The Concertone Piazza San Giovanni Roma or the May Day Concert is an annual music festival that organized on Labor Day by three unions: Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori (CISL), and Unione Italiana del Lavoro (UIL). It is held at the Piazza San Giovanni and draws large crowds of 500,000 to 800,00 each year from all over Italy and other countries. The concert features independent bands and international artists.
The 2013 May Day Concert is presented by Geppi Cucciari with the participation of Filippo Solibello and Marco Ardemagni, with the theme “Music for the new world–spaces, roots, and borders.”
The concert featured La Grande Orchestra Rock as conducted by Vittorio Cosma; pianist Nicola Piovani; Tosca in the Piovani ensemble with Fabrizio Bosso and Giovanni Sollima; singer-songwriters Daniele Silvestri, Renzo Rubino, Vinicio Capossela, Niccolo Fabi, Eugenio Finardi, Cristiano De Andre,Max Gazze and Marco Notari. It also featured popular Italian bands: Elio e le Storie Tese, Ministri, Africa Unite,Marta sui Tubi, Motel Connection,Management del Dolore Post-Operatorio. Saxophonist-singer Enzo Avitable was also there.
The concert drew controversy when it first announced its headlining artist was Italian rapper, Fabri Fibra. Women’s groups protested the organizers’ decision to invite the rapper saying that he should be excluded from the program for the “homophobic, misogynistic, and sexist” messages in his songs. The organizers then withdrew the rapper’s slot from the program after persistent calls of protest.
There was also a contest organized before the concert that featured six contestants vying to get a chance to perform at the concert.