REVIEW: Måneskin | 10.3.23 @ Municipal Auditorium [PHOTOS]

Måneskin
Nashville Municipal Auditorum; Nashville, TN
October 3, 2023

Review and photos by Hannah Laney

Rock and roll- at least the unbridled, glam, and thrilling kind that dominated music in the ’70s and ’80s- feels more and more like a thing of the past in these days… at least at the mainstream level. There are few groups in the contemporary musical landscape who can captivate an audience like the legends before them. Italian rockers Måneskin are one of those groups, however, existing in a small sphere of young acts who are fresh, popular, and keeping that old school rock and roll spirit alive, while bringing it into the modern era. Fueled by that energy and an incredible lust for putting on electrifying performances, these Italians truly know just what it means to rock.

After rising to recognition on their native Italy’s version of the X Factor, then further finding international fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, Måneskin have experienced a meteoric rise over the last few years, and for their second headlining tour of North America (after first debuting stateside last year), in support of breakout new album RUSH!, they made an impressive recent Nashville debut headlining the sizable Municipal Auditorium. The historic venue was filled with people of all ages, but most remarkably, a lot of young people ready to rock out. With no opener and an audience who was eager to see this show for themselves, the band took the stage with a powerful force that didn’t waiver once throughout the night.

Of course everyone is familiar with their biggest hit, a viral cover of The Four Seasons’ “Beggin,’” but the other songs went over just as well, if not better. The band’s latest release features 18 arena-ready tracks, including singles “SUPERMODEL,, “THE LONELIEST,” and “GOSSIP (feat. Tom Morello),” all of which made their way into the set. Frontman Damiano David sang from an old school microphone swinging from the ceiling for the first part of the show, playing even more into their retro style, and all eyes were on badass bassist Victoria De Angelis when it came to her heavy bass lines ripping across the venue. Fitting for their first time in Music City, the whole group donned a rock and roll riff on western attire and cowboy hats.

Halfway through the evening, Måneskin moved to the B stage. Here David professed their love and admiration for country icon Dolly Parton, saying they had met her at a recording studio during their time in Nashville. Following this, they did a gorgeous stripped acoustic version of “Jolene” (which they should definitely record in my humble opinion). Another exciting part of the night was when there were fans invited up on stage to dance around to “KOOL KIDS,” towards the end of the main set. It felt so genuine and in the moment that all of these people were just having so much fun in such an iconic place in time, and felt like a sincere gesture of appreciation to the huge wave of support from fans all over the world, who’ve help transform Måneskin into an arena act in record time.

Other highlights included a Kendrick Lamar cover (which just further proved how impressive the band’s range is), plenty of solos, both showcasing the rhythm section of De Angelis and drummer Ethan Torchio, and a ripping guitar solo from Thomas Raggi to kick of their encore, and the fact that they played “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” not once, but twice, also opting to end their encore with the popular tune (always a ballsy move from any band). It’s always incredible to see this kind of pure, unadulterated rock and roll spirit in Nashville, and I think Måneskin fit right in in Music City… hopefully we’ll be seeing them again very soon.

_

All photos by Hannah Laney

_

Setlist:

DON’T WANNA SLEEP
GOSSIP
ZITTI E BUONI
HONEY (ARE U COMING?)
SUPERMODEL
CORALINE
Beggin’
THE DRIVER
FOR YOUR LOVE
GASOLINE
TIMEZONE
Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)
I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE
MAMMAMIA
HUMBLE. (Kendrick Lamar cover)
IN NOME DEL PADRE
BLA BLA BLA
KOOL KIDS

THE LONELIEST
I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE