The

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

2024 music festival took place from 30 May to 1 June at the Parc del Fòrum in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. The line-up was headlined by

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

and

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

on Thursday,

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

, The National and

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media Film and television *'' CBC News: Disclosure'', a television newsmagazine series in Canada * ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American erotic thriller film based on the 1994 novel by Michael Crichton * ''Dis ...

on Friday and

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her diaristic lyrics and genre explorations, she has been credited as a prominent figure in influencing contemporary R& ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

Mitski Mitsuki Laycock (born September 27, 1990), also known as Mitski Miyawaki, and known professionally as Mitski, is an American singer-songwriter. She Self-publishing, self-released her first two albums, ''Lush (Mitski album), Lush'' (2012), and '' ...

and

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

on Saturday. It was the 22nd edition of the festival. On Wednesday, 29 May, Phoenix headlined the free "Jornada Inaugural" opening day concert on the

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

stage at the Parc del Fòrum. Parc del Fòrum also hosted a "Brunch on the Beach" event on Sunday, 2 June, featuring DJ sets from performers including ANOTR and

The Blessed Madonna Marea Renee Stamper (born October 22, 1977), better known by her stage name the Blessed Madonna (formerly the Black Madonna), is an American DJ, producer and musician. ''Mixmag'' named her the DJ of the year in 2016. She founded her own record l ...

. Primavera a la Ciutat continued to be held in smaller local venues throughout the city of Barcelona, featuring exclusive performances from groups such as

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of bassist and vocalist Mark Burgess (now known as Vox), guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer Jo ...

and

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...

, as well as an intimate performance by The National in the 2,000-capacity Razzmatazz club.

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

, who performed at every Primavera Sound since 2008 with his band

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca, lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Chemically, it is mainly composed of aleuritic acid, jalaric acid, shellolic acid, and other natural waxes. It is processed and s ...

, died weeks before the festival. A stage was renamed after him in his honor. The festival sold 268,000 tickets, an improvement from 2023, with over 130,000 unique visitors from 134 different countries. 59% of attendees came from overseas, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

were the most represented foreign countries.

livestreamed performances from six stages.

Background

The line-up for the 2024 edition of Primavera Sound was released on 21 November 2023. It was advertised as showing "love for its own history", using a retro font that recalled a 1994 poster where the words "Primavera Sound" were first used to promote a series of concerts at the venue KGB in Barcelona. The initial line-up featured 42% female artists, 42% male artists and 15% mixed-gender artists, continuing Primavera Sound's mission of being the first major festival in the world to achieve a gender-balanced lineup under their tagline "The New Normal". On 24 April 2024,

Kim Petras Kim Petras (, ; born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Republic Reco ...

cancelled her appearance at Primavera Sound, along with all other summer performances, due to a medical advisory. Steve Albini stage

, who performed at 15 editions of the festival with his band

, including every edition since 2006 except for 2007, died of a heart attack on 7 May 2024. Shellac were scheduled to perform for a 16th time in 2024. In a statement, the festival said: "What are we going to do without you, Steve? After having welcomed them at 15 editions of the festival, it is impossible for us to imagine a Primavera Sound without him, because no band explains us better than Shellac." On 14 May 2024, the festival announced that headliner

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musica ...

, who had previously cancelled her scheduled performance in 2023, cancelled again and would have her set postponed to 2025. The seafront stage for heavy music where Shellac were scheduled to play was renamed the Steve Albini stage, and it was announced that a listening party for the band's new album ''

To All Trains ''To All Trains'' is the sixth and final studio album by American rock band Shellac, released by Touch and Go Records on May 17, 2024. It was their first studio album in a decade and the final recording made before guitarist Steve Albini's ...

'' would be held during Shellac's scheduled time slot, which

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

noted will "function as a kind of wake for Albini's fans". Bands such as Scowl, Gel and

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

were assigned to the newly christened Albini stage. The final wave of artist additions included

Legowelt Legowelt (real name Danny Wolfers) is a Dutch composer, electronic musician and visual artist, whose music spans a varying range of sub-genres. Life Danny Wolfers was born in The Hague, The Netherlands and grew up in the coastal neighbourhoo ...

Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...

Princess Superstar Concetta Suzanne Kirschner (born February 25, 1971), better known as Princess Superstar, is an American rapper, singer and DJ. She has had two chart hits in the UK, the humorous song "Bad Babysitter", which reached number 11 on the UK Singles ...

and

Snow Strippers Snow Strippers are an American electronic music duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 2021. They first gained prominence online as part of the indie sleaze resurgence in 2021 before self-releasing their eponymous debut album in 2022 and the mixta ...

