Four young musicians, a passion for British rock and a project born in the classrooms and rehearsal rooms of Sassari. The Mad-Dog are one of the most exciting emerging acts on the city’s music scene, now making their mark on a journey that has taken them all the way to the stage of X Factor 2026.
After earning four yeses at the Auditions with Brianstorm by Arctic Monkeys, the band also made it through the Bootcamp with Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand, securing a place in the Sky talent show’s Last Call.
Behind the televised performances, however, is a story that began several years earlier: that of four young people who grew musically through punk rock, British indie and concerts at local venues. It’s a journey built on rehearsals, lineup changes, original compositions and an increasingly distinctive presence on Sassari’s stages.
Who are Mad-Dog? Meet the four young musicians from Sassari
The current Mad-Dog lineup consists of Renato Marchisio, vocals and guitar, Davide Dore, bass, Luca Pintus, guitar, and Jacopo Sale, drums.
The four are between 17 and 20 years old and balance their passion for music with school and university commitments. Renato attends classical high school, Davide science high school, while Jacopo and Luca have respectively started university studies in Literature and Cultural Heritage.
The project’s roots go back to 2023, when the band’s first lineup took shape. Their musical experiences, however, had begun as early as middle school, with their first instruments and first opportunities to play with other young musicians.
As often happens with young bands, Mad-Dog also went through an initial phase focused on covers before gradually developing an original repertoire.
In just a few years, what began as a teenage project has become a band with its own musical identity, while retaining the immediacy and energy of those first concerts.
From pop punk to indie rock: Mad-Dog’s musical influences
Mad-Dog’s sound is rooted in international alternative rock, but the band’s artistic journey has evolved over time.
Their early experiences were more closely linked to pop punk, with bands such as Green Day and Blink-182 as influences. Later, their listening habits evolved, bringing the young musicians closer to indie rock and the Britpop of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Among their most significant influences are Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, bands that helped shape a musical world built around punchy guitars, driving rhythms and immediate melodies.
There are Italian influences, too. The singer-songwriter traditions of Lucio Dalla and Lucio Battisti, together with contemporary indie artists such as Calcutta, are part of a wider musical landscape that helps inspire the band’s songwriting.
One particularly interesting aspect of the project is the relationship between English and Italian.
English comes naturally to a band that grew up listening mainly to British and American rock. The language’s musicality lends itself to the genre’s sound, while Italian makes it possible to connect more directly with the audience and the meaning of the lyrics.
Mad-Dog therefore don’t limit themselves to a single expressive direction: they alternate between songs in the two languages while keeping the search for a distinctive sound at the heart of the project.
Shame On Youth: Mad-Dog’s first album
Even before their television experience, Mad-Dog had already reached an important milestone for such a young band: the release of their first album of original songs.
Released on 19 December 2025, Shame On Youth features nine tracks with a total running time of around 31 minutes.
The record marks a fundamental step in the group’s artistic growth, as it signals the move from playing covers to writing original material.
Much of the production was handled independently, with the recording, mixing and mastering carried out in a home setting. This hands-on approach also reflects the band’s independent spirit.
The album includes tracks such as I.W.Y.B., Sigaretta and Ti Prego, showcasing songwriting that moves between English and Italian.
The songs are mainly written by Renato Marchisio, then shaped with contributions from the other members. It is this collaborative process that turns the initial ideas into songs made to be played by a band.
Shame On Youth is therefore more than a simple debut album: it is the first tangible expression of a musical identity built and developed over the years.
From Sassari’s venues to the Abbabula Festival
Mad-Dog’s growth is closely tied to Sassari’s emerging music scene, a community of numerous young bands that continue to find their main outlet for expression in live music.
Before reaching X Factor, the group gained experience at venues, events and showcases dedicated to young artists.
These include Un bullo da palcoscenico, an initiative that uses music and performance to raise awareness about bullying and cyberbullying, which the band had already taken part in back in 2023.
Other opportunities followed, including performances at the Abetone Music Bar and appearances at events showcasing emerging rock from the area.
A significant milestone came on 22 July 2026, when Mad-Dog performed in Piazza Università in Sassari, as part of the twenty-eighth edition of the Festival Abbabula.
The evening, dedicated to the new music scene, also featured La Terapia, Vulika Rot and Santamarea, offering an important platform for the creativity of younger bands.
Mad-Dog’s presence at the event also tells us something about the city’s cultural life: Sassari has a vibrant music scene, fueled by emerging bands and a new generation of artists, but moving from small venues to more prominent stages remains one of the main challenges.
