- Depeche Mode, Kendrick Lamar, Blur, Rosalía, Halsey, FKA twigs, Skrillex, Måneskin, St. Vincent, The Moldy Peaches, Calvin Harris and Le Tigre will headline the Barcelona and Madrid dates
- Both festivals will share a plural and gender-balance line-up of more than 200 names over two consecutive weekends
- Pet Shop Boys will welcome the festival on Wednesday’s free day, which will return twice in the Parc del Fòrum and the Cívitas Metropolitano
- Full festival tickets and day tickets will go on sale on Thursday 1st December at 12 noon CET on DICE
Find yourself in the lineup for Primavera Sound 2023 by looking for yourself. Because we can confirm your presence. After 20 iterations, the festival is the mirror in which the community that will travel from near and far to Barcelona and for the first time to Madrid in June looks at itself and recognizes itself. However, after everything it has gone through, this reflection goes in two directions, marking the richest musical route we can think of: Primavera Sound also searches for and finds itself in its own audience.
The lessons are therefore dualistic, just like the locations where a line-up will be deployed that is both surprising and recognizable, as recently disclosed in a Cupra ad. The Primavera Sound 2023 major days will be held at the Parc del Fòrum from June 1 through June 3 and the Ciudad del Rock in Arganda del Rey from June 8 through June 10 in two cities that will also mirror one another. Wherever, however, I’ll be your mirror.
In total, there will be more than 200 performances in each city, including the opening and closing ceremonies and, of course, the Primavera a la Ciutat program, one of the quintessential urban festival models that will bring some of the hottest contemporary sounds to various locations and concert halls in Barcelona and Madrid.
A shared line-up conveyed 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 simultaneously one and infinite.
With all the glitter
This variety, this Primavera Sound-Esque plurality, extends to the realm of pure music as well and presents inconceivable mashups everywhere. 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. Of course, Depeche Mode will also be at the festival; they are the first act to be confirmed for Primavera Sound and will be performing in Barcelona and Madrid after a five-year hiatus.
A labyrinth of mirror
But there is still more—a ton more. Even the seemingly insignificant names have been chosen to enhance the overall experience. And the reflection that Primavera Sound 2023 envisions takes on a variety of shapes, perhaps more so than at any other time in the festival’s history. 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 hardcore for the masses of Turnstile, the expansive rap of Baby Keem, and the limitless groove of NxWorries (the union of Anderson.Paak and Knxwledge) all shine.
the reuniting of Be Your Own PET and Karate to further their cult followings and introduce new indie royalty represented by Alex G, Alvvays, and Julia Jacklin. The excess of Måneskin and Japan’s Perfume and the solemnity of My Morning Jacket and Gabriels.
Channel Tres and Daphni’s parties versus Julia Holter and Arlo Parks’ seclusion. Swans and Death Grips’ thunder serves as the ideal counterpoint to Darkside and Beth Orton’s finesse. 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. Come, Built to Spill, and Flowerovlove give us a return ticket to the 1990s and a passport to the future, respectively.
Red Velvet from Korea, Rema from Nigeria, Tokischa from the Dominican Republic, and Christine and the Queens from France take you on a tour of the pop world. 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
Shellac is the best mirror in which to look at ourselves; they are symbols of a festival who are fully aware of their history but always ready to create new classics. If this is about looking at and seeing ourselves, about recognizing ourselves, then no sensation is as familiar as scanning the line-up and finding Shellac once again this year.
Fred Again.. after his double victory in 2022, Pusha T wearing the well-deserved rap crown, the cinematic Sparks, the pop nymph Caroline Polachek, Julian Casablancas riding the new wave of The Voidz, Kelela leading another expedition into the shadowy realm of R&B, and 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.
Modern pop artists? The multi-talented Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers, Japanese Breakfast’s handcrafted choruses, and Sudan Archives’ all-around skill. Maestros? Eddie Palmieri, a native of New York, is deserving of a warm welcome. urban heroes At the height of the genre, Mora and Trueno. More twirling? Charlotte de Witte and Nia Archives will get the party going.
extreme difficulties? those that Soul Glo and Brutalismus 3000 have suggested, each in their own unique way. 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 essence, on their three main days, Barcelona and Madrid will have two nearly identical Primavera Sounds. 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 program of each festival.
The grand guignol metal of Ghost, the simmering quejo of Israel Fernandez and Diego del Morao, the refined saudade of Arthur Verocai, the rock in scope of The War On Drugs (who will headline the Primavera a la Ciutat program in Madrid with a concert at La Riviera), and the gen-z confessions of Holly Humberstone can all be heard at the Parc del Fòrum.
The Mars Volta will make another explosive appearance at The Ciudad del Rock, along with Bad Gyal, who is now hugely popular around the world, British artist Georgia with her moving dance, and Crack Cloud’s post-punk commune.
Welcome day and closing party
Although the assault on the Primavera a la Ciutat venues will have begun a few days prior, we can say that each festival won’t begin in earnest until the Wednesday of each week. The welcome days will take place on May 31 at Parc del Fòrum and on June 7 at Cvitas Metropolitano. A celebration (or two, depending on how you look at it) that will of course have the most appropriate soundtrack.
Pet Shop Boys will perform their unstoppable synthesizer extravaganza, but they won’t be the only ones there. 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.
With a brand-new partnership between Primavera Sound and Brunch -In, each festival will also have its corresponding and well-deserved closing party each week. 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 Sound in the city: also in venues
Although the Parc del Fòrum will host the majority of the musical activity from June 1 through June 3 and the Ciudad del Rock from June 8 through June 10, respectively, Barcelona and Madrid will also experience a significant expansion of the schedule in their circuit of venues. In other words, a Primavera a la Ciutat 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.
Pet Shop Boys, 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 May 29, 30, 31, and 4 in Barcelona and on June 5, 6, 7, and 11 in Madrid. Pet Shop Boys will complete their Primavera Sound weeks by adding two concerts in venues to the welcome days.
The Sala Apolo, La (2) de Apolo, Razzmatazz 1 and 2, and Paral.lel 62 are on the one hand, while La Riviera, El Sol, Independance, Shôko, La Paqui, and Clamores are on the other.
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. Even though we’ve said it before, it bears repeating: there are two festivals that appear to be one but are actually infinite.
PRIMAVERA SOUND 2023 Tickets
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). Additionally, DICE will offer the VIP full festival tickets, day tickets, and full festival tickets paid in installments for both festivals.
You can take advantage of a special resident discount if you are registered in the Barceloneta or Comunidad de Madrid. 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 main days at Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 and Primavera Sound Madrid 2023, which will be held in the Parc del Fòrum and the Ciudad del Rock, respectively, are accessible with full festival tickets. Additionally, they offer the potential for access to the Brunch-In party and the Primavera a la Ciutat concerts, subject to capacity Both programmes will operate with a pre-booking system to avoid waiting times, details of which will be announced soon.
It won’t be necessary to show a full festival ticket or a Primavera Sound 2023 day-ticket to enjoy the concerts; however, they will operate with a pre-booking system, the specifics of which will be announced soon. The welcome days will be free and open to the general public until full capacity is reached.
2023 Primavera Sound – Barcelona Estrella Damm, Cupra, Pull & Bear, and Amazon Music are Madrid’s core strategic partners, and their dedication makes the difficult task of bringing the two cities together through a festival we strongly believe in—both musically and in all that surrounds it—possible. SEAT M, Stone Island, and adidas Originals are also present. We sincerely appreciate your confidence in Primavera Sound.
