Witness One Thousand Musicians Perform

it’s surprisingly in sync

by jessica karl

Last Sunday, 1,000 bright-eyed musicians traveled to a barren field in Cesena, Italy, with one mission: Catching Dave Grohl’s attention with a performance of the Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly.”

“Italy is a country where dreams cannot easily come true, but it’s a land of passion and creativity. So what we did in here is just a huge miracle,” says Fabio Zaffagnini, the Rockin'Thousand’s creator, at the end of the performance. The project’s crowdfunding campaign launched in December of last year. In Zaffagnini’s promotional video, a woman told him that his dream was “like asking Batman to attend your nephew’s party.” Unfortunately, the Dark Knight didn’t make an appearance at the concert, but Zaffagnini’s crazy idea sure became a reality.

As many musicians know, sound-checking two instruments is a near disaster, so checking hundreds of drums and guitars seems virtually impossible. These musicians set out to play a single song together—a true musical miracle if you ask us—and the best part is that it sounds really good.  

The video is going viral, so we can only hope that Dave Grohl will see it, and make plans to visit Cesena—maybe even play a show there. Yes, Grohl currently has a broken leg, but what’s a limb compared to 1,000 dedicated fans? This is why music exists; it brings people together, and that’s why we love it.