Jamboree Festival – let those who can have fun
It all started there. Fashion, trends and styles that shape pop and rock culture – to stick to music alone – emerged on the wave of rock and roll, a universe that burst onto the scene in the legendary American Fifties. For the past twenty-six years, a festival has been dedicated to this era: the Summer Jamboree, which brings together in Senigallia those drawn to nostalgia and memories – adults, teenagers and the not-so-young – who, over ten days of a packed programme and non-stop events, showcase the fun-loving, carefree side of the summer crowd.
Above all, it’s a place where people dance at all hours, feast on the sort of junk food so typical of American culture, wander amongst the stalls selling floral shirts and colourful dresses, and – above all – listen to a specially curated soundtrack that flows ceaselessly from various spots around the city. Areas manned by DJs and bands of varying enthusiasm, with events running until the small hours, all centred on the Rotonda a Mare. Yes, the very same place that immortalised Fred Bongusto’s song, a smash hit in 1964 and beyond. The roots, influences and nuances of rock ’n’ roll are all there, with a clear epicentre: given that in this year of 2026, amongst the many centenaries to be celebrated (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dario Fo…), there is also that of Chuck Berry, the formidable songwriter and performer who created the most treasured repertoire.
‘Johnnie B. Goode’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’ and ‘You Can Never Tell’ – the songs with which Quentin Tarantino had made John Travolta shine so brilliantly in that mad dance scene in *Pulp Fiction* – are the daily fare for Summer Jamboree-goers, who flock from all over Europe to show off their colourful make-up and wigs, and to dig out otherwise improbable outfits from their wardrobes. And whilst the dress code is essential, the backdrop of vintage cars and motorbikes – Harley-Davidsons, of course – allows the days and evenings to be set against a backdrop of popular imagination, much to the surprise and curiosity of the audience.
Today’s Summer Jamboree is a packed, all-inclusive mass funfair, but it stirs up more than a touch of melancholy when you think back to the editions where all the greatest figures and stalwarts of rock and roll used to perform here, perhaps under the admiring and applauding gaze of Renzo Arbore, who never missed a single year. Chuck Berry himself, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chubby Checker, the Stray Cats, Wanda Jackson, Gary US Bonds, Duane Eddy and Ben E. King – to name but a few of the highlights from those bygone days – turned Senigallia into a showcase of unrivalled appeal for fans of the genre.
Then, when those heroes reached the end of the line, the music scene continued to draw on their creations, knowing full well that imitations and substitutes are only partial consolation, a means of making us long for the originals even more intensely. This year, amongst the many bands and solo artists – the attractions offered by the international circuit – one name stands out: Gina Haley, signalling the arrival on the scene of the ‘children of’.
