ABBABULA – Music and Words Festival 2026: Sardinia's Most Beloved Cultural Festival Returns for Its 28th Edition

There is a type of festival that genuinely reflects the soul of the place that produces it, one that does not simply drop onto a location but grows from it, season after season, until the event and the city become inseparable in the minds of everyone who has ever attended. In Sardinia, that festival is ABBABULA. And in its 28th edition, running from July through August 2026 across the ancient squares of Sassari and the coastal stages of Alghero, it is as vital and as carefully curated as at any point in its remarkable three-decade history.

Festival Abbabula, born and grown in Sassari, is the most important event in Sardinia dedicated to music and to songwriting and the art of the written and spoken word. It has brought to the island the best of the national and international music scene. Abbabula is a rich program of appointments, concerts, meetings, and side events, all dedicated to those who love auteur music in its many forms.

Abbabula is a great event that, thanks to its artistic program, its choice of venues, and the skill with which it is organized, attracts every year a large audience of young and older, enthusiasts and curious visitors, Sassari residents and tourists. The places of Abbabula have been the ancient city theatres, the most beautiful squares of the historic center, and the most important archaeological sites of the island: not simply backdrops, but spaces capable of telling the story of what this festival is, has been, and aspires to be.

Twenty-Eight Years of Music and Words in the City of Sassari

A Festival Born From Passion, Built by Women, Sustained by a Community

Since 1996, Le Ragazze Terribili have been responsible for the artistic direction and organization of Festival Abbabula, the main event in Sardinia dedicated to music and the art of songwriting. In more than 27 years of festival activity, they have brought to Sassari the best of the national and international music scene.

The story of Le Ragazze Terribili is inseparable from the story of the festival they have built. A female-led cooperative that has been operating in Sardinia for more than 35 years, Le Ragazze Terribili have been committed for over 35 years to the organization of live events in Sardinia. Their longevity in a notoriously difficult creative industry is explained by the same quality that defines the festival they produce: an insistence on genuine artistic programming rather than commercial calculation, and a deep understanding of what their audience needs from a music event rooted in a specific place and culture.

Abbabula is much more than a music review: it is a cultural project that celebrates auteur music in all its forms and transforms spaces into places of meeting, listening, and discovery. Its distinctive characteristic has always been quality: from the artistic proposal to the care of the staging, from the professionalism of the staff to the careful selection of the host venues.

The political endorsement the festival consistently receives reflects its depth of community integration. Sassari mayor Giuseppe Mascia stated that the festival circulates through cities, towns, and spaces, produces cultural work with notable intensity in the northwest of the island, and has the potential to grow even further. That kind of genuine civic investment in a cultural event is not manufactured. It reflects thirty years of Le Ragazze Terribili delivering on their promises to the city that raised them.

The 28th Edition: What ABBABULA 2026 Is Bringing to Sardinia

Eric Johnson – July 10: A Guitar Legend Comes to Piazza Moretti

Eric Johnson, born August 17, 1954, is one of the most respected guitarists of all time, known predominantly for his electric guitar skills. The musician is also a highly accomplished acoustic, resonator, and bass guitarist, as well as a pianist and vocalist from Austin, Texas.

Johnson's appearance at the ABBABULA festival is confirmation of the program's international reach and its willingness to book artists whose reputations rest on pure musicianship rather than chart visibility. His Grammy-winning album "Ah Via Musicom" remains one of the most technically accomplished guitar records in the American rock tradition, and his live performances are regarded by musicians worldwide as studies in tone, technique, and musical intelligence. The intimate setting of Piazza Moretti in Sassari's historic center provides the kind of close-quarters experience that amplifies everything extraordinary about his playing.

Nu Genea Live Band – July 23: A Mediterranean Disco-Funk Exclusive for Sardinia

The first appearance in Sardinia of Nu Genea Live Band is for the 28th edition of the Abbabula festival. On July 23, Nu Genea Live Band, the band that has redefined the Mediterranean aesthetic with a disco-funk twist, will be coming to Sassari, in Piazza Università.

Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina, known as Nu Genea, have transformed their musical vision into a true exploration of the cultural stratifications of the Mediterranean. This perspective stems from careful research into the sources, traditions, and sonic echoes that have washed up on the coasts of Naples over time, understood not simply as a geographical origin, but as a place where languages, identities, and influences overlap. Their aesthetic draws on historical materials and hidden repertoires, reworked through electronica, funk, disco, dub, world-groove, and Afro-beat, in an approach that combines acoustic instruments, synthesizers, and rhythm sections in a contemporary setting.

After more than ten years of artistic partnership and numerous performances in international contexts, including the Louvre Museum, Australia, and Brazil, the Sassari stop represents an inevitable meeting: an opportunity to hear Nu Genea in their current live dimension, through the songs that have marked their evolution, the recent single Sciallà, and new, exciting surprises.

