Primavera Sound Announces Lineup for 2023 Festivals in Barcelona and Madrid

Featured Photo Credit: Sergio Albert

Look for yourself in the Primavera Sound 2023 line-up… and find yourself. Because we assure you that you are there. After twenty editions, the festival is the mirror in which the community that will come from near and far to Barcelona and for the first time to Madrid next June looks at itself and recognises itself, but after everything it has experienced, this reflection goes in two directions, marking the richest musical itinerary we can think of: Primavera Sound also looks for and finds itself in its own audience. The learning is therefore twofold, just like the venues where a line-up will be deployed in which everything matters, full of surprises and at the same time familiar, recently revealed in an ad presented by Cupra. The Parc del Fòrum, from the 1st to the 3rd of June, and the Ciudad del Rock in Arganda del Rey, from the 8th to the 10th of June, will host the main days of Primavera Sound 2023 in two cities that will also mirror each other on two consecutive weekends. Wherever, however, I’ll be your mirror.

In total there will be over 200 performances in each city, including both welcome and closing days and of course the programme of Primavera a la Ciutat, one of the emblems of the urban festival format that will bring some of the most exciting sounds of today to different venues and concert halls in Barcelona and Madrid. A shared line-up shared 620 kilometers apart, with a few small exceptions, which once again finds the non-negotiable gender balance: the parity in the line-up of artists once again connects Primavera Sound with the real world without jeopardizing the artistic offer, which is so considerable that we will definitely need the seven months we still have ahead of us to discover every detail. Two festivals that are one and in reality, are infinite.

WITH ALL THE GLITTER

This plurality, this diversity that is so Primavera Sound, also extends to the strictly musical side and offers impossible combinations wherever you look. Punk and k-pop, reggaeton and metal, techno and salsa will coexist in an event to celebrate music in all its forms in the hands of big names, long-awaited comebacks, brand new revelations and living legends. Yesterday, today and tomorrow converge in a line-up that at first glance brings back the brilliance of hip-hop supernova Kendrick Lamar, Blur’s chest of Brit anthems, Rosalía on her homecoming as a global phenomenon, the pop versatility of Halsey, the fascinating mystery of every encounter with FKA twigs, Skrillex and his blender of beats for the club, the captivating St. Vincent, the resurrection of The Moldy Peaches, the undeniable hitmaking skill of Calvin Harris, and Le Tigre’s return to the fray. Also, of course, Depeche Mode: the first confirmed for Primavera Sound Barcelona and Madrid will arrive at the festival in their stage comeback after five years.

A LABYRINTH OF MIRRORS

But there is more, much, much more. Each name, however small it may seem, has been chosen to add value to the whole. And the reflection that Primavera Sound 2023 projects has multiple forms, perhaps more than ever in the history of the festival. The hardcore for the masses of Turnstile, the expansive rap of Baby Keem and the unlimited groove of NxWorries (the union of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge) also shine in a collection of sounds that also includes avant-garde references like John Cale and Laurie Anderson and disciples like Yves Tumor and Jockstrap. The reunions of Karate and Be Your Own PET to expand their cult history and new indie royalty personified by Alex G, Alvvays and Julia Jacklin. The excess of Måneskin and Japan’s Perfume and the solemnity of My Morning Jacket and Gabriels. The partying of Channel Tres and Daphni and the solitude of Julia Holter and Arlo Parks. The thunder of Swans and Death Grips as the perfect contrast to the finesse of Darkside and Beth Orton. The punk manual that Bad Religion and OFF! continue to rewrite and those new ways of being punk that Yung Lean, JPEGMAFIA and Villano Antillano have taught us. A ticket back to the 90s in the company of Come and Built to Spill and the visa to the future that PinkPantheress and Flowerovlove give us. A trip around the pop planet guided by the Koreans Red Velvet, the Nigerian artist Rema, the Dominican rapper Tokischa and the French singer Christine and the Queens. And don’t worry if you can’t find your way out: the Primavera Sound 2023 line-up is a labyrinth of mirrors in which the best thing you can do is get lost in order to find new musical obsessions.

NEW REFLECTIONS

If this is about looking at and seeing ourselves, about recognising ourselves, no sensation is as familiar as scanning the line-up and finding Shellac once again this year, the best mirror in which to look at ourselves, symbols of a festival who are fully aware of their history but always ready to generate new classics. Fred again.. after his double triumph in 2022, Pusha T wearing the well-deserved rap crown, the cinematic Sparks, the pop nymph Caroline Polachek, Julian Casablancas surfing the new wave of The Voidz, Kelela leading another expedition to the dark side of R&B, the electronic genius of Four Tet: they all return to the festival to immortalize new key moments in their respective careers and to mark the path to follow for the newcomers. Contemporary pop acts? The Bleachers of the multi-talented Jack Antonoff, the handcrafted choruses of Japanese Breakfast and the all-round talent of Sudan Archives. Maestros? Nuyorican Eddie Palmieri certainly deserves a welcome with full honors. Urban idols? Mora and Trueno at the peak of the genre. More dancing? Charlotte de Witte and Nia Archives will get the party going. Extreme challenges? Those proposed, each in their own way, by Soul Glo and Brutalismus 3000. Part of the history of Primavera Sound is already contained in each and every one of the artists who make up a dazzling line-up.

