You heard it here first. Since 1980.

Since 1980 Covo Club has been a space where its visitors can experience new music. Music, concerts, clubbing and cultural events of all shapes and types, in a cultural outpost that by now has no equal in Europe, representing its identity and that of an international club of discovery, musical knowledge, sociability, fun and inclusion at the same time.

Within the walls of the Casalone, in viale Zagabria 1, in the center of the splendid park that colors the San Donnino area and inside one of the oldest buildings in the entire neighborhood, international and Italian bands took their first steps over time they have dominated the charts and filled the hearts of many listeners: Franz Ferdinand, The XX, Cigarettes After Sex, Idles, Gossip, The Libertines, Stereolab, The Black Lips, Ash, !!!, Shame, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Black Lips, The Mars Volta and Shout Out Louds are just a few names, in a truly endless story and almost impossible to tell in full.

The beginnings

1980. Year in which the crests twist into cotton fringes, in which purple approaches yellow, in which lace and velvet replace jeans tucked into combat boots, and electronics digest and transform the coarse sounds of punk.

1980. Year in which that crossroads that the Bolognese affectionately call “San Donnino”, on the border with the more institutional San Donato, welcomes the survivors of the Seventies, heroin, perdition, the attraction of a ferment that seems to involve only marginally Italy. And here, from the will of a group of passionate friends, a refuge for the disinherited of rock was born in viale Zagabria: the Casalone.

Initially set up in the attic of a municipal kindergarten, it offered not only concerts and DJ sets, but also exhibitions and literary meetings to feed and spread the cultural ferment that made Bologna a popular destination for creatives and students in the years to come. The parties organized by a small circle of friends are unable to contain the enthusiasm of the citizens, and soon change into a crowded weekly attraction, a popular destination for those who want to feed on music and dance to color the grayness of urban decay.

Different generations come together in what slowly becomes a crossroads of sound experiences, and the Casalone stage comes alive with concerts, becoming an important showcase not only for local bands otherwise destined for poor visibility, but also for foreign groups of the most varied origins , guests in the city to import a reigning creativity. Seven years after the first impromptu parties, even Bob Dylan, in concert in Modena, asks to be taken to the Bolognese venue that some musician friends who performed there told him about.

The 2000s

With the explosion of popularity of rock, punk and alternative sounds, the Covo Club lives one of its moments of greatest popularity, alternating evenings of musical discovery (with Italian and international bands) and real event nights, with unique and memorable concerts of bands that are still a reference for those who love the genre and parties with Italian and international DJs of incredible appeal.

In this historic moment, the claim “You Heard It Here First” takes on even greater force: anyone who has seen the first Italian concerts of a band within the walls of the Covo knows they are carrying a series of memorable memories, unique emotions that can only arise from opportunity to be able to see bands that fill arenas and arenas abroad in such a small and at the same time welcoming context.

They played here

The stage in Viale Zagabria has been a witness to the origin all the city groups that have since achieved national and international fame, such as Settlefish, Forty Winks, The Valentines, Cut, Lo Stato Sociale, Laser Geyser, Baseball Gregg, Federico Poggipollini, Avvoltoi, Beatrice Antolini, The Tunas, Three Second, OSC2X, Altre Di B, Husky Loops. The space also becomes a call for the most successful musicians of the Italian independent scene:Afterhours, Subsonica, Calcutta, Baustelle, Radio City, Tribal Noise, Krisma, Massimo Volume, Giardini Di Mirò, Yuppie Flu, Gazebo Penguins, Fine Before You Came, Julie’s Haircut, Soviet Soviet, Le Luci Della Centrale Elettrica, Bluvertigo, Giuda, One Dimentional Man, Il Teatro Degli Orrori, Sick Tamburo, Paolo Benvegnù, Ministri, Scisma, Jennifer Gentle, Calibro 35, Verdena, Carl Brave, Franco126, Giorgio Poi, Colapesce, Dimartino, La Rappresentante di Lista, Gomma and many more. World-famous bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Peaches, Notwist, Stereolab, Gossip, Super Furry Animals, Blonde Red Head, Libertines, Bonnie Prince Billy, Kings Of Convenience, Mogwai, The Mars Volta, Shout Out Louds, The Decemberists, The Lemonheads, Adam Green, Modest Mouse, Giant Sand, Calexico, Black Lips, The XX, the Internet, Ash, !!!, The Amazons e Wild Nothing, just to remember a few.