Matteo Mancuso has announced his return to the US following the success of his first extensive North American headline tour staged in May and June 2025. The new US Tour will take place in Winter 2026.
The run kicks off at NAMM in Anaheim where Mancuso will perform on the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage on Friday, January 23 at 1PM. The critically acclaimed guitarist will then travel across The US staging several dozen confirmed appearances. Initial performances now on-sale are shared below with additional dates to be announced shortly.
A new album is in the works for release in 2026. Mancuso shares: “The tour of the US earlier this year was an amazing experience to be so welcomed in cities across the country. I’m truly appreciative of everyone who came out and can’t wait to present the material we’ve been working on in a live setting once we are back on the road. See you all in 2026”.
Mancuso hails from Sicily, nestled in the Mediterranean Sea to the South of Italy. The island has always had a rich cultural heritage, from poets, writers, philosophers, and architects to painters and musicians. Born in 1996 and raised just outside the capital Palermo, the pedigree runs deep in the veins of those from the region.
As a multi-faceted player, either classical or electric, what is astounding is his one-of-a-kind technique and use of his fingers instead of regular picking. Many of the world’s most iconic, ground-breaking and legendary players are declaring Matteo as a force to be reckoned with, from Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai to Al Di Meola.
North American Tour Dates 2026:
1/25 San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
1/26 San Diego, CA – Music Box
1/27 Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theatre
1/28 Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
1/29 Sacramento, CA – The Boardwalk
1/30 Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre
2/01 Phoenix, AZ – MIM (6:30PM & 8:30PM)
2/02 Tucson, AZ – The Rialto Theatre
2/03 Sante Fe, NM – Lensic Performing Arts Center
2/04 Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Other Side
2/06 Aspen, CO – The Paul JAS Center
2/09 Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theatre
2/10 Minneapolis, MN – Dakota (7PM & 9PM)
2/11 Iowa City, IA – The Englert Theatre
2/12 St. Louis, MO – City Winery St. Louis
2/13 Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theatre
2/16 Nashville, TN – City Winery Nashville
2/17 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
2/18 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
2/21 Washington, DC – The Hamilton Live
2/23 Kent, OH – The Kent Stage
2/25 Cincinnati, OH – The Ludlow Garage
2/26 Lansing, MI – Grewal Hall at 224
2/27 Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
During the 1970s, his father, Vincenzo Mancuso, made a name for himself as a gifted session player on the domestic scene, and the young Matteo looked up to him as a primary source of inspiration. While still in high school (music), he picked up classical guitar and transverse flute. It didn’t take long for everyone to understand that a child prodigy was blooming.
At the age of 12, Matteo took his first steps onto the stage at a local jazz festival. Since then, his acquaintance with live performances has seen him blossom and develop through various line-ups and collaborations with the finest local musicians, including a duo with his father, where they explore the complexities of Django Reinhart’s repertoire and contemporary jazz classics.
In 2019, Yamaha guitars became the official endorser of his appearance at the NAMM show in Los Angeles. He was invited as a judge on the panel for the “Young Guitar Festival” in Bangkok and a masterclass tour in Russia – calling through Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. In 2020, Matteo put together a new trio and began developing his solo work, pushing his compositional boundaries and original material. When the pandemic brought the world to a standstill like many, Matteo experienced difficulties as it took a significant toll on the music industry, like many others. In 2021, as soon as live gigs became possible, he hit the road as part of the new trio, culminating in two exhilarating sold-out nights at the Blue Note in Milano. The name Matteo Mancuso was beginning to reach the ears of the most prominent people in the industry and those in the know. Offers came up from the north to the deep south.
In 2022 he played at the Bremen International Festival at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica in Rome. After a short break in June last year to graduate in jazz guitar from the Palermo Conservatory of Music with honors and honorable mention, he resumed touring. He shared the stage with Al Di Meola on classical guitar at the closing night of the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival and played at the Lugano Jazz Festival in Switzerland, as a guest with prog-rockers PFM and an incredible performance at the New Ross Guitar Festival in Ireland. He appeared in a major prime-time slot on Italy’s national Rai TV, at the Uppsala Jazz Festival in Sweden. Finally, he rounded off the year at the Spoleto Jazz Festival back in Italy.
Mancuso has become one of the the hottest guitarists on the planet following the release of his debut album titled The Journey in 2023. He graced the cover of Guitar Techniques, which called him “The Hottest Guitarist on the Planet”, and Total Guitar, which hailed him as the “World’s Hottest Virtuoso”.
Weblinks:
www.matteomancuso.net
www.facebook.com/matteomancusoofficial
