Rockin’1000 founder Fabio Zaffagnini on bringing “a very loud rock orchestra” to Manchester
Rockin’1000 founder Fabio Zaffagnini joined Festpod at Download Festival 2026 ahead of the project’s UK debut in Manchester.
Put hundreds of singers, guitarists, bassists, drummers and keyboard players inside Manchester’s AO Arena and ask them to perform some of rock’s biggest songs together. The result is not a conventional gig.
It is Rockin’1000, the project that turns musicians from around the world into one enormous band and will make its UK debut on the 10th of October 2026.
Founder Fabio Zaffagnini spoke to Festpod’s Neill Wilkinson and Rob Hemingway at Download Festival 2026, where he admitted that even he struggles to explain what an audience will hear.
“The sound created by so many people is different,” he said. “It’s thicker, it’s loud, but naturally loud.”
His shorter description might be the better one.
“It’s a very loud rock orchestra.”
A Foo Fighters invitation heard around the world
Before Rockin’1000 became a touring live project, it was one enormous invitation.
In 2015, Fabio wanted his favourite band, Foo Fighters, to play in his hometown of Cesena, Italy.
He described it as “a very tiny place in the middle of nowhere”, which meant a conventional request was unlikely to attract much attention.
Instead, Fabio and his friends assembled 1,000 musicians to perform Foo Fighters’ ‘Learn to Fly’ together.
“To convince them, together with some friends, we gathered a thousand people to play one of their songs,” he explained.
The resulting video went viral and reached exactly the person it was created for.
“Dave Grohl saw it,” Fabio said. “He accepted the invitation. They came and gave the concert, and that’s how we started.”
With the original mission accomplished, the team could have left the project as an amazing one-off. They chose to find out what else a band of that size could do.
“After that, we said, ‘OK, let’s give concerts in stadiums.’”
Rockin’1000 has since staged shows in countries including Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil and the United States. Manchester is the next step, bringing the project to the UK for the first time.
How to rehearse hundreds of musicians
Getting hundreds of performers ready for the same show sounds like a logistical nightmare.
Fabio did not argue.
“It is,” he laughed.
Musicians are recruited throughout the year. Applicants register through the Rockin’1000 website and submit a performance video so the team can assess whether they are ready to take part.
“They have to sign up and send us a link to a video so that we understand if they’re good enough to play or not,” Fabio explained.
Those selected spend several months learning their parts at home before the full band comes together.
“Then we meet, we do two full days of rehearsals, and on day three we are ready for the show.”
It is a short window in which to turn hundreds of individuals into one band, particularly when Rockin’1000 performances can attract audiences of tens of thousands.
For many of those on stage, it is an opportunity far removed from playing in a rehearsal room, local venue or smaller band.
“They go nuts,” Fabio said. “They tattoo our logo and they live the experience of their life.”
No rock stars, just one enormous band
At Download, Fabio said the Manchester plans included songs by Oasis and a mass performance of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
Past Rockin’1000 shows have also featured guests including Courtney Love and Nic Cester of Jet, but Fabio is clear that the project is not built around conventional headline performers.
“We don’t have rock stars or pop stars; we have guests,” he said. “But in the end, it’s common people.”
That changes the relationship between those performing and those watching.
“There’s no difference between the audience and the musicians. We’re one big thing of people loving the same music and sharing music.”
The songs may be familiar and the scale difficult to ignore, but that shared experience is what sits at the centre of Rockin’1000. The musicians get to perform in an arena-sized band, while the audience watches people much like themselves produce a sound that would be impossible alone.
The same spirit as Download
The interview also marked Fabio’s first visit to Download Festival.
Surrounded by people gathering around the same bands, songs and shared enthusiasm for rock music, he recognised something familiar.
“I see so many happy people enjoying music, enjoying the same passion,” he said. “That’s basically the same spirit we have at Rockin’1000.”
He also accepted responsibility for Download’s unusually good weather.
“I brought some sun from Italy,” he joked.
On the 10th of October, the idea that began as an invitation from one Italian town to one band will arrive inside Manchester’s AO Arena - hundreds of musicians playing together, a crowd singing back and, if Fabio’s description holds true, very little separating the two.
Rockin’1000 will make its UK debut at Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday, the 10th of October 2026. Find current event and ticket information on the official Manchester show page.
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