The desire expressed is to go back to making and listening to live music; the declared intent is to find new groups, be they rock, pop or dance it doesn’t matter, that are not composed of professionals but that ‘rock’ from a musical and more generally artistic point of view; the confessed desire is that this format compact several generations, in front of the television on the prime time of Friday on Rai1. It is the project entitled ‘The Band’, the new program that will be broadcast from 22 April for four evenings, from the Verdi theater in Montecatini Terme plus a special evening that is still a ‘work in progress’ but which should take place in a building in front of thousands of spectators, perhaps at the Mandela Forum in Florence, as the conductor Carlo Conti hopes. From the more than two thousand requests to participate and from the auditions, 16 bands were selected, which will then immediately become 8, after the judgment expressed by three exceptional judges: Carlo Verdone, Gianna Nannini and Asia Argento; eight bands that will be led by as many tutors – Giusy Ferreri, Irene Grandi, Dolcenera, Federico Zampaglione, Mrco Masini, Francesco Sarcina, Rocco Tanica, Enrico Nigiotti – and who will all reach the final, without further eliminations and even without winners or prizes: nothing TV contracts, no record productions, no studio recordings and also no money, “you only win the joy of making music, in this particular talent show”, Carlo Conti is keen to underline. (by Enzo Bonaiuto)