Why New Orleans? Inside the Rockin’1000 U.S. Debut

The world’s largest rock band, Rockin’1000, will make its U.S. debut in New Orleans on Jan. 31 at the Caesars Superdome.

Fabio Zaffagnini, founder of Rockin’1000, started the concept of “common people” performing like rockstars as a joke with friends in his hometown, Cesena, Italy.

After his video of the initial 2015 performance went viral, Zaffagnini and his new band began to spread rock around the world.

“We’ve been working so hard to get to the homeland of rock and roll, and we finally got the right chance to make it happen in New Orleans, which is a perfect fit for us,” said Zaffagnini.

Why New Orleans?

“We wanted to come to a place where music is important, where you can actually breathe music as you walk,” said Zaffagnini. “Because our way of working with music, living music, is something that is not just playing – it’s meeting, it’s gathering people, bringing together people from all walks of life.”

Walt Leger III, president & CEO of New Orleans & Company, said the opportunity was “serendipity.”

“Our team is always looking for diverse content and partners to create special moments in our city,” said Leger. “A team member stumbled upon it, reached out and connected with Fabio. There was an instant connection.”

Additionally, Leger shared that New Orleans was recently designated a “Creative City” for Music by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and is one of only ten U.S. cities to have this honor.

The Rockin’1000 U.S. debut will also incorporate a special horns section with trumpets, saxophones and trombones, as a tribute to New Orleans.

In addition, Harry Connick Jr. will return to New Orleans for Rockin’ 1000 as an Artistic Director. Connick will curate an entire act of the live stadium show featuring local musicians, unmistakable New Orleans moments and a global celebration of the New Orleans spirit.

“It’s not easy to find brass musicians around the world, but, luckily, here there’s plenty,” said Zaffagnini. “For us, it’s also a chance to play music that we generally do not play that often.”

Leger shared that having the Rockin’1000 U.S. debut in New Orleans is a result of the “right place, right time, right people, doing the right things for the right reasons, and ultimately to celebrate the community of music.”

Tickets and more information are available at the New Orleans & Co. website.