The Nu Genea concert on July 23 at Piazza Università is confirmed as Sardinia exclusive, making it one of the most significant bookings of the entire northern Sardinia summer season.

The Full 2026 Season: Across Two Cities, Multiple Stages

The 2026 ABBABULA Music and Words Festival features various concerts including Lucio Corsi, Joan Thiele, and Raphael Gualazzi in Sassari, alongside Brunori Sas, De André, and Diodato in Alghero.

Each of those names deserves a moment of recognition. Lucio Corsi, the Sanremo-recognized singer-songwriter who won the hearts of Italian audiences with his theatrical and emotionally direct style, has become one of the defining voices of the new Italian cantautorato and his return to ABBABULA after his 2025 appearance confirms the festival's role as a home for artists at the peak of their cultural moment. Joan Thiele, whose career gained enormous momentum from her Sanremo appearance, brings her particular combination of English-language sophistication and Italian emotional directness to stages in the historic center. Raphael Gualazzi, whose jazz-influenced piano-driven songwriting has earned him international recognition and consistent critical admiration in Italy, makes the kind of appearance at ABBABULA that justifies the festival's specific identity as a celebration of auteur music in the fullest sense.

The Alghero component of the festival adds a geographical and atmospheric dimension that gives ABBABULA its distinctive multi-city character. Brunori Sas, the Calabrian singer-songwriter who has become one of the most beloved voices in contemporary Italian music for his combination of social intelligence and melodic directness, performs in the coastal city that provides such a visually striking contrast to the inland urban squares of Sassari. Cristiano De André, carrying the legacy and the surname of the man many consider the greatest Italian singer-songwriter of all time, and Diodato, one of the most emotionally powerful voices in the current Italian pop landscape, complete an Alghero program that would stand on its own as a significant festival anywhere in Italy.

The Squares and Stages: Why ABBABULA's Venues Matter

Piazza Moretti and Piazza Università: Sassari's Historic Heart

The two principal Sassari venues for ABBABULA 2026, Piazza Monica Moretti and Piazza Università, are not simply open spaces chosen for their size. They are the architectural expression of Sassari's cultural ambition, and their inclusion in the festival's staging philosophy reflects what Le Ragazze Terribili have always understood: that the relationship between music and space is not decorative but fundamental.

Piazza Università sits in the heart of the University of Sassari campus in the historic center, surrounded by the Baroque architectural heritage that gives northwestern Sardinia's capital city its distinctive visual character. The square has hosted some of the most memorable ABBABULA evenings in the festival's history, and the intimacy of its proportions, combined with the quality of its stonework and the cathedral facade that closes one of its sides, creates an acoustic and atmospheric environment that no purpose-built concert arena can replicate.

Piazza Monica Moretti, the other principal Sassari venue, provides a slightly more expansive setting while maintaining the connection to the urban fabric of the city. Previous editions have used this square for some of the festival's most ambitious productions, including the Raphael Gualazzi and Orchestra de Carolis collaboration that closed the 27th edition in spectacular fashion.

Sassari Itself: A City That Deserves More Attention Than It Gets

Sardinia's second city, with a metropolitan population of approximately 200,000, has a cultural depth and a visual richness that the island's more internationally marketed destinations often overshadow. The old city of Sassari, built on a plateau in northwestern Sardinia's interior, has a character shaped by its history as the island's academic and ecclesiastical center, and the university that has operated here since 1562 has given the city an intellectual vitality that is still palpable in the concentration of bookshops, cafes, and cultural institutions in its central streets.

The Sant'Antonio Abate church in the city center, with its ornate facade representing one of the finest examples of Sassari Gothic architecture, and the Fonte di Rosello fountain, an elaborate Renaissance construction in the lower city whose twelve heads represent the months of the year, are among the visual landmarks that give Sassari its specific aesthetic identity. La Faradda di li Candareri, the Descent of the Candelieri celebrated every August 14, is one of the most significant religious processions in the entire island and has been recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Arriving in Sassari in July for the ABBABULA festival and staying through August 14 for La Faradda makes for one of the most culturally complete Sardinian summer itineraries available to any visitor willing to look beyond the coastal resort circuit.

Practical Information for Attending ABBABULA 2026

Tickets, Prices, and Where to Buy

Ticket presales are available through the TicketOne, Ticketmaster, and Box Office Sardegna circuits, as well as at the Le Ragazze Terribili headquarters at Via Roma 144 in Sassari. Infoline: 079278275. Ticket cost: early bird €24 plus booking fee; first release €29 plus booking fee.

The pricing reflects the festival's longstanding commitment to keeping high-quality auteur music accessible to its community audience. At €24 to €29 per concert, ABBABULA remains one of the most affordable access points to internationally recognized live music anywhere in Italy during the summer season.

