Yes Hotel Rome Travel Blog: The Rome travel guide

Our Blogger: Rhodora

-Rhodora introduces you to Malika who will be performing soon in Rome; we hope she surprises you as se has surprised us all in Italy.

Malika Ayane was born in Milan in 1984 to a Moroccan father and an Italian mother.

In 2006 Ferdinand Arnò decides to use her voice for Time Thief, music composed by himself  for the DTC advertising campaign, which begins in a symbiotic partnership, which in 2007 brings to Soul Waver, soundtrack to Saab’s advertising. Another television spot where we can find one of her songs is that of Barilla in 2009, whith its instrumental rendition of  I giardini dei salici.

The first single from the album is Feeling Better, that becomes a hit radio and allows Malika to  gain recognition all over the country.
In 2007, the singer meets Caterina Caselli that immediately sees in her an artist with an original style:  fresh and spicy.

Malika began working on his first recording project, released in the autumn of 2008 and is titled Malika Ayane. The first single from the album, Feeling Better, becomes immediatly a radio hit.

On 2009  Malika partecipates to the Sanremo Festival with Come Foglie (As tree leaves , lyrics and music by Giuliano Sangiorgi one the greatest Italian signers and part of the band Negaramaro) produced and arranged by Ferdinand Arnò.

On wesnesday 28^th april 2010 at 9.00 p.m, Malika Ayane will meet her fans to treat them with her special brand of pop-soul on a concert at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, one of the finest music venues in Rome .

The auditorium is located only minutes away (with a bus) from Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel, the choice for all those trying to live Rome to its fullest!

Our Blogger: Jona

Whitney is back and on her way to Rome

We all know the extraordinary voice of this American singer who has been active for  25 years now. To the delight of her many fans through her official website, has been officially confirmed the dates of the new tour of the legendary American singer, and we discover that, Whitney Houston will return to Italy after 11 years. The star of rhythm and blues will perform in Forum di Assago in Milan on 3 May 2010. After Milan, she will make a stop in the capital. The Palalottomatica Arena in Rome, the venue of many relevant concerts, will host this great concert on May 4, 2010 at 21.00, and the singer will propose to her affectionate audience a selection of her greatest hits and, of course, the songs from her latest album I Look To You already topped the charts world. “This is my first tour since the days of My Love is Your Love and I am very excited to perform in front of my loyal fans after all this time. I’m preparing a great show and I can not wait to sing the songs of my latest album “These are the words of Whitney Houston. After 25 years of career now, and making a come back after troubled years, Whitney Houston became an artist of great depth, a diva, a legend. One of the most successful female artists of all time, which has sold over 140 million albums worldwide and received 411 awards … and after so long, she is finally back in Italy.

Here at Yes Hotel and Hotel Des Artistes, we will be more than happpy to have you as our guest and to show you the many marvels Rome has to show you.

Ticket prices: Parterre EUR 120.00 Grandstand Central 1 ° ring EUR 130.00 Grandstand Central 2nd ring EUR 110.00 1st and 2nd ring Lateral EUR 85.00 3rd Ring Central Euro 65.00 3rd Ring Side EUR 50.00

Our Blogger: Katja

Italy had to wait this great spectacular for 7 years. But now on 11^th – 21^st of February 2010 its finally here in the Theatre Brancaccio! We Will Rock You, the musical has been a great success in Great Britain and other 14 countries where it has been performed.

We Will Rock You is set in the future, on a place once called Earth. Globalisation is complete. Everyone watches the same movies , wears the same clothes, and thinks the same thoughts. A safe, happy GaGa world. All music instruments are banned and a hero is needed …. Galileo the man is the one, but can he help them to Break Free??

A total of 24 Queen’s greatest hits will be heard during the show. Even though Freddie Mercury died in 1991 the legend surrounding the band has remained intact until today.

The original version of this musical is produced by Ben Elton, but the Italian version is Claudio Trotta’s production. The songs are sang in English with a live band but the dialogs are in Italian.

Theatre Brancaccio is located in the city centre of Rome on Via Merulana 244.To make or reservation or inquire about the prices you can call +39 06 85301758,ticket prices range from 22€ until 74.50€.

This musical will definitely Rock You and it will give you an unforgettable evening with the some of the greatest songs in the history of Rock! Stay at Hotel Des Artistes Rome or Yes Hotel Rome and get the best of the city at the most copetitive rates!

“Hey, I put some new shoes on,
and suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody’s smiling,
it so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
but long on time,
slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
and I’m running late,
and I don’t need an excuse,
’cause I’m wearing my brand new shoes”.

I guess everybody remembers “ New shoes “ a song which has been on the hit parade for a long time.

Its author, Paolo Nutini, whose great grandfather was Italian, was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1987, and he started singing at a young age. He’s a case of predestination. In fact, once his fellow citizen, David Sneddon who won the BBC Fame Academy format fortunately or unfortunately didn’t arrive to play a concert to celebrate his victory. Paolo substituted him then and a manager decided to invest on him.

