DAMS Music Festival
Six days of music, ideas, and performance at the Teatro Palladium in Garbatella
About DAMS Music Festival
A university festival in the heart of Garbatella
The DAMS Music Festival is the musical showcase of the DAMS degree program at Roma Tre University, hosted at the Teatro Palladium on Piazza Bartolomeo Romano, in the Garbatella district of Rome, Lazio. Established in 2022 from an idea by Luca Aversano, the festival is promoted by the Fondazione Roma Tre Teatro Palladium in collaboration with the university's Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts.
The formula is what has made this event a rarity in the Roman landscape: six days where academic research does not remain confined to classrooms but engages in direct dialogue with live music. In a single day, one can attend a roundtable on music communication, a screening, a book presentation, and then an evening concert.
Teatro Palladium, a venue that tells the story of Rome
The Palladium is no ordinary hall. Built in the 1920s as a cinema-theater for Garbatella, one of the capital's most distinctive neighborhoods, it is now the theater of Roma Tre University and a cultural hub for the southern part of the city. Its historic, intimate auditorium with warm acoustics gives the festival a character that large Roman venues cannot offer: well-known guests find themselves just a few meters from the audience, which is often largely composed of students.
A different theme every year
Each edition revolves around a central theme that guides the concerts and meetings. Past themes have included the relationship between music and freedom, women in music, and in 2026, music in communication: music as a language that traverses media, public space, and diverse forms of expression, from political communication to artificial intelligence applied to the record industry.
Guests and programming
The festival naturally alternates between different registers. Over the years, the Palladium stage has hosted names such as Noemi, Grazia Di Michele, Diodato, Daniele Silvestri, and Vinicio Capossela, alongside musicologists, composers, journalists, and music industry executives. The program usually includes:
- Evening concerts and concert-operas, often in their premiere or original form;
- Conferences and roundtables with university professors and industry guests;
- Screenings of films and music documentaries;
- Book presentations with the authors;
- Roma Tre Canta, the singing contest reserved for university students, with semifinals and a final;
- Audiovisual performances that combine electronic music and visual arts.
Roma Tre Canta, the young heart of the festival
Among all the sections, the Roma Tre Canta contest is the one that best captures the spirit of the event. Students compete on the Palladium stage, accompanied by the Roma Tre Jazz Band, leading up to the final evening where an established artist presents the award to the winner. It is no coincidence that Diodato, a graduate of the DAMS program at Roma Tre, emerged from this environment before returning to the Palladium as a guest of honor.
Why it's worth visiting
The DAMS Music Festival is almost entirely free of charge, with the only usual exception being the opening concert, which is still offered at a symbolic price. It is a rare opportunity to listen to top-tier artists in a venue with only a few hundred seats, and to discover Garbatella, one of Rome's most photogenic and least touristy neighborhoods, filled with 1920s public housing, staircases, and tree-lined squares.
DAMS Music Festival — edition 2026
Music in communication
The 5th edition of the DAMS Music Festival, conceived by Luca Aversano and promoted by the Fondazione Roma Tre Teatro Palladium with the Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts of Roma Tre University, chose music as a language of communication as its central theme: in media, public space, politics, and new technologies.
The program alternated between study sessions and evening performances, with free admission for all events except the opening concert. The final of Roma Tre Canta, accompanied by the Roma Tre Jazz Band, concluded the competitive part of the festival.
Programme DAMS Music Festival 2026
Tuesday, March 24
- 5:00 PM — Inauguration with institutional greetings from the university and the Municipality; speech by Anna Lisa Tota on "Music as agency: the transformative power of musical languages"; performance by the Roma Tre University Choir.
- 8:30 PM — "Guernica, icona di pace", a concert-opera featuring music by Ennio Morricone and Albino Taggeo, conducted by Stefano Cucci, with actor Massimo Wertmuller and singers Nunzia Santodirocco, Chiarastella Onorati, David Sotgiu, and Federico Benetti.
Wednesday, March 25
- 2:00 PM — Day dedicated to communication between sound and image, musical intelligence, and digital creativity, with screenings on Enrico Caruso.
Thursday, March 26
- 3:30 PM — "Musica parlante": media, musicians, and communication, with Michele dall'Ongaro.
- Concert by the Duo Cobogó.
- 8:45 PM — "Compositrici fra schermo e palcoscenico", dedicated to female musicians.
Friday, March 27
- 4:30 PM — Semifinals of the Roma Tre Canta contest.
- 9:00 PM — "Borders", a live audiovisual performance by producer Marco del Bene (MKDB) with visual artist Massimiliano Ionta.
Saturday, March 28
- 3:00 PM — Meetings on artificial intelligence and the music industry, music in political communication, and territorial enhancement of musical heritage.
- Final of Roma Tre Canta with the Roma Tre Jazz Band; guest of honor Daniele Silvestri, who discussed the role of music in public communication before the awards ceremony.
Sunday, March 29
- 6:00 PM — Vinicio Capossela presents the book "La strada di Vinicio Capossela", with the participation of writer Sandro Veronesi.
Highlights DAMS Music Festival 2026
- The concert-opera "Guernica, icona di pace" featuring music by Ennio Morricone, with Massimo Wertmuller.
- Daniele Silvestri as guest of honor at the Roma Tre Canta final.
- Vinicio Capossela and Sandro Veronesi for the closing event on Sunday.
- The audiovisual performance "Borders" by MKDB and Massimiliano Ionta.
- The 2026 theme: music as a tool for communication, from AI to politics.
Prices DAMS Music Festival 2026
Practical information — DAMS Music Festival
Location
Teatro Palladium, Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 8, 00154 Rome (Garbatella district).
Getting there
- Metro: Line B, Garbatella stop, about a 5-minute walk from the theater. This is the easiest way to reach the festival.
- Train: From Roma Termini, take Metro B towards Laurentina.
- Car: The neighborhood is served by Via Ostiense and Circonvallazione Ostiense, but parking in the area is limited during the evenings.
- Plane: Fiumicino Airport, then take the train to Roma Trastevere or Termini and transfer to Metro B.
Tickets
Admission is free for almost all events, subject to availability. The opening concert requires a low-cost ticket. It is advisable to arrive early because the hall is intimate and evenings with well-known guests often sell out.
Information
Teatro Palladium, tel. +39 06 57332772 — full program and downloadable PDF at teatropalladium.uniroma3.it.
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Where does it take place — DAMS Music Festival
Teatro Palladium
Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 8, 00154 Roma