Suoni della Murgia – International Festival of Music and Folk Cultures

A widespread festival in the heart of the Alta Murgia

Suoni della Murgia is the international festival of music and folk cultures that has enlivened the summer of the Alta Murgia near Bari since 2001. Born in Altamura, in the Province of Bari, as an offshoot of the musical group Uaragniaun and the voice of Maria Moramarco, the festival has made the fusion of world music and Murgian folk tradition its signature identity. It is not merely a concert series, but a genuine cultural endeavor for and within the territory.

Music among masserie, historic estates, and rocky landscapes

The format is that of a widespread and itinerant festival: events span the municipalities of Altamura, Terlizzi, Santeramo in Colle (Province of Bari), and Minervino Murge (Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani), bringing music to fascinating locations such as masserie (fortified farmhouses), jazzi (stone sheepfolds), botanical woods, noble residences, and ducal palaces. Recent editions have involved over seventy historical and monumental sites, with the participation of more than 170 artists from around thirty different nationalities.

World music and folk roots

The programming ranges from Italian folk music to Mediterranean, Celtic, African, and Latin sounds, with a special focus on research into Murgian traditions. The festival maintains a constant dialogue with the Alta Murgia National Park, enhancing its environmental and cultural heritage, and supports the Italian World Music Network—a fraternity of musicians, festivals, and cultural operators across Italy—of which Suoni della Murgia was a founder.

A cultural experience, not just a concert

Alongside the concerts, each edition offers meetings, hikes, tastings of local products, and storytelling sessions that weave together music, landscape, and peasant memory. This is what makes Suoni della Murgia a unique appointment in the Apulian landscape: the chance to listen to great live music as evening falls over a karst plateau, amidst dry-stone walls, woods, and ancient masserie. Organized by the Uaragniaun association under the artistic direction of Luigi Bolognese, the festival enjoys the support of the Puglia Region and the involved municipalities.