Musicultura 2027 – XXXVIII Festival della Canzone Popolare e d'Autore

Musicultura, held each spring in Macerata and Recanati, is one of Italy's main stages for homegrown singer-songwriters performing original material in Italian or an Italian dialect. Soloists and bands aged at least 16 submit two self-written, or co-written, songs, either online in FLAC or MP3 or by post or hand delivery with a CD, biography and signed form; minors need a parent's separate consent. There's no stated genre restriction. Entry requires paying a supporting membership — 80 euro for a solo artist, 120 for a group — and the deadline is 12 November 2026. From there the process runs in stages: an artistic-direction shortlist of at least 100 entries goes up for a week-long public online vote in February 2027, the top five plus around 50 more chosen by the organisers move to live auditions sung live, generally without backing tracks, and at least 16 finalists are picked to perform at a concert in Recanati in spring 2027. Eight winners are chosen for the finals at the Sferisterio arena in Macerata, decided partly by a guarantee committee and partly by public vote on the night. The overall winner takes a 20,000 euro prize, with further awards of 3,000 euro for a critics' choice and 2,000 euro each for best lyrics and a regional prize; winners also get travel and lodging covered for the Macerata finals. The whole application and judging process runs in Italian.