The announcement

Diego Spagnoli, Vasco Rossi's stage director since 1982, has left his role after a partnership that lasted more than 40 years. Rumours had circulated for several days before both sides confirmed the split on social media on 16 October 2026. In a video, Spagnoli said the choice was "solely mine" and that he would never explain why. He added that no artistic director or executive had decided his withdrawal, and asked fans not to look for blame in others.

Rossi's account

Rossi then gave his own explanation on Facebook, saying there was no mystery. According to him, the two argued on stage during rehearsals, in front of two people. He said he had been nervous and tense, though that was no excuse, and that Spagnoli had felt offended by what he said. Rossi added that Spagnoli finished the tour professionally and, after the last concert, sent him a video explaining his reasons. In a reply to that video, Rossi wrote that the two had spoken several times in the past three months, that he regarded the decision as more than irrevocable, and that he had told Spagnoli he would start looking for a replacement. He called the resignation a bolt from the blue that would not be painless, for emotional reasons and for the organisational problems it creates. Rossi put his view of the stage role plainly:

“Diego is not replaceable, but we have to move on, and we will find a solution to keep the show going.”

The jubilee and the dispute with Il Gallo

Claudio Golinelli, the bassist known as Il Gallo, told Red Ronnie in an interview that he did not know the reasons for the departure. He added that Spagnoli had seemed strange with Rossi already the year before. Rossi criticised Spagnoli's video as a version that was too self-pitying, and argued that a joke by the bassist did not justify presenting the resignation as a mere formality. The departure comes ahead of the 2027 jubilee, which marks 50 years of Rossi's career with ten concerts in Rome at the Olimpico stadium. Spagnoli will not take part in those dates. In his video he also made a joke about the jubilee, saying that when there is one he goes to St Peter's in the Vatican, "which is not Rome".

Key dates

The partnership began in 1982, during a tour that included more than 90 concerts in one year. Rossi's Rome residency of ten concerts is scheduled for June 2027, while the separation was announced on 16 October 2026. The sequence of these dates is shown in the chart below.

What happens next

Rossi wrote that the commitments to the public would not be abandoned. Spagnoli's exit removes the figure who introduced the band at the end of every concert, a role the coverage describes as one of the most recognisable parts of the live shows. Neither side has named a successor, and the articles do not say who will take over the band introductions. Rossi has said the shows will go on, with a solution to be found for the stage role.