The best parties start way before they officially kick off. After almost a quarter of a century of history, at Primavera Sound we know that a good celebration is everything that happens during it, but also everything you fantasise about before the moment arrives. Those butterflies in your stomach. Well, here goes: we can now begin to imagine what Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025 will be like, thanks to an all-embracing, eclectic and unparalleled line-up, presented in a video by Vampire Films and VETA, in which the party has already begun. And now it's time to join in.
This musical unboxing comes earlier than ever, over seven months before the 23rd edition of the festival, but all this time we have ahead of us will allow us to discover all the peculiarities that lie behind a line-up that celebrates the unmistakable identity of Primavera Sound, built year after year with the complicity of the audience. A total of 147 artists are already looking our way: the main days of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025 will take place from the 5th to the 7th of June in the Parc del Fòrum, an iconic venue that is already part of the idiosyncrasy of the festival just two decades after it became the official venue of Primavera Sound. In addition, the parallel programme will, yet another year, turn the festival into a whole week of music that will extend to other corners of Barcelona, although that will be another chapter that we will get to...
She is the moment. Charli xcx, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter. The order of the features does not alter the product: whichever way you look at it, the three most important artists of the moment will headline the next edition of Primavera Sound Barcelona. An unquestionable milestone that reinforces their status as the new faces of pop at a global level, each with their own singularities. Charli xcx will perform at the festival for the second year running, driven by the unstoppable BRAT phenomenon; the unique Chappell Roan, with her movie-like story, will wear her glittering Midwest princess crown; Sabrina Carpenter, the American dream made pop singer, will present the infinite charm of Short n' Sweet. If Primavera Sound has always aimed to be the musical reflection of its time and place, the presence of these three artists at the festival is undoubtedly a goal achieved. A photograph to remember. Something to celebrate.
Our normality. There are definitely things that only happen at Primavera Sound. The fact of having three female artists headlining a festival like this is especially symbolic if we consider that they also lead an artistic line-up that is gender-balanced. This has been the hallmark of Primavera Sound since the unforgettable 2019 edition, which for the first time balanced a historically uneven scale. This closes, finally. The New Normal circle. The three of them are the stars of a line-up in which highlights other artists such as the chameleon-like FKA twigs, the HAIM sisters in the reunion with their delightful pop made in California, and Clairo, who has become an ambassador of the sounds of the 70s for a whole new generation of listeners, ANOHNI and the Johnsons and their brave and therapeutic songbook, the rock revival of beabadoobee, the effervescent duo Wet Leg and Zaho de Sagazan, the new star of the French chanson.
All my friends. If this is a celebration, then let's embrace LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends as the official anthem of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025. Almost twenty years after giving the world this dance-rock ode to friendship, the influential band led by James Murphy will come back to the festival (and with a new album!) to make it clear that, although they are an inherent part of our best memories, their time is always now. More friends at Primavera Sound? Of course. The guestlist to the party includes the thunderous IDLES, electronic genius Jamie xx, Beach House with their magic dream-pop formula under their arm, the eternally inspiring Stereolab, Alan Sparhawk in his new post-Low life, the house euphoria of Caribou, Amaia and her new pop tricks, tons of disco brilliance from DJ Koze, and Kim Deal, indie heroine making her solo debut after leading the way with The Breeders in the 90s. And even Armand Van Helden, who was there at the now distant first ever edition of the festival. Over two decades have passed since that first time, but Primavera Sound's group of friends still has room for more. The new hardcore idols Turnstile and the Irish Fontaines D.C., in full expansion after the release of Romance, will also come back to the first festival that believed in them in Spain.
Here and now. Shall we play a game? Let's erase all references to time from the line-up poster and hide it away. In the future, when someone finds it, would they be able to tell what year this line-up happened? Probably, because the game itself brings with it the solution: this line-up, full of sounds that are happening at this very moment, is very much a state of the art picture. A festival right here and right now, ready for the audience to take part in it. After creating some of the sounds that have best defined this 2024, MJ Lenderman, Floating Points, Carolina Durante, Waxahatchee, Still House Plants, Chat Pile, Cassandra Jenkins, Julie and Chanel Beads will perform at the next edition of Primavera Sound to validate that what happens in the Parc del Fòrum will have that unmistakable brilliance of events that can be experienced precisely while they are happening.
