERS: For music: band category Athel won by Vincenzo Martire, solo musicians category won by Lady Sox, and Francesco Toncelli, second place Sarah Minuti, and third place Giada Tognazzi; the New Waves Award for music goes to Nicolo Scartazza, the beat boxer. For visual arts: drawing category, Noemi Chegai aka Kinky wins the Digital Drawing Award; Sofien Bouhouli wins the Hand Drawing Award; comic category Samuele Apicella wins the Superpop Comics award; no winner in the photography category. For dance: first place Alessya Lombardi while Giovanni Russo wins the Revival Award. For theater, stand-up category Samuele Pippi, no winner in the monologue category.