. On 24 May, ML Buch replaced Julie Byrne, who dropped off the lineup.

Festival

On 29 May 2024, the festival held its "Jornada Inaugural" opening day event at the

stage in Parc del Fòrum, which was headlined by Phoenix. The band brought

Ezra Koenig Ezra Michael Koenig ( ; born April 8, 1984) is an American musician, record producer, and radio personality. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Additionally, Koenig is the creator of the ...

to perform the final three songs together, including their collaboration "

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

", to culminate a performance that was attended by 29,000 people. During

's headlining performance on 30 May, frontman

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...

dedicated " Something Changed" to late bassist

Steve Mackey Stephen Patrick Mackey (10 November 1966 – 2 March 2023) was an English musician and record producer best known as the bass guitarist for the Britpop band Pulp, which he joined in 1989. As a record producer, he produced songs and albums by ...

and Steve Albini. Cocker also told the audience that

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

was found guilty on 34 felony counts, which was breaking news hours earlier. Pulp performed a surprise second encore for " Razzmatazz", in honor of the nightclub in Barcelona named after the song.

's headlining set on 31 May began half an hour late. ''Far Out'' reported that Del Rey's fans began lining up at the festival entrance in the morning even though doors did not open until 3:45 p.m. Her performance received negative reviews from publications including ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', who called it "flat" and "disconnected", and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', who noted she was "marked by an uneasiness in her energy, each move she makes seemingly apprehensive and uncertain."

, who closed out the main stages on Friday, played their first live set since 2016. A heavy rainstorm began on 1 June during

's headlining slot, who dedicated "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" to Steve Albini (the producer behind her album ''

Rid of Me ''Rid of Me'' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter PJ Harvey, released on 26 April 1993 by Island Records, approximately one year after the release of her critically acclaimed debut studio album '' Dry'' (1992). It marked ...

'') and performed "Black Hearted Love" from '' A Woman a Man Walked By'', her collaborative album with

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapm ...

, for the first time in 15 years and the second time ever. The storm culminated in lightning during

's set after.

070 Shake Danielle Balbuena (born June 13, 1997), known professionally as 070 Shake (pronounced "oh seven oh shake"), is an American rapper and singer. She is best known for her guest appearance on English singer Raye's 2022 single "Escapism (Raye song), ...

was cut off in the middle of performing for going over her scheduled set time with Harvey waiting to perform after her on the main stages.

headlined at the Amazon Music stage days before the release of her sixth album ''Brat'', debuting the songs "Everything is Romantic" and "365" live. At the entrance to the festival grounds, an art installation titled the "Gaza Mirror" by Jofre Oliveras was displayed. It referenced the

New York–Dublin Portal The ''New York–Dublin Portal'' (also simply known as ''The Portal'') is an interactive installation created by Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys to allow people in New York City and Dublin to interact with each other using two 24-hour liv ...

to connect Gaza and Barcelona, showing images of ruins in Gaza from the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

and also mirroring the current destruction in Gaza onto iconic Barcelona landmarks. During their festival performances, several artists including

Ethel Cain Hayden Silas Anhedönia (born March 24, 1998), known professionally as Ethel Cain, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and model. Anhedönia is noted for her lyrics focused on nostalgic and Southern Gothic themes, while her music ...

, Mannequin Pussy and

Lankum Lankum are a contemporary Irish folk music group from Dublin, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Ian Lynch, Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat. Originally a duo consisting of the Lynch brothers, known as Lynched, the pair relea ...

expressed support for

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Line-up

Headline performers are listed in boldface. Artists listed from latest to earliest set times.

Estrella Damm

Santander

Amazon Music

Pull&Bear

Cupra

Plenitude

Steve Albini

Auditori Rockdelux

Primavera a la Ciutat line-up

Sala Apolo

La de Apolo

Paral·lel 62

La Nau

LAUT

Razzmatazz

Jornada Inaugural

Amazon Music

Brunch on the Beach

Pull&Bear

Reception

Rolling Stone Italia ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known f ...

'' noted that the festival was "divided into two", with a "coexistence between these

t-shirts and these

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

outfits."

References

{{Primavera Sound Primavera Sound May 2024 in Spain June 2024 in Spain 2020s in Barcelona Events in Barcelona 2024 music festivals