Sud Sonico is happy to announce the fifth edition of AVANT Festival, our annual event dedicated to experimental music, social cohesion and active citizenship through music. From 10th to 12th October 2025, amidst the natural, rural and historical landscapes of Lecce, South Italy, AVANT returns to merge sound, critical thinking and contemporary international culture.
The musical programme takes place in the historic centre of Lecce, in various locations. Among the first artists confirmed are Iranian experimental producer Rojin Sharafi, Italian sound artist Daniele Carcassi, Italian sound designer and songwriter Matilde Davoli and avant-pop singer Vipera, Italian sound architect Nicola Di Croce, the experimental radio collective Tosunian, and others to be announced. Some performances will be held at the suggestive Masseria Tagliatelle, an ancient structure surrounded by greenery, a symbol of the encounter between rurality and contemporary artistic practices. Others will run within the splendid Basilica of San Giovanni Battista al Rosario, a masterpiece of Lecce’s Baroque, with its powerful spiritual atmosphere, hosting the festival for the first time.
The daytime touristic programme is being developed in cooperation with various partners, including 18 Meridiano Escursioni, a long-time partner of AVANT, and is currently being finalised.
The institutional partners of the fifth edition of the festival, Forum Austriaco di Cultura Roma and Fondazione Nuovi Mecenati, are joined by the Swiss organisation Soundscapes Live, the Swiss Greenfield Foundation, the Swedish organisation Musichelp, and the local contemporary art organization Ramdom APS. AVANT is also proud to welcome the British experimental music magazine The Wire Magazine among its official partners, too.
The full programme will be announced in the coming weeks. Follow the festival’s Facebook and Instagram channels to stay up-to-date.