A matryoshka festival. Primavera Sound will be, once again this year, faithful to its matryoshka festival philosophy: inside it there are always other festivals waiting to be discovered. The celebration will echo in an infinite number of ways. Country? We have Sturgill Simpson, contemporary icon of the genre. Flamenco? The meeting between Frente Abierto, Israel Fernández and Lela Soto. Metal? Midnight's extreme approach. J-pop? The duo YOASOBI. Rap? Denzel Curry and Aminé. Techno? Amelie Lens and Paul Kalkbrenner. Punk? Gouge Away. Neoclassical? Kali Malone. The line-up of artists unveiled today offers a myriad of contrasts that are only possible in the Primavera Sound universe. The tranquillity of Julie Byrne and the raucousness of Brutalismus 3000, the spirituality of Ekuka Morris Sirikiti and the hedonism of Isabella Lovestory, the minimalism of Yasmin Williams and the excess of Fcukers, the brightness of Parcels and the shadows of D'Arcangelo, the solemnity of Heinali & Yasia and the joyfulness of Magdalena Bay, the intermission of Maria Somerville and the vertigo of SHERELLE, the purity of Beatrice Dillon and the debauchery of Yung Beef, the mayhem of Destroyer and the decadence of The Dare. Everything will effortlessly coexist at the next edition of the festival.
23 times exceptional. As is always the case, Primavera Sound's impressive line-up is remarkable if you look at it with a wide-angle lens... and surprising if you look at it with a magnifying glass. And that is when those flashes of exceptionality that reinforce the unique personality of the festival emerge. While the music planet will be looking towards Barcelona, at Primavera Sound several unique things will be happening. TV On The Radio will teleport us back to the New York of two decades ago, which still resonates today. The Jesus Lizard will be reuniting with Primavera Sound sixteen years on to present their first album in over a quarter of a century. The African icon Salif Keita will review his work, which is crucial to understanding the sound of an entire continent. The enigmatic Salem, pioneers of witch-house, will make a rare appearance in the real world at their only show in all of 2025. J. Spaceman and his Spiritualized will celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Pure Phase, their second album, playing it in its entirety at the festival. The Sabres of Paradise will return to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the band's birth in the best possible tribute to Andrew Weatherall. Suso Saiz will lead the first live performance of Música Esporádica, a cult ambient album that celebrates its 40th anniversary. Cat Power will recreate Bob Dylan's legendary UK tour in 1966. Sandwell District will pay tribute to the late Silent Servant in their return from the darkness of techno. Cap'n Jazz will reform to take the emo rock baton from American Football. The exceptional, the normal.
And now? Well, now we can start to fantasise about everything that will happen at the 23rd edition of Primavera Sound Barcelona as we do about the best parties. And this one will undoubtedly be one of the good ones. Stay tuned for the day splits, which will also reveal which bands and artists announced today will perform on the traditional opening day on Wednesday 4th June and at the closing party on Sunday 8th June. Later, the parallel programme of Primavera a la Ciutat, which will give even more reasons to celebrate, and which will once again transport the musical activity into different venues and spaces around Barcelona. A recognisable urban festival model, in symbiosis with the city that hosts it, which will take Primavera Sound far beyond the Parc del Fòrum and the three main days of the event. And then there is the programme of conferences and showcases of Primavera Pro, the meeting point for Primavera Sound industry professionals, which will celebrate its 16th edition at the CCCB from the 4th to the 7th of June.
Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025 has the support of Estrella Damm and Cupra, who renew their commitment as key strategic partners and who are joined by Revolut, the global financial app, which is preparing exclusive benefits for the Primavera Sound audience throughout the year. Their support makes it possible to continue improving the festival that we believe in both musically and in everything that surrounds it. In addition, we also have the essential collaboration of Aperol and Red Bull and Fever as the official point of sale. Thank you all for your faith in Primavera Sound.
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