Review by Shawn Perry
So, you may ask, why is VintageRock.com reviewing a show featuring an Italian acoustic guitar quartet called 40 Fingers (counting thumbs). Putting aside the fact that they are exceptional virtuosos — which we thrive on — it’s probably because their repertoire is filled with classic rock songs. So, while they may not be specifically in our wheelhouse, they are most certainly in our backyard.
Formed in 2017, Matteo Brenci, Emanuele Grafitti, Gabriele De Leporini, and Andrea Vittori of 40 Fingers all write and record music of their own. They have, however, found a niche reinterpreting rock and pop songs, as well as film and TV soundtracks. This isn’t some knock-off tribute — 40 Fingers put their own unique spin on any number of hits and well-known piece of music. Their version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was powerful enough to earn an endorsement from the Queen camp. No wonder their numbers for views on YouTube are in the millions.
Winding down their 2026 U.S. Fall tour, 40 Fingers’ appearance at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts was befitting to their pedigree, as the elegant venue is part of Beaumont University, home of Nashville’s first radio and commended for their music programs. The Fisher Center itself is a 1,700-seat world-class, multi-functional architectural wonder with its Indiana limestone façade, Blue Pearl granite base, and 70-foot acoustically transparent dome spectators marvel at overhead. You couldn’t have picked a better stage for the four guitarists and their 40 fingers.
Though it could have easily gone off script, the set was nestled in familiarity. The musicians took their places and fell right into Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin’.” What was immediately striking was how the song’s layers and nuances were pulled in, with each player providing the adequate parts. The solo section, famous for the interaction between Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and keyboardist Jon Lord, was so skillfully tenderized and tossed around that anyone looking for flaws would be left speechless.
Arrangement is key to what sets 40 Fingers apart. During their takes on the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” and Toto’s “Africa,” one guitar was utilized as a percussion instrument to keep the downbeat on the floor (and the audience clapping along) while the other three roamed the wilds, embracing the framework with rhythmic strumming and intricate fingerpicking patterns, allowing the melodies and basslines flow simultaneously. We’re talking about a serious amount of musical cooperation.
It wasn’t all rock and roll. Han’s Zimmer’s “Pirates Of The Caribbean” and an instrumental medley of John Williams’ “Star Wars Main Theme” and “The Imperial March” were delivered with equal exuberance and panache. A stroll through a bit Celtic folk stylings on Dougie MacLean’s “The Gael” (from The Last Of The Mohicans) had some of the players doing their best Irish stepdance. The fast-paced arrangement of Mozart’s “Overture To The Marriage Of Figaro” was a masterstroke in intricate fingerstyle guitar harmony.
Still, more rock classics were unearthed. Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” received a fairly straightforward reading. The guitar harmonies on Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence” would likely silence the original duo if they were in attendance. Their smoothly raucous cover of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” packed with dynamics, was at once unexpected and jolting to the first five rows. The soloing through Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing.” Once they finished the main set with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it was anyone’s guess as to what classic rock was left for them to tackle.
They began the encore with the Star Wars melody and ended with the night with the Beatles’ Hey Jude.” The audience was reeled in and called upon. Arms swung back and forth and the “Na-na’s” were collectively whispered, then pushed to intensify. The band stopped and started at various intervals as if to encourage the crowd into participation. Each player soloed before the ensemble fell into an anachronistic blues jam that slowly wound down before the four assembled at the front of the stage and took their final bows.
If you missed out, no need to fret. 40 Fingers returns to the States in early 2027 for a 33-date tour in early Spring that’s bound to push the envelope out further. If they come to your town, you know what to do.
