“IT’S EXHAUSTING, IT’S BEAUTIFUL, BUT PRIMAVERA SOUND, I WILL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR”

FESTIVAL REVIEW | PRIMAVERA SOUND 2026 | PARC DEL FORUM, BARCELONA | 3-7th June 2026 by Lucy Holden

Somewhere on the outsides of Barcelona, a wildly different version of me is blasting Mac DeMarco, trying to shake off a hangover. The culprit? A DH2 Label party at Les Enfants, courtesy of Primavera à la Ciutat. That translates to ‘Primavera in the City’, but let’s be honest: it’s the festival’s chaotic pre- and post-show sibling that effectively turns the whole city into a venue. As I finally got myself out the door, I grabbed a waterproof jacket. You know, just in case.

Fast forward a few hours, and that ‘waterproof’ has completely surrendered to the torrential rain and winds, utterly useless despite being layered beneath a secondary poncho.

As the first fat drops of rain start pelting the Occident stage just as Geese step out, the whole vibe shifts. Flash forward an hour, and the Brooklyn lot – thankfully wearing tracksuits – are completely drowned, hair plastered to their faces, playing on a stage that’s starting to look a bit sketchy. That’s when the dread kicks in: cancellations are coming. Sure enough, it’s not long before the entire main stage area gets ‘temporarily’ blocked off. Then the domino effect of safety risks hits, completely wiping out Mac DeMarco, Doja Cat, and headliners Massive Attack.

Look, you can’t control the weather, but you can bloody well control how you talk to people. Granted, it’s a total nightmare for the organisers – call it off too early and the weather gets better; wait too long and you’ve got a dangerous bottleneck. But the silence from the festival was just a joke. When punters are finding out a set is scrapped via a sobbing Doja Cat on Instagram Live, or watching a dizzying back-and-forth over whether Massive Attack are actually on or off, something is broken. Sure, they’ve dished out refunds to day-ticket holders, but this needs to be a massive wake-up call.

Nonetheless, we somehow make it back in one piece – bloody buzzing for a scalding hot shower and, honestly, secretly glad of the early night. Maybe we’re just getting old. Or maybe it’s the early onset of hypothermia talking. 

Come Friday, we’re brushing off yesterday’s chaos and gearing up for a day fuelled by everything from Slowdive to Addison Rae, before winding up at The Cure. Honestly, only at Primavera could you spend your afternoon caught between the glistening, high-energy commercial pop of Addison Rae and the swirling, depths of Slowdive’s signature shoegaze.

Which brings me to our first act: Slowdive, the band that single-handedly dragged me through my uni years. I have been dying to see them forever, but through no fault of their own, we hit a recurring problem for the weekend: the sound. It wasn’t great, frankly. The festival sound is always a bit of a lottery here – whatever way the wind blows completely ruins the mix, and they definitely deserved a tighter, more intimate stage than this early, main stage slot. Why can’t you hear the lead guitar melody for ‘When The Sun Hits‘? The sound engineer had literally one job. Albeit, the closer we pushed to the front, the better it got. shuffling into the chords of ‘Sugar For The Pill’, ‘Alison’, and ‘When The Sun Hits’ – it was the absolute perfect trifecta for my inner 18-year-old.

After a brief pitstop for my first Estrella of the weekend, it’s straight into the profound, devastating sadness of Ethel Cain. I’ve been desperate to catch her for ages, and hearing ‘American Teenager’ blend into ‘Nettles’ early on is staggering. But as breathtaking as her vocals are, I just can’t lock into the mood with the festival buzz humming around me. Her haunting songwriting belongs in an intimate basement, not swallowed up by a sprawling main stage.

