There is a feeling that stays with you when you leave a Ligabue concert. A kind of happy tiredness, a slightly hoarse throat, ringing ears and that irrational but tenacious conviction of having been part of something important. Last night, Saturday, May 16, 2026, at THE HALL in Zurich, that feeling was carried home by thousands of Italians of Switzerland and Italian-loving Swiss, who filled the venue for the last stop of the European tour Certe Notti in Europa.
A special evening, because Zurich was no ordinary date: it was the last one. After Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, London, Utrecht, Brussels and Luxembourg, the tour that celebrated the thirty years of the cult album Buon Compleanno Elvis and the twenty years since the legendary Campovolo of 2005 ended right here, on the Swiss shore, before the return to Italy for the summer stadiums. And it ended in a memorable way.
Ligabue took the stage shortly after 8:00 PM with his current band – with his son Lenny on drums – and from that moment on, for over two hours, he never let go for a second. The setlist crossed thirty-five years of career: from the songs that made the history of Italian rock such as Balliamo sul mondo, Certe notti, Hai un momento Dio?, Tra palco e realtà, to the stadium anthems Piccola stella senza cielo and Viva!. Naturally, plenty of room for the tracks from Buon Compleanno Elvis, celebrated as befits a record that changed the way rock is made in Italy.
The energy in the hall was very high. THE HALL is not a stadium: it is an intimate venue with around seven thousand seats, and this allowed a closeness rare for an artist of Liga's caliber. Those in the front rows could see the sweat, the looks, the smiles of the Emilian rocker. Those further back still experienced a physical, real concert, without the great visual shows that characterize sports arenas, but with an intensity that precisely for this reason was amplified.
Capturing the Zurich evening were our two official photographers, Gloria Bressan and Luca Negro, who worked throughout the entire duration of the concert between stage and audience. The result is a photographic reportage that tells not only the artist, but also the audience, the emotions, the hugs, the raised hands, the glances: the human fabric of a night that will remain in the memory of those who were there.
See all photos of Ligabue
All the photos taken last night at the concert are available on our website: fans can find themselves, relive the most intense moments and download the shots as a keepsake. A small gift from the Tuttoitalia.ch editorial team to the Italian community of Switzerland, which filled THE HALL with a warmth that Liga thanked many times from the stage.
Before the concert, Tuttoitalia.ch had the chance to meet Luciano Ligabue for an exclusive interview. What emerged was a sincere portrait of an artist who, after thirty-five years of career, retains intact the enthusiasm of the first day.
The tour Certe Notti in Europa celebrates important anniversaries of your career. What does it mean to you to bring this story outside of Italy, in front of an international audience? "For me getting on a stage is always a celebration, let alone on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of Buon Compleanno Elvis and even more so with the special flavor of singing in other European cities. Frankly, I can't wait."
Tonight you are in Zurich for the only Swiss date, which also closes your European tour. What is your relationship with the Italian audience abroad, and what do you expect from this evening? "It always gives me enormous pleasure to reach those who, because of the distance, can hardly attend our concerts in Italy. Sometimes, precisely because of this, the audience can be even more engaged in the concert. I expect, or at least I hope, to find their warmth so I can give it back from the stage."
Thirty years later, Buon Compleanno Elvis continues to be central in your live performances. What does that record represent today for you, artistically and humanly? "Buon Compleanno Elvis is an album that has changed quite a few things in my life. I owe it a lot. From an artistic point of view it was a turning point for me, and at the same time the photograph of a very precise personal moment. With a sound that continues to make me proud."
After gigantic events such as Campovolo and the major stadiums planned for 2026, what difference do you feel when playing in more intimate European venues like THE HALL? "As I was saying before, I like to play concerts always and anyway, so in every kind of venue. In these cases, however, it seems to me that music plays even more of a leading role because there is no visual show accompanying it, but there is a band (the current one, excellent, with my son on drums) and a singer trying to give it their all with their rock'n'roll, and an audience that we can almost touch, so there is even more physicality in the concert. Everything reduced to its essence."
In 2025 you celebrated your 35 years of career with event-concerts and special projects. Looking back, is there anything that still surprises you about your journey? "I will never stop being amazed at the success my first song had: Balliamo sul mondo. Let alone everything that followed."
2026 will be a very intense year, between European tour, summer stadiums and autumn arenas. How does an artist prepare physically and mentally for such a marathon? "Physically with my daily activities: jogging, toning and postural exercises. Mentally I don't prepare, ha ha, I simply can't wait to get on every one of those stages."
Your concerts are often described as real experiences and not just shows. What do you try to make the audience experience during a night like the one in Zurich? "I have always maintained that a concert is a unique opportunity for everyone in the audience to be able to sing, sing off-key, hug, get moved, kiss, let go, and to do it among other people. I really hope that whoever comes will decide to let themselves go with their own emotions. They will take home a fuller experience. And we will try to do our part in that direction."
In recent years you have also involved other artists in the projects related to Buon Compleanno Elvis. How important is it today for you to dialogue with the new generations of Italian music? "I confess that this project was born from my record label and was followed by them. I am simply grateful to anyone of them who lent themselves to sing a song from Buon Compleanno Elvis. I felt truly honored by that tribute."
If you had to choose one song from your repertoire that best represents this moment in your career, which one would it be and why? "It would come to mind to say Non cambierei questa vita con nessun'altra (I wouldn't change this life with any other). Because I believe it's nice to say it to oneself every now and then."
With Zurich, Certe Notti in Europa came to a close, the journey that took Ligabue to eight European cities starting from May 1. Now Liga returns to Italy, where the summer stadiums await him: June 5 the warm-up date in Bibione, then Stadio Olimpico in Rome on June 12, Allianz Stadium in Turin on June 17 and Stadio San Siro in Milan on June 20 (sold out). From September on, the tour will move to Italian indoor arenas, with stops in fourteen cities.
But yesterday, in Zurich, the rocker from Correggio gave away something that will remain only for those who were there. An evening in which, as one of his most beloved songs says, certe notti la macchina è calda e dove ti porta lei tu va – on certain nights the engine is hot and where it takes you, you go. On the stage of THE HALL, the engine was burning hot. And it took us exactly where we wanted to be.
