THE CROWSROADS - Bio
THE CROWSROADS are an Italian folk-rock-blues duo formed by brothers Matteo (guitar, vocals) and Andrea Corvaglia (harmonica, vocals), born in 1994 and 1998 respectively. Armed only with a guitar, a harmonica and their voices, The Crowsroad’s sound follows unexpected paths. Structured by the rhythm of the guitar, the harmonica becomes a real “orchestra” cast onto the two brother’s harmonious vocals. Beginning when they were teenagers, a decade of experience has shaped The Crowsroads into a band which brings an immersive, well-structured show blending grit, emotion, and fun. They love to share these moments with long-time friends and fellow musicians: in concert, the duo often becomes a trio or a quartet.
Since their debut with the “Some Sky Inside My Pocket” EP, The Crowsroads have mainly focused on the production of four-handed originals. Their compositions have gradually incorporated elements drawing on different musical genres (rock, folk, blues, pop), reflected in their latest album “On The Ropes”. The lyrics, though mostly in English, retain the duo’s Mediterrean identity, and deal with a wide range of topics, from autobiographical tales, reflections on being young in the 21st century, and vignettes from the everyday.
The oeuvre of The Crowsroads reflects the music that most inspires them – be it more or less well-known – : an accurate, constantly updated selection of international covers (including solo artists like Tom Waits and John Martyn, bands like The Band, R.E.M., and Blues Traveler), finding space in their setlists as well in their discography (e.g. “Reels”, their 2016 album).
The Crowsroads were lucky to work with and learn a lot from several prominent musicians. The album “On The Ropes” (2019) features three international guests: Sarah Jane Morris (“Seaweed”) from Britain, Frankie Chavez (“Monologue”) from Portugal and Jono Manson (“The Gardener’s Daughter”) from the USA. The song “Janis” (from the album “Reels”, 2016) features vocal performer and jazz singer Boris Savoldelli and double-bass player Giulio Corini. A collaboration with italo-disco pioneers F.lli La Bionda/DD Sound brought to a new version of a hidden gem from their catalogue, the ’74 ballad “Ogni volta che tu te ne vai”, released as a single in 2019 (featuring the La Bionda bros. themselves) and then readapted into English.
A long list of professional musicians, producers, directors and artists have supported the duo in their studio and live experiences as well as on set: Antonio Giovanni Lancini, Paolo Salvarani, Michele “Poncio” Belleri, Sebastiano Danelli, Nicola Ragni, Brunella Mazzola & Joyful Gospel Choir, Michele Bonivento, Andrea Gipponi, Stefania Martin, Phil Mer, Alberto Pavesi, Ricky Rossini, Paolo Costola, Lorenzo Cazzaniga, Carlo Tombola, Biro (Roberto Blesio), Enrico Fappani, Michele Cataneo e Anita Seferi (Bad Panda Production), Arki Buelli, Cristina Abatiello, Katia Toselli, Aldo Zardoni, Stefano Pisetta, Max Comincini, Renato Saviori, The Bluesville, Gabriele Salvadori.
Performing live is central to The Crowsroads. They have played hundreds of gigs across a range of venues; in pubs/clubs for live music, theatres, public and private events or festivals such as Buscadero Day (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), Pistoia Blues (2017), Ferrara Buskers Festival (2022).
The Crowsroads have opened for Judith Owen, Stef Burns, Frankie Chavez, Treves Blues Band, Robben Ford, Steve Forbert, John Popper & Jono Manson, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Danny Bryant, Gnola Blues Band, Irene Grandi (Io in Blues), Popa Chubby.
They also love busking: with only a battery-powered amp, they have entertained countless beautiful cities in Italy and beyond, going as far as Berlin in the summer of 2022.
To date, The Crowsroads have published one EP (“Some Sky Inside My Pocket”, 2012) and two albums (“Reels”, 2016 and “On The Ropes”, 2019, with a deluxe version in 2022). They are currently working on their third album of original songs.
In 2022 their music started to spread outside Italy too, thanks to the collaboration between VREC Music Label and the Belgian publisher ArTo Music, “The Crowsroads” – a kind of “best of” compilation including original songs by the duo – was published in the digital stores of nothern Europe. On the same day, in Italy, a deluxe version “On The Ropes” including two additional tracks was published on digital.
Over the years, several songs by The Crowsroads have been included in compilations such as “Eataly Live Project” (Sony, 2015), Pistoia Blues Next Generation (VREC Music Label, 2017, 2018, 2019 editions) and “Italian Buscadero” (Buscadero, 2020). In 2023 the double vinyl "Cover Me" (Noi & Springsteen), featuring their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Save My Love", was among the finalists of Targhe Tenco for the category "Best collective project album".
The duo has also worked on many soundtracks: writing some instrumental tracks for “Polvere” (2014) and “Selfie” (2015), two short films with a social content produced by middle schools near Brescia; the soundtrack of “Rosso Mille Miglia” (2015), a nationally-distributed movie, including the song “Pirate Flag”, written with Antonio Lancini and Ricky Rossini; some songs from the original production of the duo were chosen by Memoria Immagine – a film association based in Verona – for its documentaries “Noi, cittadini del mondo” (2015) and "Tiberghien. Storia di una fabbrica" (2018).
The Crowsroads began to make a name for themselves in 2013, when they won “Deskomusic”, a contest for high-school bands in Brescia. In 2016, at the CPM – one of the most important music academies in Italy, based in Milan – they won the national award for original music “L’Artista che non c’era”. On November 26, 2022 they won the main national contest for blues musicians, the Italian Blues Challenge and were selected as the official representatives of Italy at the forthcoming edition of the European Blues Challenge, scheduled for June 2023 in Chorzów (Poland).
Their albums have been met with high praise and were reviewed in the national specialized press (Classic Rock, Raropiù, Classix!, Buscadero). In 2019 they were hosted by journalist John Vignola on the national radio (Radio1).
In January 2021 The Crowsroads became endorsing artists for the brand EIKON microphones (Proel). During 2023 another collaboration was started with Seydel Harmonicas, the manufacturer of the harmonicas used by Andrea.
