The Rockin'1000 is a musical project, originally created in Cesena (FC), Italy. Over a thousand musicians play and sing simultaneously at their concerts, with setlists composed mainly from well known rock music from different decades. The group was originally assembled in July 2015 as a way to ask the Foo Fighters to visit the town of Cesena, Italy.[1][2] Originally organized in a crowdfunding effort by Fabio Zaffagnini, the Rockin'1000 have made several subsequent appearances, and have been dubbed the "biggest band in the world".[3][4] Their initial performance in 2015 was made under the direction of Marco Sabiu.[5]

Rockin'1000 have been reassembled for some subsequent performances. The project always have musicians from previous concerts, and open spots for new members, in each city. On 7 July 2019, Rockin'1000 played 18 songs in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany. With 1,002 musicians playing in front of an audience of 15,000 spectators, the project achieved the world record for the largest performing rock band.[citation needed] Hundreds of guitarists, bass players, drummers, keyboardists, and singers—as well as wind sections, and string sections—joined together, playing rock classics by Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Oasis, Depeche Mode and others.[6]

In reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the group was enlisted to perform John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" for the opening of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin.[7][8] The performance was pre-recorded in Piazza San Carlo, and was later continued by the live audience at the PalaOlimpico singing along, supported by the contest's co-presenters Alessandro Cattelan and Mika.[9]

On 1 October 2022, Rockin'1000 performed on Allianz Parque in São Paulo in front of an audience of more than 30,000 spectators, on their first concert in South America. Among the performers there were musicians from previous concerts and new members from Brazil. Artists such as Supla and Sérgio Dias were invited to participate and host the concert.

References

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  1. ^ "The Biggest Band In The World – Italy's Rockin'1000 Founder Fabio Zaffagnini On Foo Fighters, Viral Success And Their Mad Live Show". NME. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ^ Jack Shepherd (4 November 2015). "Foo Fighters play 27-song-set to the 1000 'Learn to Fly' rockers in Italy". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  3. ^ "David Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' Song Performed Live by 1,000 Musicians". Music Times. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Watch David Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' Performed by 1,000 People". Rolling Stone. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Foo Fighters Promise to Visit Italian Town After Viral Video". Rolling Stone. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Largest Rock Band on Earth Plays Concert in Germany". RID (Rekord-Institut für Deutschland). 10 July 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Rockin' 1000 set to take Turin by storm!". Eurovision.tv. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  8. ^ ItalianPostNews (2 May 2022). "Eurovision 2022, the spot: Rockin '1000 play the Te Deum in the square in Turin. VIDEO". Italian Post. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  9. ^ van Waarden, Franciska (13 May 2022). "Live From Turin: Grand Final Jury Show". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
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