So, we use the time to explore the 200,000-square-metre site pressed up against the Mediterranean Sea. Among the 17 stages this year are the Adidas Yard – a literal football pitch turned music space – and the brand new, floating Disney Stage. We eventually drift over to the Primavera Pro x Barcelona Sona Estrella Damm area for some electronic music, but in between drops, the background noise is taken over by what can only be described as the Spanish Jonas Brothers blasting from the Disney area. Honestly, a Disney-branded stage at Primavera feels bizarrely commercialised, clashing with the festival’s usual vibe. It probably explains why Parc del Fòrum has a large amount of young kids this year – a stark, weird shift from the usual crowd.

When 9:50pm hits, the sun has dipped to leave a dusty pink tint in the sky – a fitting backdrop for the sea of neon pink mini-wigs surrounding me. It must be Addison Rae time. She’s not usually my cup of tea, but how can you not love someone who storms the stage opening with a certified banger like ‘Diet Pepsi’?

The crowd dynamics are brilliant: you’ve got hyper-pop stans rubbing shoulders with stone-faced dads camping out early for The Cure. It’s that classic festival magic – people witnessing acts they’d never normally cross the street for. There’s not much more to say about Addison other than she’s got the whole package. Her star power is astronomical; she feels like this generation’s answer to Britney Spears, complete with immaculate choreography and insane stage presence. A flawless 10/10.

A quick sprint over to the Occident stage – which has clearly recovered from the previous night – brings us to Role Model, aka the one and only Tucker Pillsbury. To be honest, I only caught him due to the crowd flow that way, but it’s a gamble that pays off beautifully. Beaming back at an artist so genuinely thrilled to be on that stage, he tells the crowd, “This might be the best night of my life.”

What follows is pure gold: banger after banger, from ‘Look At That Woman’ to a sublime cover of The 1975’s ‘Somebody Else’. He even debuts a new track – the chorus of which has since gone properly viral on TikTok thanks to his incredibly smooth choreography. There’s something seriously special about watching a festival crowd scream back the lyrics to a song they have never heard before. He had us eating out of the palm of his hand from the very first note.

At this point in the evening, The Cure had already kicked off back at the Estrella Damm stage. Primavera is famous for gifting artists massive slots, but as much as I love Robert Smith and co, a two-and-a-half-hour set was too long for me stand through. The crowd control felt a bit weird too, with waves of people ghosting early on.

That said, Robert Smith absolutely still has it. His voice, at 67 years old – a staggering half-century since the birth of the band, is completely flawless. The rest of the band were locked in too, but my god, Reeves Gabrels was on another planet. I haven’t seen guitar solos like that in a years; easily some of the best shredding I’ve ever witnessed. There is also something deeply majestic about an entire festival crowd shutting the hell up the second Robert Smith commands them to. Let’s be real, I was flat-out sobbing during ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. After the year I’ve had, it felt like a vital bit of soul-healing.

Only at a festival like Primavera could you watch The Cure wrap up, then sprint across the concrete to watch Jade take over. The second we arrived, she paid homage to her iconic Little Mix days, launching into a massive mashup of ‘Touch’, ‘Reggaetón Lento’, ‘Salute’, and ‘Power’. My mate Alex and I sang our hearts out, and honestly, screaming ‘Shout Out to My Ex’ felt just as therapeutic as ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. Jade is exactly where she belongs right now, commanding a crowd that stretched all the way to the back. She’s an absolute powerhouse of talent, looking genuinely blessed to be there. We shouldn’t take her for granted.

Afterwards, reality hit: there was no way we were squeezing into the Cupra stage for PinkPantheress. Why organisers put her on such a tight stage is beyond me. Skipping the crush, we headed early to Sama’ Abdulhadi. Giving a headline slot to a Palestinian techno pioneer felt incredibly poignant, and watching a sea of Palestinian flags flying over a crowd two-stepping the night away was beautiful. The stage was so packed people were queuing for ages; I felt lucky just to be inside. She didn’t earn the title ‘Queen of Palestinian Techno’ for nothing.

