ZUCCHERO
WORLD TOUR 2026
Zucchero, one of the best representatives of rock blues in Italy (real name: Adelmo Fornaciari), has sold more than 60 million records in his career, including 8 million copies of the album "Oro, incenso & birra" alone. Zucchero was not only the first Western artist to perform in the Kremlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but also the only Italian artist to take part in the Woodstock Festival in 1994, as well as all 46664 events for Nelson Mandela, whose ambassador he is, and theFreddie Mercury Tribute in 1992. Also in 1992, Zucchero, together with Luciano Pavarotti, came up with the idea for the "Pavarotti & Friends" charity gala. The first edition, which was broadcast live worldwide, paved the way for a series of annual benefit concerts that continued until 2003. In 1999, he took part in the IMST Festival in Austria and performed in front of 200,000 spectators, appearing after Bryan Adams and before the Rolling Stones. In the same year, he was invited by Bono from U2 to play at the Net Aid benefit concert in New York, an event that was broadcast worldwide. Zucchero also participated in the two editions of the Rainforest Fund (1997 and 2019), a fundraising campaign organized by Sting and his wife Trudie Styler to protect the world's rainforests and defend the human rights of the indigenous peoples who live there.
During his career, he has played on 5 continents, in 69 states and 650 cities, including such unique places as Oman, Mauritius, Thailand, New Caledonia, Armenia and New Zealand, to name but a few. In 2004, he performed at the Royal Albert Hall in an unforgettable event where he shared the stage with world-renowned guests such as Luciano Pavarotti, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Solomon Burke and Dolores O'Riordan. The concert was subsequently released on a DVD entitled "Live At The Royal Albert Hall". In 2007, he was nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance" category along with Billy Preston and Eric Clapton. His performance in December 2012 at the Superior Institute of Art in Havana in front of more than 80,000 people was celebrated as the biggest live event by a foreign singer in Cuba during the embargo. In July 2018, he performed alongside international artists such as Eric Clapton, Santana and Steve Winwood at the British Summer Time Festival in front of more than 65,000 people in London's Hyde Park. In 2020, Zucchero joined some of the world's biggest stars in the global live stream "One world: Together at Home" (in support of the World Health Organization in the fight against Covid-19) and became the spokesperson for a universal message on the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day when he performed a brand new Italian version of Bono's 'Let Your Love Be Known' in front of a deserted Kolosseum. Zucchero wrote the lyrics for the Italian version, entitled 'Canta la vita', while Bono was featured on the recording. He then sent another message of hope around the world by performing a song called "Amore Adesso!" in the magically enchanted Piazza San Marco in Venice. The song was an Italian adaptation of "No Time For Love Like Now" by Michael Stipe and Aaron Dessner, for which Zucchero once again wrote the lyrics. Also released was an emotional duet with Sting entitled "September", taken from the album "Zucchero 'D.O.C. Deluxe' (a double CD with all the songs from 'D.O.C.' plus 6 new tracks). The song was also featured on Sting's album 'Duets'. May 2021 saw the release of 'Inacustico D.O.C. & More', the first all-acoustic project of Zucchero's career. In the summer of 2021, he performed a series of acoustic shows in Italy and abroad, although the venues had limited capacity due to Covid-19. In November 2021, "Discover", his first cover album, was released, on which he collaborated with Bono, Elisa and Mahmood and sang a virtual duet with Fabrizio De André. In December, the film "SING 2" was released in cinemas, in which Zucchero lent the Italian voice to the character Clay Calloway.
In 2022, Zucchero returned to the live stage with his "World Wild Tour", which included 14 shows at the Arena di Verona. He was also one of the stars of a special event, performing with Eric Clapton at the Waldbühne in Berlin, and for the second time in his career he opened a show for the Rolling Stones, this time at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen (Germany). In 2023, he celebrated his 40th anniversary in the music business with two shows entitled "Amore e Radici" ("Love and Roots") at the RCF Arena (Campovolo) in his hometown of Reggio Emilia, of which he became an honorary citizen. In the same year, the documentary "ZUCCHERO - Sugar Fornaciari" (directed by Valentina Zanella and Giangiacomo De Stefano) was released in cinemas, while he toured Northern Europe and America with Andrea Bocelli. He was also a surprise guest at Coldplay's concert at the San Siro Stadium in Milan. In 2024, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of his famous song "Overdose (D'Amore)", Zucchero launched his "Overdose D'Amore World Tour". Last June, "Overdose D'amore 2024", Salmo's version of Zucchero's classic, was released on radio and digital platforms.
His music has been heard far beyond Italy's borders, not least due to his collaborations with artists such as Bryan Adam Green, Al Green, The Blues Brothers, Solomon Burke, Dolores O'Riordan, Rufus Thomas, Johnny Hallyday, Tony Childs, Sheryl Crow, Tom Jones, Scorpions, Bono, Sting, Jeff Beck, Raye Charles, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Peter Gabriel, Paul Young, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Mark Knopfler, Brian May, Luciano Pavarotti, Ennio Morricone, Andrea Bocelli, Iggy Pop, Queen, Manà, Alejandro Sanz and many more.