Festivals, showcases and independent initiatives offer valuable opportunities, especially in an area where it is not always easy to find regular, suitable spaces for live music.
Flying guitars and fireworks: Mad-Dog’s onstage mishaps
It hasn’t all been music, concerts and success. In their early years, the Mad-Dog also experienced a few decidedly unexpected episodes, the kind that become part of a band’s memories.
One of the most curious incidents dates back to one of the Sassari band’s first concerts, during a motorbike rally in the gardens on Via Venezia. The group had just finished its set, and Francesco Piu, a well-known Sardinian blues guitarist, was getting ready to take the stage.
As the instruments were being put away backstage, a minor disaster struck: a guitar came crashing to the ground after being lifted with its case still open. It happened right in front of Francesco Piu, an accidental witness to a scene that could hardly have occurred at a more embarrassing moment.
But that wasn’t the band’s only mishap. During a summer concert in Sorso, Mad-Dog found themselves dealing with a much more dramatic situation.
The band had just started playing a song when a fireworks display began nearby. At first, the explosions didn’t seem particularly worrying, but the situation changed when some still-glowing debris reached the stage area and struck the musicians’ arms.
At that point, the band was forced to stop the performance and move away from the stage to avoid more serious consequences.
Two very different episodes, one funny and the other considerably less pleasant, capture the more unpredictable side of live music. They are part of a young band’s growth, alongside minor mishaps, makeshift stages and situations that no rehearsal room could ever prepare you for.
Today, having also played on the stage of X Factor 2026, those early concerts are an important chapter in Mad-Dog’s journey, full of enthusiasm, experience and a real desire to play.
X Factor 2026: from the Auditions to the Bootcamp with four yeses
The leap to a national audience came in September 2026, with the band’s participation in the twentieth season of X Factor.
During the first Auditions episode, broadcast on 10 September, Mad-Dog chose Brianstorm by Arctic Monkeys, a particularly challenging song in terms of speed, rhythmic precision and intensity of performance.
The performance earned a standing ovation from the audience and unanimous approval from all four judges: Paola Iezzi, Jake La Furia, Francesco Gabbani and Irama.
The performance particularly showcased the group’s tightness and the energy of its rhythm section, with Jacopo Sale’s drumming at the heart of an especially intense performance.
The result saw the band get through the X Factor 2026 Auditions and move on to the next stage.
On 1 October, another confirmation followed. At the Bootcamp, the four musicians performed Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand, once again choosing a song deeply rooted in the British indie rock tradition.
Once again, the verdict was unanimous: four green cards and a place in the Last Call.
Getting through the Bootcamp marks another step forward for the group, who must now face a decisive selection round to earn a place in the Live Shows.
The stage before social media: a band’s identity
One of the defining features of Mad-Dog’s journey is the importance they place on the live experience.
In a music landscape where visibility increasingly comes through digital platforms and short-form content, the band sees itself above all in the experience of playing live.
Songwriting, rehearsals, arrangements and preparing for performances all come together on stage. In front of an audience, the band’s day-to-day work becomes a collective experience, and the songs begin to live on through the listeners, too.
The relationship between musicians and listeners therefore becomes an important part of the project, especially when original songs are recognized and sung along to at concerts.
Social media is certainly a useful tool for reaching new listeners, but it cannot replace building a real audience and a repertoire that works live.
This distinction is particularly significant for a band that, despite its very young age, has already gained considerable experience on stages around the area.
Mad-Dog’s next X Factor appearance and what lies ahead
The next hurdle for Mad-Dog will be the X Factor 2026 Last Call, scheduled for Thursday, 15 October.
At this stage, the judges will select the contestants who will go on to the Live Shows, scheduled to begin on 22 October. Only twelve artists will make it through to the live stage of the show.
For Renato Marchisio, Davide Dore, Luca Pintus and Jacopo Sale, this is another chance to show their potential to a national audience, after two performances that have already demonstrated the band’s musical strengths.
Regardless of the talent show’s final outcome, Mad-Dog’s journey tells a story that has already reached beyond the city limits.
From their first experiences at school to their debut album, from Sassari’s venues to the stages of X Factor, the band has built an original project in just a few years, while maintaining a clear connection to its rock identity.
For now, perhaps the most important achievement is simply this: four musicians who continue to grow together, with a repertoire of their own and an already distinctive artistic direction.
The next chapter has yet to be written.