FIND THE DIFFERENCES

In short, Barcelona and Madrid will experience two almost identical Primavera Sounds on their three main days. Almost. A minimal difference that is limited to a small group of artists who will only perform on one of the two sites as part of the main programme of each festival. The Parc del Fòrum will be the place to enjoy the grand guignol metal of Ghost, the simmering quejío of Israel Fernández and Diego del Morao, the refined saudade of Arthur Verocai and the rock in scope of The War On Drugs (who in Madrid will headline the Primavera a la Ciutat programme with a concert at La Riviera) and the gen-z confessions of Holly Humberstone, while the Ciudad del Rock will feature The Mars Volta in another of their volcanic appearances, Bad Gyal, now absolutely internationally, and the British artist Georgia with her emotional dance and the post-punk commune formed by Crack Cloud.

WELCOME DAY…AND CLOSING PARTY

The music will have already started to play a couple of days before with the assault on the Primavera a la Ciutat venues, but we can say that each festival will not officially kick off until the Wednesday of each week. On 31 May at the Parc del Fòrum and on 7 June at the Cívitas Metropolitano the welcome days will take place. A celebration (or two, depending on how you look at it) that will of course have the most appropriate soundtrack. Pet Shop Boys will be performing their infallible synth jamboree, but they won’t be alone. Brit troubadour Jake Bugg, the enthusiasm of Australia’s Confidence Man and La Paloma’s castizo rock will accompany Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe on two days that will really get things started.

Each week, each festival will also have its corresponding and well-deserved closing party with a new collaboration between Primavera Sound and Brunch -In. On Sunday 4th June and Sunday 11th June, again in the Parc del Fòrum and the Cívitas Metropolitano respectively, Barcelona and Madrid will dance their last dances in a luxury Brunch -In led by Purple Disco Machine in Barcelona and Vitalic in Madrid and completed with Diplo, Ben Böhmer, CamelPhat, Carlita, and Two Ex in both cities.

PRIMAVERA A LA CIUTAT: ALSO IN VENUES

Although the main musical activity will take place in the Parc del Fòrum from the 1st to the 3rd of June and in the Ciudad del Rock from the 8th to the 10th respectively, Barcelona and Madrid will also experience an intense extension of the programme in their circuit of venues. In other words, a Primavera a la Ciutat that will extend Primavera Sound 2023 both in space and time and also in two ways: each event will be spread over a whole week in an unprecedented display.

On 29th, 30th and 31st May and 4th June in Barcelona and on 5th, 6th, 7th and 11th June in Madrid, Pet Shop Boys (who will complete their Primavera Sound weeks by adding two concerts in venues to the welcome days), Loyle Carner, black midi, The Comet is Coming, Black Country, New Road, The Chills, Cloud Nothings, Gilla Band, PUP and Blondshell, among others, will bring Primavera Sound to intimate settings with concerts in different venues in both cities. On the one hand, the Sala Apolo and La (2) de Apolo, Razzmatazz 1 and Razzmatazz 2 and Paral.lel 62; on the other, La Riviera, El Sol, Independance, Shôko, La Paqui and Clamores.

In addition, Arab Strap, Confidence Man, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Jockstrap, Enumclaw, Just Mustard, yunè pinku and Gwenno in Barcelona and The War On Drugs, St. Vincent, Tokischa, Julia Jacklin, Nation of Language, Julia Holter and Joy Anonymous in Madrid will enhance every aspect of Primavera a la Ciutat to ratify the idiosyncrasy of an urban event built up over two decades. We have already said it, but it is worth repeating it: two festivals that are one and in reality, are infinite.

TICKETS FOR PRIMAVERA SOUND 2023

All tickets for Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 and Primavera Sound Madrid 2023 will go on sale on Thursday 1st December at 12:00 noon CET at DICE: full festival tickets will be 325 € (+ booking fee), day-tickets will be 125 € (+ booking fee) and double full festival tickets (Primavera Sound Barcelona + Primavera Sound Madrid) will be 520 € (+ booking fee). The VIP full festival tickets and day tickets and full festival tickets in instalments for both festivals will also be available on DICE.

If you are registered in the Barcelonès region or in the Community of Madrid, you can benefit from a special discount for residents. In addition, Primavera Sound joins the Bono Cultural Joven: if you are a holder of the card, you will be able to use it.

The full festival tickets for Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 and Primavera Sound Madrid 2023 give access to the main days which will take place in the Parc del Fòrum and the Ciudad del Rock respectively. They also give the possibility, subject to capacity, of access to the Primavera a la Ciutat concerts and the Brunch -In party. Both programmes will operate with a pre-booking system to avoid waiting times, details of which will be announced soon.

The welcome days will be free and open to the general public until full capacity is reached: it will not be necessary to present a full festival ticket or a Primavera Sound 2023 day-ticket to enjoy the concerts, but they will operate with a pre-booking system, details of which will be announced soon.

Primavera Sound 2023 Barcelona – Madrid has the support of Estrella Damm, Cupra, Pull&Bear and Amazon Music as fundamental strategic partners: their commitment makes possible the challenge of uniting both cities through the festival we believe in, both musically and in everything that surrounds it. They are joined by SEAT MÓ, Stone Island and adidas Originals. Thank you all very much for your trust in Primavera Sound.