Biography
Sicily Folk Orchestra is a Sicilian musical project distinguished by its ambitious mission to rediscover, preserve and promote the musical traditions of the island, reworking them in a contemporary key. The collective does not merely reprise traditional pieces but reshapes them with care, turning them into current and accessible musical expressions capable of engaging today's audiences.
The project was born from the Il Tamburo di Aci association in collaboration with the Darshan and Areasud associations, as a permanent folk orchestra built around the Sicily Folk Fest. Through painstaking research the orchestra brings to light the rich heritage of Sicilian popular music, harmoniously blending tradition and innovation into a single sound experience.
The beating heart of the Sicily Folk Orchestra is the established line-up of I Beddi, enriched by the voices of Simona Sciacca (vocals, acoustic guitar and Sicilian tambourine) and Valentina Balistreri (vocals and dance), heir to the surname and the artistic DNA of Rosa Balistreri.
The orchestra stands out for its live shows, which host leading names of the Sicilian musical landscape and turn every performance into a unique celebration of the island's culture. Among the artists who have collaborated on the project are Vincenzo Spampinato, Rita Botto, Pippo Barrile and Michela Musolino.
Among its works are the live album "Sicilian Songs (Live)" (2021), the single "Fin' a dumani" (2024) made with Kaballà and I Beddi thirty-three years after the original from "Petra Lavica", and the single "Lina Lina" (2025) with Michela Musolino and I Beddi.
