Since today Barcelona turns into the epicenter of the European music scene holding, almost at the same time, three festivals of reference on the international scene: the Primavera Sound, Sonar and Cruïlla Summer Festival.
This Music Festival marathon will start with the sixteenth edition of Primavera Sound (from the 2nd till the 6th of June) and will feature this year a dreamed line-up led by Radiohead. Thom Yorke’s band will present his new album “A Moon Shaped Pool”, which will be his first concert in Spain since 2012.
The nearly 175,000 people who are expected to fill the Parc del Forum, will enjoy with bands such as Sigur Ros, Suede, PJ Harvey, LCD Sound System or the former leader of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, who will perform live Pet Sounds, the masterpiece of the Californian group.
The long list of headliners will be completed with a wide range of musicians including top-class artists like Tame Impala, Animal Collective, Beach House, The Last Shadow Puppets, Beirut, Richard Hawley or the prestigious film director John Carpenter, who will perform some of his soundtracks.
The local contribution will be led by Los Chichos, the mythical Barcelona rumba group that will commemorate its 40th anniversary on stage.
The Raval district (where the Arc La Rambla hotel is located ) will host some additional festival program, with about 70 artists and groups.
Primavera Sound features almost 300 concerts, which merge past and present, electronic, indie, rock and a long list of different styles that turn the festival in an extraordinary music meeting and one of the musical events of the year.
Sónar 2016: Music and technology
Sónar will take the baton, from the 16th till the 18th of June, taking the challenge to remain as one of the most important festivals of electronic music in Europe.
Artists such as New Order, Anohni, Fatboy Slim, James Blake, John Talabot, Jack Jean Michelle Jarre Master will lead a program that combines the latest trends in dance music with electronic experimentation.
In addition, the festival will host 7 hour-long evening sessions by FourTet and Laurent Garnier, as well as emerging artists like Mano Le Tough, BobMoses or Red Axes.
Beyond the musical offer (with over 150 concerts) the event will also include Sonar + D, an event that joins technology and business which will bring together key figures from the design, music or audio-visual sector in an attempt to exchange ideas and provide tools to finance projects.
Cruïlla: a festival with soul
The ideal colophon to this festival delirium is the Cruïlla Summer Festival, an event with its own personality that will face its seventh edition with a luxury program.
Damien Rice, Alabama Shakes and the national bands Vetusta Morla, Bunbury and Love of Lesbian stand out among an eclectic proposal which, as their name implies (Cruïlla means crossroads in Catalan), will be a meeting point between musical styles, sometimes antagonistic.
But Cruïlla is much more than just music. Festival goers will enjoy massage and games area, as well as traditional activities such as Catalan Castellers (human towers), among others. In addition, the festival has his solidarity side by collaborating with organizations such as Intermon Oxfam, Amnesty International and SOS Children’s Villages.
