What kind of show will Kanye West do in Italy?
After years of absence from big tours and concerts capable of leaving an imprint, Kanye West will return to perform live in Italy in 2026, on July 18, in Reggio Emilia for what has been announced as his only live performance in Europe scheduled for next year. To welcome him 103 thousand spectators, coming from all over the Old Continent for the Hellwatt Festival. It will be his first real show in our country since 2006then he performed at Alcatraz in Milan on the occasion of the release of “Late Registration”, and will mark a return to the stage in a structured way afterwards his last tour, the “Saint Pablo Tour” in 2016interrupted prematurely for health reasons. After appearing as a guest at the Circus Maximus in Rome in August 2023 on a Travis Scott date, last year Kanye landed in Italy for two “Vultures” listening parties, one in Milan and one in Bologna, a way of offering music, and above all of making money, increasingly used by Ye in recent years, but in fact this type of event is not a concert tout court.
In fact, from 2016 to today he has no longer undertaken any real tours despite having set up some memorable events in his career, redefining the imagery of rap concerts: just think of the “Yeezus Tour” of 2013-2014 with the mountainous and messianic scenography signed by the artist Vanessa Beecroft or al “Saint Pablo Tour” of 2016 with the stage suspended above the fans, then copied by a sea of artists. Rewinding the tape, to find, perhaps, something similar to what the event at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia could be we have to go until 2021 when he performed in Los Angeles for the Free Larry Hoover Concert charity event offering a solid performance with an articulated set list. After the early end of the “Saint Pablo Tour”, the artist avoided cycles of concerts or defined events, limiting himself to single appearances and appearances on other people’s stages, without ever returning to a continuous tour dimension or putting on a sweaty and true performance. From 2019 to 2021 he was the protagonist of the Sunday Service, which are spiritual/gospel events rather than traditional tour concerts. Although they included songs sung live, they were not shows with typical setlistsaccess for example was not free, but historically they remain artistically interesting and out of the ordinary events.
A concrete sign of his live return has arrived in November 2025 in Tokyo, during Travis Scott’s “Circus Maximus Tour”, when Ye unexpectedly went on stage for a short but significant performance. The setlist of songs included “Stronger,” “Heartless,” “Runaway,” “Praise God,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Father Stretch My Hands,” “Through the Wire,” “Carnival,” “Flashing Lights” and “All of the Lights”offering a first taste of the atmospheres that it could also offer in Italy. It is interesting to note that on this occasion he did not limit himself, as in listening parties, to just appearing, with background music, but he also sang some small partsalways focusing on strong theatricality. The ones chosen are among the most famous pieces of his discography and he will most likely also propose them in Italy next year. It’s not over, this year Kanye, despite a thousand difficulties, has also put on some shows Korea and China, hybrids between concerts and listening parties with long setlists. In Korea he attacked with a dazzling triptych: “Power”, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”, “Niggas in Paris”the latter taken from “Watch the Throne”, the joint album with Jay-Z.
Over the past decade Ye has continued to release music and exert enormous cultural influence, with albums such as “ye” in 2018, “Jesus Is King” in 2019 and “Donda” in 2021/2022 until the epic “Vultures” with Ty Dolla Signin which he explored spiritual, identity and personal themes, between genius and madness. He has repeatedly spoken openly about his bipolar disorder and a diagnosis of autism, often linked to controversial and sometimes aberrant public behavior and statements. At the same time he tried to run for the American presidential elections and consolidate the fashion universe Yeezywhile his private life, from the media divorce from Kim Kardashian to continuous public exhibitions until the engagement with Bianca Censorsremained an integral part of the story around her figure. All this affected his inability to support a classical tour. For the Italian concert of 2026 it is very likely that Ye will also feature songs from the new album “Bully”, postponed for the umpteenth time to January 30th. The album represents the new chapter of his career and could be central in the set list, alongside the classics that have marked his path. In Reggio Emilia Ye, as he has done in the past, will be able to rewrite the rules with a real performance or will he sit on the live hybrids proposed in this complex phase of his career?
