Spain’s Primavera Sound festival is right around the corner, taking over Barcelona’s Parc Del Forum from 3-6 June with headliners this year including The xx, Addison Rae and Doja Cat. However before all of that, the organisers always lay on something a little extra special to get you in the mood, courtesy of their A La Ciutat week.
Additional concerts that take place across the city at smaller, more intimate local venues with a line up that includes festival headliners as well as exclusive shows from artists who just come to get the party started. Tickets for these shows are available to reserve or buy this week, Abono general ticket holders Thursday via AXS Ticket and general public from Friday via Fever. For full Ts and Cs see here.
With over ninety artists taking part there is plenty to discover and get lost in. The horarios just dropped so now clashes are to be consulted and difficult choices to be made. We’re leave that to you however here’s our pick for artists to watch out for and where you’ll find us…
Monday 1st June
The week begins with Spain’s own Pálida Tez, a cute indie-pop band hailing from Albacete. They’ll be playing La [2] Apolo which will be a fun way to begin. You’ll find us though over the other side of the city at La Nau beginning proceedings with UK’s Jasmine.4.T. Also bringing lo-fi indie to the stage, Jasmine’s most excellent debut You Are The Morning was released last year via Phoebe Bridger’s label Saddest Factory Records and then produced by her boygenius bandmate Lucy Dacus. Jasmine’s music is indie rock but there’s a real UK folk edge to it – can you get a more British song title than ‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Association’?! Speaking of UK folk another band playing the Monday have been making their own Apocalyptic psychedelic folk since 1990 and yet courtesy of A La Ciutat we are discovering our latest obsession right now. Current 93 have some serious Wicker Man vibes going on with haunting vocals, drones and religious themes. Check out the beautiful ‘Falling’ with Björk on backing vocals, recorded back in 1991 below. Our intrigue grows greater every day for what’s sure to be a unique experience.
Tuesday 2nd June
Day 2 for us will begin with the baroque, hynotic soundscapes from Middle Eastern composer, producer and musician Faten Kanaan. She will be taking over La [2] Apolo and we’re really interested to see what she does with the space. Her music is cinematic, emotive and textural, expect to be moved. Now we have our first unfortunate clash and it’s a painful one. At 22h30 we have festival top-billed Blood Orange bringing his tender, indie vibes to the small and comparatively cosy Paral-lel 62. Last year’s Essex Honey was a welcome return featuring collaborations with Durutti Column and Caroline Polachek. However this smooth soul clashes with the punk and funk of Yves Tumor who will be playing at 22h40, over the road at Sala Apolo, so not all is lost, the walk between shows is closer than some stages at the main festival.
Wednesday 3rd June
Things kick off earlier on Wednesday over at the city’s centre for contemporary culture CCCB where they will be hosting upcoming local and international talent. Artists like Lauren Auder and her gothic romantic maximalist album Whole World As Vigil that we’ve been enjoying a lot this year. She plays the CCCB at 17h40. Then there’s Violeta, a graduate from Spain’s X Factor/Fame Academy show Operacíon Triunfo. Against all odds she seems to have been given room to explore her sound post-show and come out as a credible indie, experimental artist. You can see her play Laut at 23h which means she unfortunately clashes with chicagoan KeiyaA who brings her experimental RnB and Ambient textures to La [2] Apolo. From there we move upstairs to the main room for a Model/Actriz and potentially our most anticipated set of the whole week. The guys have been slaying stages (and pits) over the last couple of years with Cole whipping up frenzies, yes, frienzies in the crowds as he gets up, close and personal..ok, right up in our faces and we love it. Post their 1h125am show we’ll be headed for bed but if we weren’t we’d be sticking around for the dancey, indie pop of Hannah Diamond which is bound to be a fun time. Oh and we’ve just realised we’ve left out Kelly Lee Owen’s dh2 label party which will be a riot with sets from Josh Caffe and The Knife’s Olof Dreijer.
Sunday 7th June
It’s always fun returning to the shadows of the smaller sites on the Sunday, returning from whence we came to finish the week. Closing us out this year are Catalans Remei De Ca La Fresca who we have been meaning to catch multiple times and never made it. Maybe 2026 is the year to correct that. One place we will definitely be is Sala Apolo to hear the soulful and experimental pop of Empress Of. It may need to be the first half though because we intend to close our week with the pop punk of Die Spitz. Last year’s Something to Consume was feral, cathartic and chaotic. We lived, laughed, loved. They’re set to be the pefect act to end the week with.
Primavera Sound is 3-6 June with A La Ciutat shows running from 1-7 June.
www.primaverasound.com
