Festival Passport: One Day Music 2022, Catania (Sicily)

As the festival season begins to rear its head for the first time in many areas of the world for more than two years, we’re back with another edition of our Party Passport feature.

This time, we’re off to Italy for one of the country’s best-known multi-genre festivals set against a stunning volcano backdrop and gorgeous sandy beaches for miles!

Catania is an ancient port city on Sicily’s east coast. It sits at the foot of Mt. Etna, an active volcano with trails leading up to the summit. It’s also home to the renowned One Day Music Festival, which has played host to a wave of internationally-renowned artists of all genres since 2009. Past editions have included performances from Ben Klock, Derrick May, Dixon, Dubfire, Ellen Allien, Joris Voorn, Maceo Plex, Nicole Moudaber, Roman Fugel, Sam Paganini, Stephan Bodzin and Sven Vath.

Taking place on Sunday 1st May, this year’s edition already boasts an exciting lineup. Gracing the stage at One Day Music 2022 are none other than Âme, Len Faki, Illario Alicante, I Hate Models, Nusha & many more.

Date & Location:

May 1st 2022 – Afrobar, Playa of Catania, Viale Kennedy 47

Entry Requirements (Visa/Inoculations etc.):

EU Countries and the UK do not require a Visa. Green/Covid Pass is required.

Local Currency:

The local currency is the Euro (€)

€1 = 0.83 GBP

Averages daily costs (€):

Single Room – €50 (GBP 41.35)

Double Room – €80 (GBP 66.17)

Meals – €20 (GBP 16.54)

Public Transport – €1.5 (GBP 1.24)

Alcohol – €7 (GBP 5.79)

Water –€2 (GBP 1.65)

Common Travel Routes to the One Day Music:

By air via Catania Fontanarossa Airport. Airlines include Air Malta, Croatia Airlines, EasyJet, Eurowings, KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Vueling, Wizz Air

Recommended Hotels:

Miramare, NH, Parco degli aragonesi

Recommended Beaches:

The Playa of Catania is the symbol of the city. It is an 18km long coastline on the outskirts of Catania; golden sand beaches lapped by the blue sea, fully equipped with all kinds of amenities and activities for everyone.

Calm and quiet: Beach number 3 with free access

Busy and lively: Beach number 1 with free access

Recommended Restaurants:

Ghisa Pizza & Kitchen, Via Santa Filomena
Osteria Il Bell’Antonio, Piazzetta Sebastiano Addamo
Mm Trattoria, Piazza Pardo

Best Local dish:

Horse meat, Pasta alla Norma (tomato sauce, fried aubergine, baked ricotta cheese), Fish and seafood.

Recommended Cultural Experiences:

Duomo Cathedral, Vincenzo Bellini Teather, Collegiata Church, Benedettini Monastry, Etna excursions.

Recommended Hidden Gems:

Mercato della Pescheria (Fish Market), San Berillo district.

To add to our travel guide, we also spoke to a representative from the One Day Music team to give us some more insight into the festival and what to expect from this year’s edition.

One Day Music is well-known in Italy for its spectacular location. Can you give us an insight into the story behind this project and the response received?

One day music was born as the celebration of the first day of early summer. After a long winter, there is a great desire to throw yourself on the beach to enjoy the sun and the first swim of the year. The volcano is a backdrop and music is the main entertainment. It is always an opportunity to meet new people, as it is the biggest event in southern Italy.

After so long without festivals and live music events, what is the One Day Music team most excited about with the next edition of the festival?

Obviously, these pandemic years have left a huge mark on everyone who does our work. In some moments we all thought that we would never return to normal, that the big events as we knew them would never return. The realization, finally, that this event could have happened this year, meant that we found all the strength necessary to set up the festival even if in a much shorter period of time than normal. Our strength of mind and our desire to get back into the game are at this moment the greatest resource we have.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced when organizing the festival?

Certainly, the most demanding challenge is to be able to put together, in each new edition, a lineup that can be up to the previous ones.

How would you describe One Day Music Festival to someone that has never been?

One day Music should be imagined as a huge explosion of colour, where music and laughter mix together in a unique setting. Here you can find and discover new musical proposals and listen to great artists. Its main feature, which is the fact that it takes place in a single day, makes it an intense and unique experience.

The curated lineups for One Day Music are always really special each year. Can you give us any insight into this year’s proposed lineup and stage layout?

One of the main strengths of One Day Music has certainly always been the possibility of offering shows on different musical genres. For this year the artistic choice was to build two musical areas: on the one hand the House/techno stage with Ilario Alicante, Len Faki, I Hate Models, Nusha, Phunkadelica. On the other side from reggae to trap / hip hop with Noyz Narcos, Massimo Pericolo, Shiva, Paky, Rhove and Shakalab

One Day Music is renowned for a 24 hours event with sets from amazing artists, what can we expect from this year’s festival?

This edition will be one of the great comebacks. Clearly, our main intention will be to amaze our entire community, both by guaranteeing them names of great depth, and by trying to give them a unique experience from a visual and experiential point of view. We are designing the largest scenographic video ever made in previous editions of the festival, both on stage and off stage.

Are there any new up-and-coming artists people should keep our eyes and ears for this year?

Surely the most interesting proposals, outside the group of headliners, are Nusha and Phunkadelica. Two artists who are very different from each other in terms of sound, but who have a lot to express in their respective genres.

Are there any specific requirements for entry to One Day Music this year, given the global pandemic situation?

At the moment, according to the laws in force, the need to access with Green Pass is foreseen. However, it would seem that from 1 May 2022 this is no longer required, but we are still awaiting the official ruling of the government on this point.

Lastly, describe One Day Music in three words and give us your golden festival tip?

Sun, sea, music

Always the manifesto of One Day Music, which in fact perfectly paints the fundamental traits of this event.

One Day Music takes place on the 1st of May 2022.