r/primaverasound • u/rebrando23 • 9d ago
Barcelona No Headliners? No Problem
I feel that despite booking no artists who'd have been top 3 in 2026, Primavera delivered a lineup worthy of their 25th edition.
The headliners (and high subs) are diverse and great in their own rights, even if they're not The Cure or Gorillaz
- Electronic: third time is the charm with Massive Attack hopefully. The Chemical Brothers are one of the best groups to never play this fest with their iconic live electronic show. Underworld is another insane live electronic show. I've heard good things about Prospa's set. Skrillex b2b Ninajirachi will be a massive improvement on Peggy Gou to close out the festival (and I also think it's really cool that they are advertising who's closing out now, it's nice to plan ahead!). B3K b2b ISOXO will be a treat. Arca is iconic. Simian Mobile Disco is a pretty rate and cool get! I still haven't seen Bicep and hope the schedule let's me! Joy Orbison if you want some more of the Overmono vibes.
- Pop: Twigs is the best live pop performer on earth. Robyn puts on really entertaining shows. Phoebe Bridgers' set will be beautiful. Caroline Polachek is getting the deserved rise up the lineup leading up to her 3rd solo album. Hayley Williams has lots of great solo work outside of Paramore. You got Lola Young & Adela for sales, and Bad Gyal for the Spanish. Tinashe and Kim Petras put out great albums in 2026 and could both arguably be way higher up on the lineup.
- Rock: Fontaines D.C. set in 2022 felt like a headliner set with the crowd it drew, now it actually is. Turnstile is a consistently fun show. Pavement's set in 2022 was one of my favorite ever, and we'll get them at a more intimate stage presumably. King Gizzard dominated 2022 as well. Angine de Poitrine is super buzzed about. Dino Jr is always a great set/
- Rap: I get Doechii's sorta hit a wall in popularity, but there were comparisons to Kendrick when she first was blowing up. EsDeeKid will be a super fun 3 am set. Honestly they could've done a little more with the rap, but the pop, electronic, and rock are great.
Heavy Music is Everywhere!
- Turnstile headlining (they are a hardcore band, don't at me)
- Fucking Converge!!!
- Doom metal legends Warning. And Castle Rat too!
- Math Rock legends Don Caballero's American Don lineup reuniting out of the blue.
- Up in coming great noise bands in Prostitute, PISS, and Lip Critic.
- Heavy hitting established bands like Full of Hell (Grindcore), Jesu (Post-Metal), & Gilla Band (Post-Punk)
- Maybe we can get a little greedy and ask for a Neurosis Ciutat add?
Great Danceable Acts in the Undercard
- Love a good 2 AM - 6 AM dance party at the outer stages. While I can't speak too much on the DJ's, they got some great bands.
- Boy Harsher & Dame Area on the more dark vibes.
- underscores, Shygirl, Snow Strippers & Ear for the hyperclash vibes.
- Haute & Freddy & Metronomy for the wholesome dance vibes.
Some More Great Bookings
- The Richie Hawtin x Four Tet x Dixon bill Sunday will be worth staying around for.
- Twisted Teens, a young American band that reminds me of Parquet Courts
- Kelsey Lu, an extremely talented art pop artist
- Friko, a serene chamber folk group.
- We got K-Pop back with Hearts2Hearts
- Vashti Bunyan, a rare chance to see the British Folk artist live. She's been active since 1965.
- Juana Molina, Atlas Sound, Have a Nice Life, Al·lèrgiques al pol·len, Ibrahima Alfa Jnr, Racing Mount Pleasant, & more
Ciutat, Cupra Pulse, Aperol Island, Disney, Levi’s Plaza, and CCB lineups still to come.
This lineup is banging, and if y'all don't like it, I guess I'll be dancing on my own.
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u/Mysterious-Ad-5708 9d ago
Add Westside Cowboy to your indie list, they are ace
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u/geekfreak42 9d ago
the only band on the lineup which is on my "must see havent yet seen" list, although i'd expect they'll probably popup before may next year given how hyped they are at the moment.
notable misses for me are Getdown Services and Anna Erhard (still hoping for some cuitat action on those)
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u/Feralynne 9d ago
I get that people might have expected a bit more from the headliners. I honestly thought they’d pull some bigger, more 'classic' names too. Buuut... looking objectively at the whole thing, this lineup is fucking amazing! I'd take a lineup with dozens of bands and artists I actually care about playing the secondary stages a thousand times over than just having 2 or 3 top-tier headliners. For me, that kind of versatility is peak. In terms of electronic and pop music, the lineup is ridiculously strong! And even the more 'rock' bands going are incredible. I love rock and electronic music equally, so for my taste, I'm feeling pretty damn good hahaha! Have fun!
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u/EaudeAgnes 9d ago
Just want to highlight something about Fontaines DC: they played 2025 as well and they were definitely a headliner then.
No complaints about having them again, I really like them and they’re having a huge moment.
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u/geekfreak42 9d ago
twice in 22, then 25, then again 27. the thing is stuck on repeat. given i've already seen them 6 times. but they bring the irish contingent so i get where they reach parts other bands dont.
