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Acoustic Blues

Francesco Garolfi

• Italy• Active: 2006–
Acoustic BluesRoots BluesGospel BluesContemporary Blues

Guitarist, composer and producer rooted in acoustic blues (with harmonica player Fabrizio Poggi on 2006's "The Breath of Soul"), whose band won Italy's 2026 national selections for the International Blues Challenge and European Blues Challenge.

Instruments
Acoustic guitar, Resonator guitar, Lap steel, Pedal steel, Mandolin, Electric guitar, Vocals
Labels
Ultra Sound Records
from
Italia
Francesco Garolfi is an Italian guitarist, singer, composer, arranger and producer from a background in acoustic blues, roots and gospel, holding a degree with honours in Literature and Philosophy with a dissertation on the social psychology of music (Source: official site). His acoustic-blues credentials go back to "The Breath of Soul" (2006, Ultra Sound Records), a duo album of prewar blues covers (Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, Blind Willie Johnson) recorded, arranged and produced with harmonica player Fabrizio Poggi (Source: AllMusic; official site). In 2012 he performed at the VII World Meeting of Families before Pope Benedict XVI and roughly 400,000 attendees (Source: official site). He has released seven solo albums spanning blues, rock and contemporary classical styles, including "The Blues I Feel" (2006), "1968: A Rock Odyssey" (2008), "Un Posto Nel Mondo" (2012) and "A Handful of Songs" (2015), and reached the European Blues Challenge final in 2017 before winning the 2019 Italian Blues Award and being named a Godin Artist the same year (Source: official site). He co-wrote the song "Trouble" with novelist Massimo Carlotto and saxophonist Maurizio Camardi for the RAI2 crime drama "L'Alligatore" (2020) and curated the soundtrack for the RaiPlaySound podcast "Nelle Tracce Del Lupo" (2022) (Source: official site). Producer Peter Walsh, known for his work with Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker and Simple Minds, called him "one of the best musicians I've ever worked with" (Source: official site). On 13 July 2026, the Francesco Garolfi Band won the Italian national selections for the International Blues Challenge and European Blues Challenge, held at Deltablues Festival in Piazza Annonaria, Rovigo — a "Battle of the Bands" decided by a narrow margin of jury votes over the Simone Galassi Band and The Twisters with Alice Violato — earning the right to represent Italy at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, and the European Blues Challenge in Vila do Conde, Portugal, both in 2027 (Source: Deltablues; Il Blues Magazine).

Musical Influence

As Italy's 2026 national representative for both the International Blues Challenge and European Blues Challenge, and a 2017 EBC finalist, Garolfi stands among the country's most internationally active contemporary blues artists, with acoustic-blues credentials reaching back to his 2006 duo album with harmonica master Fabrizio Poggi (Source: Deltablues; official site).

Formative experiences

  • •2006: Duo album "The Breath of Soul" with harmonica player Fabrizio Poggi (Source: AllMusic).
  • •2012: Performs for Pope Benedict XVI at the VII World Meeting of Families (Source: official site).
  • •2017: European Blues Challenge finalist (Source: official site).
  • •2019: Wins the Italian Blues Award and is named a Godin Artist (Source: official site).
  • •2020: Co-writes the song "Trouble" for the RAI2 series "L'Alligatore" (Source: official site).
  • •2026: Francesco Garolfi Band wins Italy's national IBC/EBC selections in Rovigo, 13 July (Source: Deltablues; Il Blues Magazine).

Collaborators

Fabrizio Poggi
2006

Blues harmonica master; co-recorded, arranged and produced "The Breath of Soul" (Source: AllMusic).

Massimo Carlotto
2020

Novelist; co-wrote "Trouble" for RAI2's "L'Alligatore" (Source: official site).

Maurizio Camardi
2020

Saxophonist; co-wrote "Trouble" for RAI2's "L'Alligatore" (Source: official site).

Peter Walsh
n.d.

Producer (Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker, Simple Minds); praised Garolfi's musicianship (Source: official site).

Watch & Listen

Featured

Francesco Garolfi - Sono Solo

Official single, 2019 (Source: official site).

Francesco Garolfi

Francesco Garolfi - La Mia Casa

Francesco Garolfi - La Mia Casa

Francesco Garolfi vince Born in Arezzo Wave

Francesco Garolfi vince Born in Arezzo Wave

Waiting for the Sun

Waiting for the Sun

Francesco Garolfi - REAL TEAM TV - Shine The Light On

Francesco Garolfi - REAL TEAM TV - Shine The Light On

Trouble - dalla serie tv Rai L'Alligatore

Trouble - dalla serie tv Rai L'Alligatore

Francesco Garolfi - Helter Skelter (Beatles Cover)

Francesco Garolfi - Helter Skelter (Beatles Cover)

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
2006The Blues I Feel——————Solo album (Source: official site).
2006The Breath of Soul (with Fabrizio Poggi)——————Duo album of prewar blues covers, Ultra Sound Records (Source: AllMusic).
20081968: A Rock Odyssey——————Solo album (Source: official site).
2012Un Posto Nel Mondo——————Instrumental solo album (Source: official site).
2015A Handful of Songs——————Solo album revisiting the roots of black music with acoustic instruments (Source: official site).
2019Sono Solo——————Single (Source: official site).

Famous songs

01Sono Solo
02Trouble

Awards & Recognition

2017
European Blues Challenge
Finalist
2019
Italian Blues Award
Winner
2019
Godin Artist
Named artist
2026
Italian national selections - International Blues Challenge & European Blues Challenge (Deltablues, Rovigo)
Winner - represents Italy at IBC Memphis and EBC Vila do Conde, Portugal, in 2027

External links

Official website facebook instagram francescogarolfi.it francescogarolfi.it it.wikipedia.org

Booking / Contact

Booking agency
Not publicly available
Agent/management
Not publicly available
Booking phone
Not publicly available

Direkte kontakt via offisiell nettside; ingen egen bookingagentur funnet.

Source

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Sources

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