Luca Marino: I’ll be on stage ‘With my father’s jacket’

“How am I? I feel the same way as when you interviewed me on the train. I have no expectations, but I’m very excited.”

Luca Marino speaks a few hours before the official beginning of the sixtieth San Remo Song Festival, in which he is competing in the “New generation” section. This is a dream come true for the 28-year-old singer from Busto Arsizio, one that started at the beginning of January, when he was called to Rome, to the RAI Television Studios, to take part in an audition for the Festival, with so many hopes, but nothing certain. That day, on the train that took him to the capital, he told us, “I’m quite excited; let’s see what happens".

A few days later, he informed us that he had been selected as one of the young singers in the Festival, and so, his hopes had come true. Today, we interviewed Luca directly from San Remo, where he is getting ready for his grand debut. “At the moment, I’m looking out over the sea; we’ll soon be going for the rehearsals. The first rehearsals went well, they’ve calmed me down, but the real hurdle will be the live performance."

The young singer is now busy getting ready for the Festival, and is waiting to hear where his name will appear in the evening’s schedule. “Tomorrow, it’s all going to start, and they’re going to tell me this evening if I’m performing on Wednesday or Thursday,” he said. “At the beginning, I was a bit lost, everything’s so big, and it’s all happening so fast. But you gradually get used to it, and you understand what’s happening. It’s really very exciting; the Festival is a great opportunity and, over its sixty years, there have been some great artists; I discovered this morning that even Ray Charles performed here.”

Luca, who has already signed up with Warner Bros, with a contract to produce three albums, will be singing “Non mi dai pace”, a melodic song that talks about the love for a woman. The song is a single taken from his album of new, rock-pop and folk songs entitled “Con la giacca di mio padre” (“With my father’s jacket”), which will be in the shops on Friday 19 February. In the meantime, Luca is enjoying the new experiences in San Remo. “I’ve met Arisa and the Marinetti Sisters (who are singing together, ed.), Irene Grandi and Fabrizio Moro. I really like the songs by Arisa and Irene. Of the other singers in my category, I like the piece by Romeus, and ‘La Fame’ by Camilla.”

The winner of the “New generation” section will be announced on Friday 19 February, during the penultimate evening of the Festival. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.