The Porretta Soul Festival returns: 38 years of soul music in the Apennine Mountains

From 23 to 26 July 2026, Rufus Thomas Park in Porretta Terme will host the 38th edition of Europe’s longest-running soul music festival. The line-up, put together in Memphis by the tireless Graziano Uliani, is top notch: Eric Gales, Lenny Williams, Curtis Salgado and many other leading figures in a genre that never goes out of style.

Last autumn, Graziano Uliani, creator and artistic director of the Porretta Soul Festival, travelled to Memphis to meet the artists to be included in the programme for the 38th edition. In the city’s legendary clubs, he made agreements with the musicians who will perform on the four evenings scheduled from 23 to 26 July 2026. Scrolling through the list of announced guests — only the Special Guests are still missing — it is clear that this will be a particularly rich edition.

Once again, the “Master of Ceremonies” for 2026 will be Rick Hutton, British radio and television presenter and musician, an iconic figure at the festival since its early editions. Founder of the Rick Hutton Band, he will not just be presenting the artists: as is his custom, he is likely to get carried away in some improvised jam sessions on stage.

Here is the program for the four evenings of the festival:

Thursday, 23 July — It begins with blues

• Curtis Salgado & Soul Shot Band
  With his devastating voice, harmonica in hand and a story that intertwines the roots of American blues with the legend of the Blues Brothers, Curtis Salgado is one of those artists you never forget. Born in Washington and raised in Eugene, Oregon, at just twenty years of age he was already leading The Nighthawks and then co-leader of the Robert Cray Band. It was he who, in 1977, inspired John Belushi to create the Blues Brothers, and it is no coincidence that the duo’s first album is dedicated to him. NPR — National Public Radio — simply calls him ‘a blues icon’. Salgado will return to Porretta for the fourth time — after 2019, 2021 and 2024 — with the Soul Shot Band, an Italian-French group that has been accompanying him for some time. With him on stage:- Luca Tozzy, Guitar
  – Ivano Sebastianelli, Bass
  – Marco Meucci, Piano
  – Fabrice Bessouat, Drums
  – Laurence Le Baccon & Julie Dumoulin, Backing Vocals
• Mitch Woods & Bononia Sound MachineBorn in New York, adopted by California, a pianist through and through: Mitch Woods brings boogie, jump blues and early rock & roll to Porretta with the same impetuosity as ever. His influences? Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Meade Lux Lewis and Louis Jordan. He is accompanied by the Bononia Sound Machine, one of the longest-running ensembles on the Emilian music scene, with a powerful horn section and a repertoire ranging from Otis Redding to Earth, Wind & Fire, from Stevie Wonder to Average White Band — a group capable of selling out the Blue Note in Milan.
• The SweetheartsTwenty-two girls on stage, all students at Matthew Flinders Girls’ Secondary College in Geelong, Australia. This is not their first appearance in Porretta: they have been here seven times since 2002. Their story has even crossed the borders of Australian television with the sitcom Heart of Soul, three episodes of which are entirely dedicated to their stay and concerts in Porretta, Vergato and Grizzana — a series nominated for the International Emmy Awards. The soul music they play has its roots in Stax, but also looks to the melodic lightness of Motown.

  

  

  

  

  

   