The particularity of this career it’s that we can consider him  the first internet singer. In fact people kat the beggining knew him from order passed by word of mouth.

Apart from “New shoes”, other hits under Paolo’s belt are “These streets” and “Jenny don’t be hasty”.

“Sunny side Up” it’s his new lp, released on June 2009.

During November Paolo will be visiting the homeland of his ancestors, and will offer three concerts. One of them will take place in Rome- An opportunity to have a great time and enjoy live one of the most promising young talents in popular music. If you’re visiting Rome on november don’t miss the chance to see Paolo, and to stay at Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes, your best options for accomodation in Rome!

The Italian  tour:
Thursday 26th, November – Milan @ Alcatraz
Friday 27th, November – Florence @ Saschall
Saturday 28th, November – Roma @ Atlantico

October has traditionally been a month of celebrations and merry-making for Rome and its surrounding towns. The end of the harvesting season was received with wine-fueled partying on the steady rhythm of traditional tunes. The Ottobrata Romana Music Festival takes its cue from this glorious past and presents a series of concert that tries to preserve the spirit of the traditional October festivals. This year’s line-up features some of the grooviest and most influential world music ensembles such as Kocani Orkestar (Macedonia) and Orchesta Popolare Italiana (Apulia, Italy).

Kocani Orkestar has built its reputation on an intense mixture of traditional Balkan fanfare music with modern elements. Their live performances are much like their music: always over the top, almost overwhelming, taking the spectator in a whirl of rhythms and tones. Not to be missed.

The Orchestra Popolare Italiana sees some of Italy’s finest musicians perform under the lead of Ambrogio Sparagna, one of the first and most innovative figures on the ever-growing scene of the taranta-revival. This concert will be an exclusive anticipation of the program that the ensemble will be presenting at the illustrious Copenhagen World Music Expo. The ancient traditions of southern Italian music with its trance-like rhythm and ritual dances meets Italy’s finest performers to deliver a rare experience.

To enjoy all the interesting things Rome has to offer make a reservation at Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes. Our staff will go out of their way to help you get the most of your holiday!

WHERE:     Auditorium Parco della Musica.

WHEN:       7 Oct. – Kocani Orkestar

                 8 Oct. – Orchestra Popolare Italiana

TICKETS:  15 euros. Reductions for people under 26 and over 60 years of   age.

The concert of May the 1st is in Rome a tradition of good music and relax. Every year on that date a free concert is offered in the square of San Giovanni in Laterano (Saint John Lateran). Over the years, the most popular and best loved singers and bands in Italy have performed there to the joy of crowds that arrive in Rome from the most distant areas of the country just to have a good time.

In Italy this concert is sometimes associated with communism, since is meant to celebrate the labour day, and is organized by unions, but it’s a very loose association, so if you happen to be in the area that day, forget political prejudices and join in the fun.

A less fortunate tradition is the delay with which the performers for the concert are confirmed, but apparently this year the star will be Vasco Rossi. You might not know him, but he’s in Italy a down-to-earth rock hero, like Bruce Springsteen in the US, and his loud sound and raspy voice will sure make for good spectacle that day. If you want to get a feel of what Vasco can do when you give him a mic and a loving crowd, check the video on this post.

Other participants on this maratonic session of music will be Caparezza, Irene Grandi,   the band Nomadi, Bandabardò (who are an exhilarating live experience, believe me) and the famous jazz pianist Stefano Bollani.

I used to work in the San Giovanni area a while ago, and I happened to be working during the concert one year. I have to say it was terrific. Back then the main bands performing were the Black Eyed Peas, and the Italian Subsonica. The atmosphere was youthful and relaxed. Everybody was having a ball, dancing, singing, sitting in the grass and eating whatever was available in the many little stands that pop-up on the square each year before the concert.

So, if you like music and crowds, Rome is the place to be next may. And the place to be in Rome are Yes Hotel and Hotel Des Artistes, two excellent options for accommodation from which you’ll be able to explore the Eternal City. Our knowledgeable staff will be more than happy to help you with this and many other suggestions to discover the most exciting sides of Rome.

8th World tour in Madonna’s career, "Sticky & Sweet Tour" is starting August 23rd in Cardiff in Wales and will get through all the major European capitals, as Amsterdam (September 2nd), Rome (September 06th), Berlin (London (September 11th), Paris (September 20th) and Athens (September 27th). On October she will be landing in the  Usa to tour in cities like NY , LA and Miami, ..) and then down to Mexico and South America.

For the concert of Madonna in Rome in September , well,  Rome tickets ran out fast like sweet marmelade and prices ranged 100 up to 2.500 euros for just one ticket.

Fans can still look for bargains on the net where tons of advertisements are offering tickets for the sold out dates but at a more expensive rate even.