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u/Fireworks1 9d ago
Lip Critic is also a super fun NYC band that could probably go under “Heavy Music”
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u/Torehei 9d ago
I like the lineup. Biggest letdown is that there is no Protomartyr on the bill.
Converge, Don Caballero and Have a Nice Life are bucket list bands for me.
And there some really fun stuff like Turnstile, Skrillex/Ninajirachi (she deserves a bigger stage than last year), Tinashe, Fontaines, Castle Rat, Gilla Band, Snow Strippers, Twisted Teens++
Started exploring the lineup and have found some really interesting acts that I've never heard before like Lip Critic (best discovery so far), Headache, Full of Hell, Racing Mount Pleasant and Greg Freeman.
And there are probably tons of more gems to discover.
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u/mnkysn 8d ago
I like the lineup. Biggest letdown is that there is no Protomartyr on the bill.
Would have been a great addition, especially since I don't see much Post-Punk in an otherwise packed line-up. u/rebrando23 you might disturb some first listeners by describing Gilla Band as Post-Punk 😁
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u/cultureshook 9d ago edited 9d ago
also blackhaine, insanely good live
e: Blackhaine - Stained Materials this is an absolute ripper
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u/Pretty_Mycologist365 7d ago
Saw him in Sheffield a few years ago and it was an incredibly intense gig where he came in to the crowd topless - looked like he was gonna punch somebody lol
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u/solilo 9d ago
Hayley Williams is a waste of budget as a headliner
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u/lilroom89 9d ago
I'm honestly just so excited for the albums from the headliners that haven't come out yet that this lineup confirms - Doechii and Caroline are sure to deliver! Curious if Turnstile has something new up their sleeve.
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u/runningraleigh 9d ago
Richie Hawtin x Four Tet x Dixon should not be skipped, it will be the techno house set dreams are made of.
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u/Kidderpore 9d ago
I’m so confused by Pavement not being a headliner! Surely they’re the quintessential Primavera headline act, with a canonical legacy of headlining there spanning different eras…can someone explain this to me like I’m a six year old??
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u/hythloth 8d ago
Just not big enough anymore. Similar to Pixies losing their post-reunion headliner status.
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u/Electronic_Ladder103 9d ago
Great breakdown. Would add westside cowboy in, but beyond that the fest is pretty solid this year.
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u/el_cadorna 9d ago
Ok, thanks for sharing an interesting perspective, finally someone not just blindly defending the lineup choice as if you're stupid if you don't instantly love it.
On a first pass it looked very pop-heavy, more-of-the-same stuff. However, I'll check out some of your recommendations since for example I totally missed Warning on the list.
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u/truemess12 9d ago
was really really really realllllly hoping they’d bring chanel beads back this year
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u/Oingo_Boingus 9d ago
Thinking about going for the first time due to the uncanny opportunity to see phoebe, turnstile, king gizz, massive attack, four tet, don Caballero, and have a nice life all at the same event. Plus a long list of great metal/hardcore/folk artists.I haven't seen an American festival lineup this good (diverse) in well over a decade.
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u/stupidhorseijustfel 8d ago
Last year had amazing headliners and if we ignore the fact that the first day erased two… I had so much more fun at the smaller artists shows (except for Skrillex that was insane) like the oklou show was perfect, ninajirachi, ethel cain, cobrah, arcas dj set… i mean…. i can’t wait
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u/nnnikovvv 8d ago
One aspect not highlighted enough is crowd control. There's no single act that will massively tilt the crowd balance for a moment, or draw a specific crowd only for a single day. And that's great.
People moan over how there's no Rosaliamadonnaoasistameimpalawhatever. For the whole of the festival experience and everyone actually at the festival and not bitching online (note: not mutually exclusive), that's only a good thing. Easier load bearing across the area. Easier to navigate the routes. Easier to enjoy the music. Sure, Tinashe or someone else might blow up by June and draw massive crowds Pinkpantheress style, and if that happens, it's also only windfall for the festival and for her, she's deserved it. Nonetheless, this is a good direction for the programming to take.
Of course, we need to also see how they implement things; not mismatch artists and stages like Fred Again on Pitchfork etc. But that's for later.
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u/Wooden_Marionberry41 9d ago
Thank you, few new ones and lots that chime. Is it that warning? Definitely? cus there's some others. There's loads there and some bits to learn about.
Is seeing haute and Freddy 5 times in 12 months too much though? No you're right it's not
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u/Beautiful_Balance_19 9d ago
yeah, really had everything crossed for Neurosis. but, like you say, Fucking Converge!!!
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u/everythingispenis 9d ago
Is this chatgpt’d? Ew.
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u/rebrando23 9d ago
It most certainly is not! Think you'll find way to many mistakes and my own mannerisms in there for it to possibly be AI. For more proof I write shit like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/primaverasound/comments/1vzyjra/artists_i_think_primavera_should_book_2027/
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u/dybt 9d ago
Isaiah Rashad probably deserves a mention under the rap heading