By David Orr – Writer
The stage at Lucca Summer Festival is set this year with 13 outstanding shows from July 1 – 28. Held in Lucca’s Piazza Napoleone, viewers can watch from up close or simply take in the sights from a café in the back, sipping wine or enjoying gelato. 
The festival gets started in style on July 1 with the iconic Bob Dylan. His latest set of studio albums have been critically hailed, and his performances are as engaging and provocative as ever. Paolo Nutini plays on July 8. A native son of the nearby Garfagnana hill-town of Barga (where one side of his family descends from), Nutini’s soulful lyrics and honey-gravel voice routinely get him labelled as one of the best singers of his generation. The 1-2 combo of the bombastic Billy Idol and legendary Elton John on July 10 and 11 make for a unique 48 hours of music. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame plays on July 22, while Italian rapper and tattoo mural Fedez plays on July 26. John Legend, Los Lobos, The Script, Lauryn Hill, Robbie Williams, and Lenny Kravitz round out the lineup, while the always dapper Snoop Dogg closes the festival with a puff of smoke on July 28.
You can also visit their website at www.summer-festival.com/home