The tour is produced by Live Nation. The Signora Ciccone indeed  recently dumped major record label Warner Bros in order to sign a new recording and business deal with Live Nation and is supporting her eleventh studio album "Hard Candy" who came out on April and debuted at number 1 around the world, so she is not taking chances !

Concerts will take place in arenas and stadiums, including a number of cities where Madonna has not performed in the past fifteen years. Madonna’s long time partner in business Jamie King will direct "STICKY & SWEET" and the musical director will be Kevin Antunes.

On August 16th Madonna is turning to 50 but she doesn’t seem to feel too old to stop shocking and stunning the legions of devoted fans around the world, isn’t she?

Rome – September 6th, 2008

Venue:  Rome Olympic Stadium

Doors: 7:00 pm | Show: 9:00 pm

Viale dello Stadio Olimpico 1

How to get to the Stadium: From Termini station take the red line (METRO A), final destination BATTISTINI and get out to FLAMINIO. Take the tram 2 and get out to last stop PIAZZA MANCINI.

So if you need a Rome hotel, plan in advance or just look for a good lastminute hotel deal , look up for our Yes Hotel Offers !

Concert at Big Mama

Rome is a fantastic city, a city that will never annoy you… Probably its beauty and eternity is exactly  in its innate capacity to entertain people. It is entertaining with its great history, its glorious past, its difficult but adorable present, and, certainly its mysterious future. Rome offers you a lot of fun. Even very banal clerk office day is brightened by Rome’s sincere sympathy towards people. Before or after work one just can drown into existential thoughts of human destiny and beauty in the heart of mythic Trastevere, in Villa Borghese, in Villa Pamphili, or in the Roman Forums (the latter are not free any more sadly)… Yes, quite a long preface… But for what?

Such a long preface is to introduce you to a very special place for music lovers in Rome, for more than 20 years the real heart of Blues of eternal city. BIG MAMA. Located in the very heart of one the most roman of Rome’s quarters – Trastevere (did you know that a real native Roman should be of the 7^th generation living in the city and born in Trastevere?) BIG MAMA is a quite small, but a unique place. It is definitely one of the best and original places to listen to live music in Rome. It offers a vast gamma of genres, originality and quality are must in this place .

Mostly known as "Home of the Blues in Roma" BIG MAMA has daily concerts of different music: jazz, rock, ethno, songwriters and, of course, blues. During the last years BIG MAMA has been not only a place for listening but also a stage for new and young talents. Many of them now are well famous, in Italy and in the rest of the world. Popular singers like Giorgia, Alex Britti, or a leader of Tiromancino Federico Zampaglione have also started in BIG MAMA and till now are quite often guests here.

International stars, that have performed here are Jeff Healey, Archie Shepp, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Stern, Joe Zawinul and many others. The place where BIG MAMA is located resembles a cave, and small corridors lead you into various rooms until you reach the small stage on which the artists perform. It is definitely a must to visit at least one the BIG MAMA’s greatest concerts( about 200 held every year). BIG MAMA is very simplistic in its style, but very cordial in its atmosphere. It is a perfect place for a romantic dinner : they do have some good pizza, and good wine, add a lot of good music, and… she will definitely say YES to your proposal.

I have enjoyed several concerts in BIG MAMA, and believe me, every time I left this place I had a feeling of pleasant joy and happiness, looking forward to my next concert at BIG MAMA.

Here is useful firsthand information on how to get to BIG MAMA, reserve a table and the just to enjoy the sound of music, which can heal our tormented souls. Many tourists and international guest of Italian capital who have visited BIG MAMA remained with an open mouth…of astonishment and just to sing along with the artists…

Concert at Big Mama

HOW TO REACH BIG MAMA

BIG MAMA – Vicolo San Francesco a Ripa 18 

-Tel.06.5812551 -Fax 06.5806497

BIG MAMA is in Trastevere, probably the most beautyful neighbourhood of Rome, surely the most romantic. The club has a cocktail bar and it’s possible to dinner (short menu).
BIG MAMA open at 9pm, show start at 10.30pm, close at 1.30 am
Nearest Car Parkings are in Piazza S.Francesco d’Assisi and Piazza Mastai, both a few meters from the club.
If you stay in a nice hotel near Termini Station, you can easily reach Big Mama by bus: Lines 75 or 170 (from Termini Railway Station); by_Tram: Line 8 (from Largo Argentina) Line 3 (from Colosseo); RadioTaxi tel. 06.5551 or 06.4994 or 06.6645
HOW YOU GET IN
A membership card is required in order to enter. But do not be scared it costs only 8 Euros for a monthly card, or a year-long one will cost you 13 Euros. With the membership card you enter free of charge to the most of the shows. For some major events (usually one/two times a month) there is also a ticket charge, and sometimes the tickets are sold in advance. To reserve a table ( at no extra charge) please call Infoline +39.06.5812551 or fill in the form online on the website. 

VISIT BIG MAMA, and then TELL WHAT YOU THINK!!!