Getting to Sassari

Sassari is accessible from three airports: Alghero Fertilia Airport (AHO), approximately 30 kilometers south of the city and the most convenient gateway for visitors from the UK and northern Europe; Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB), approximately 100 kilometers east; and Cagliari Elmas Airport (CAG) in the south, approximately 200 kilometers away. Alghero is the most practical choice for dedicated ABBABULA visitors, with direct connections from London, Dublin, Manchester, Edinburgh, and numerous other European cities throughout the summer season.

From Alghero, the drive north to Sassari along the SS291 takes approximately 35 minutes. Alternatively, regular bus services run between Alghero and Sassari throughout the day and early evening, with the journey taking approximately 50 minutes. Rental cars are available at all three airports and provide the most flexible access to both Sassari and the surrounding coastal and natural attractions of northwestern Sardinia.

Where to Stay

Sassari's accommodation range spans from budget guesthouses and student-oriented B&Bs in the historic center to mid-range hotels along the main commercial boulevards of Via Roma and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The historic center location, within walking distance of both Piazza Moretti and Piazza Università, is strongly recommended for ABBABULA visitors who want to maximize the festival experience and spend the hours before and after concerts exploring the city's restaurants, wine bars, and the evening passeggiata that makes Sassari's central streets one of the most pleasant places in Sardinia to simply exist during a warm summer evening.

For those who want to combine ABBABULA in Sassari with the Alghero component of the festival, the coastal city's accommodation offer provides an attractive alternative base. Alghero, with its medieval Catalan walls, its coral-fishing heritage, its seafront promenades, and its proximity to the extraordinary natural spectacle of Capo Caccia and the Neptune Grotto, makes for an exceptionally rich base for a northwestern Sardinia stay that incorporates festival evenings in both cities.

The Festival's Broader Cultural Mission

Abbabula is one of those programs that when it passes, leaves something behind. You see the dates and say: I would want to see all of them. If you love music, you love Abbabula. It is testimony to how much the network of territory can unite in proposals of quality. That description, from Alghero's Assessora for Culture, captures something that the programming statistics and artist names cannot fully communicate: the cumulative effect of attending a festival that has been built with genuine care over 28 editions, in spaces that carry the memory of everything that has happened in them before.

Abbabula is much more than a music review: it is a cultural project that celebrates auteur music in all its forms and transforms spaces into places of meeting, listening, and discovery. It is precisely this attention that has transformed Abbabula into an event of great appeal, capable of attracting thousands of enthusiasts, curious visitors, and tourists to the territory where it comes to life.

For visitors to Sardinia who want to experience the island at the level where music, culture, history, and genuine community life intersect, ABBABULA 2026 is the clearest possible invitation. The squares of Sassari are beautiful. The concerts are exceptional. The early bird ticket is €24. The northwestern Sardinia summer is exactly what you imagine it to be. The only question worth asking is which nights you plan to attend.

Verified Information at a Glance

Event Name: ABBABULA – Music and Words Festival 2026 (Festival Abbabula – Musica e Parole d'Autore)

Event Category: Annual Multi-Week Auteur Music and Cultural Festival

Edition: 28th Annual Edition

Organizer: Le Ragazze Terribili (Cooperative, Via Roma 144, Sassari), in partnership with Fondazione Sardegna, Fondazione Alghero, and institutional partners

Festival Season: July to August 2026

Primary Cities: Sassari (principal venue) and Alghero; previous editions also included Sennori

Primary Venues in Sassari: Piazza Monica Moretti and Piazza Università

Primary Venue in Alghero: Anfiteatro Ivan Graziani, Località Maria Pia (shared with Alguer Summer Festival programming)

Confirmed 2026 Artists and Dates:

• Eric Johnson: Thursday July 10, 2026, Piazza Moretti, Sassari
• TonyPitony: Tuesday July 21, 2026
• Nu Genea Live Band: Thursday July 23, 2026, Piazza Università, Sassari (first Sardinia performance, exclusive for Abbabula)
• Additional confirmed artists (specific dates TBC): Lucio Corsi, Joan Thiele, Raphael Gualazzi (Sassari); Brunori Sas, Cristiano De André, Diodato (Alghero)

Ticket Prices: Early Bird €24 plus booking fee / First Release €29 plus booking fee (per individual concert)

Ticket Platforms: TicketOne, Ticketmaster, Box Office Sardegna

Physical Ticket Sales: Le Ragazze Terribili headquarters, Via Roma 144, Sassari

Infoline: 079278275

Email: info@leragazzeterribili.com

Official Festival Website: festivalabbabula.com

Organizer Website: leragazzeterribili.com

Institutional Support: MiC Direzione Generale Spettacolo, Assessorati alla Cultura e al Turismo della Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, Comune di Sassari, Fondazione Sardegna, Fondazione Alghero