2026 Friday, 24 July — Memphis has arrived

• Eric GalesA left-hander who plays a right-handed guitar “backwards”, Eric Gales is one of the most extraordinary guitarists of his generation. Born in Memphis in 1974, often compared to Jimi Hendrix for his energy and inventiveness, he blends blues, rock, funk and soul with simply dazzling technique. His tribute album to his brother Little Jimmy King — who performed at Porretta in 2000 in one of his very rare European appearances — is nominated for a Grammy.
• Stefanie BoltonAlso a daughter of Memphis, Stefanie Bolton built her reputation in the local gospel and R&B scene before emerging as a solo artist. Her 1996 debut album is considered a minor cult classic among independent soul fans. Her warm, elegant voice represents the purest tradition of the city.
• Bigg RobbRobert ‘Bigg Robb’ Smith hails from Cincinnati and brings with him a sound he himself describes as ‘BIGG SOUL’: a blend of Midwestern funk, R&B, contemporary gospel and southern soul. He is one of the key figures in the revival of this strand of southern soul with deep roots and a loyal following, capable of filling dance floors with equal effectiveness in clubs and at festivals.
• Memphis Music Hall of Fame Band & The JewelsTwelve renowned musicians, led by producer and arranger Kurt “KC” Clayton — twice nominated for a Grammy and president of the Memphis chapter of NARAS — who has collaborated with giants such as Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and Chaka Khan. Each member of the band deserves an article of their own. The Memphis Music Hall of Fame Band was created to honour the great artists inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, figures who have left their mark on the music of a city — and, through it, the music of the whole world. It is not just a simple backing band: it is a living tribute to a tradition that has changed the history of music forever.The Memphis Music Hall of Fame Band line-up :
  – Kurt “KC”Clayton (Keyboards/Music Director)
  – Garry Goin, Steve Bethany (Guitars)
  – Dwight Sanders (Bass)
  – Darryl Sanford (Keyboards / Organ)
  – Carlos Sargent (Drums)
  – Alan Clayton (Tenor Sax)
  – Paul McKinney (Trumpet)
  – Victor Sawyer (Trombone)
  – Shunta Mosby, Dani McGhee, Candy Fox (Background Vocals)
• With them, The Jewels: a female vocal group from Washington D.C. founded in the 1960s, which made its debut in the basement of the great Bo Diddley and then joined James Brown in his legendary Revue. Their single ‘Opportunity’ (1964) is a Northern Soul classic. One of the original members, Martha High, remained with James Brown for over thirty years.

  

  

  

  

   

2026 Saturday, 25 July — The heart of the programme

• Lenny WilliamsThe historic voice of Tower of Power during their golden age in the early 1970s, Lenny Williams sang songs such as “So Very Hard to Go” and “Don’t Change Horses in the Middle of the Stream” — which he wrote together with Johnny “Guitar” Watson. After leaving the group, he embarked on a solo career that culminated in the timeless classic ‘Cause I Love You’. His voice — powerful, warm, emotionally precise — is one of the most extraordinary instruments in the history of soul music.
• Karen WolfeHer career grew in the shadow of the greats: first as a backing singer for Denise LaSalle, then as a star of the chitlin circuit – the club circuit for black people – alongside Bobby Rush, Millie Jackson and Johnny Taylor. This year, she had the honour of celebrating Denise LaSalle’s induction into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. In 2025, she was inducted into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame. In Porretta, she will bring that visceral southern soul that is her stylistic signature.

2026 Sunday, 26 July — The grand finale

The final evening is traditionally a big collective party: the Memphis Music Hall of Fame Band Revue with The Jewels will see all the stars of the week — Eric Gales, Lenny Williams, Stefanie Bolton, Bigg Robb, Karen Wolfe — take to the stage in a single, electrifying celebration of soul music.

Information and tickets

The festival takes place at Rufus Thomas Park in Porretta Terme from 23 to 26 July 2026.

The cost for a single day is €40; a pass for all four evenings costs €120, while a three-day pass costs €100. Admission is free for children under 13 accompanied by their parents; those aged 14 to 18 receive a 50% discount (discounts available only at the festival ticket office).

At the end of the concerts, a bus service to Bologna is available, provided by TPER/Trenitalia.

WEB Site: www.porrettasoulfestival.it

Facebook: PorrettaSoulFestival

Instagram: porrettasoulfestival

Ticket: www.vivaticket.com

Here is the link to the Rome Central article on the previous edition: Porretta Soul Festival 2025: una 37a edizione memorabile.

Gaetano Battistini

Web Reporter Certificato da WREP EU