Calling it a night after some dodgy knee issues and a serious emotional workout, we headed for the shuttles. Primavera boasts the best transport system on earth: €3 shuttle buses lined up in a never-ending queue. No waiting, just straight on. UK festivals, take notes.

Saturday brought the final leg. I woke up to the news of an Olivia Rodrigo set, which immediately set the mood. I’d been calling it for weeks, insisting she’d join The Cure, but she had her own 45-minute slot instead, and frankly, I’d have taken 20 minutes just to finally see her live.

We stormed through the gates in high spirits, just in time to catch the coolest woman on the planet, Little Simz. I saw her here in 2022, but it’s brilliant to see her finally getting her flowers. Welcoming us to ‘Club Simz’, she injected pure adrenaline into the crowd by jumping on the decks. Is there anything she can’t do? Backed by a live band channeling a fierce carnival energy, it was a total masterclass. Massive tracks like ‘Venom’ and ‘Gorilla’ proved exactly why she is one of the most commanding performers in the game right now.

I had to leave slightly early to ensure I had my spot at the Occident stage for what has now cemented itself in my top three festival sets of all time: Miss Olivia Rodrigo. If you know me, you might be shocked by this obsession, but her debut album dropped when I was in the absolute trenches of a teenage heartbreak. The more I think about it, maybe this whole weekend was curated by the universe to help me get over my past trauma.

She hit the stage bang on time at 10:20pm, and the timing makes total sense with her third album, ‘You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love’, dropping just six days later on 12th June. Kicking off with ‘bad idea right?’ was a stroke of genius. It instantly got the crowd moving.

Then came the ultimate moment of rock-nerd crossover. Following her Glastonbury duet with Robert Smith last summer on ‘Just Like Heaven’, and hints buried in her recent singles, the creative love affair reached its peak tonight. Smith walked out for a surprise performance of their new duet, ‘What’s Wrong With Me’. If anyone was still doubting Rodrigo’s alternative credentials, getting the ultimate co-sign from the godfather of goth at an institution like Primavera should shut them up for good.

Eleven songs and many tears later, she finished on ‘good 4 u’, plunging me straight back into my bad-bitch era. Naturally, that didn’t last long, because The xx arrived to make me cry all over again.

The xx are officially back, people! This is the reunion I’ve been losing sleep over since they went on hiatus back in 2018. As Jamie xx started the show, he admitted, “These shows have been our first in years. We really don’t take it for granted that you’re still here.” While I’ve loved watching Jamie and Romy crush their solo careers, nothing beats the chemistry of their vocals together. Jamie reminisced about playing the festival back in 2010 and returning every year since as fans. Even on a massive main stage, it felt breathtakingly intimate.

Just after they left the stage, a Palestinian speaker took the mic, shouting, “Keep fighting for Palestine, for Gaza, and for justice.” It’s a festival that genuinely stands up for its values, alongside giant neon signs reading ‘NO WAR’.

Cue another mad sprint back to the Occident stage – a recurring theme, but the clashes this year were brutal. This time it was for Marina. Her album Electra Heart was one of the first things I ever downloaded on my old iPhone 4s, and alongside The xx and The 1975, it basically structured my entire personality.

Marina, looking incredible, joked, “My first time at Primavera… Primavera, why you make me wait so long?” before tearing into ‘Bubblegum Bitch’. I was instantly transported to a parallel universe I forgot existed, screaming every lyric like a 12-year-old – except this time I’m old enough to swear. Sorry mum.

With some time to kill afterwards, we wandered over to the Aperol Island of Joy to catch some classic Spanish tunes, taking a second to watch the stars reflect over the Mediterranean. This place never ceases to amaze me.  

Then came Gorillaz. Context is everything here: I saw them on this exact stage at this exact time in 2022, and it was biblical. Naturally, expectations were sky-high. Sadly, either my standards were too high or Damon Albarn was too wrecked – probably a bit of both. It felt completely mediocre, dragged down by a flat setlist. The crowd was visibly checked out; people were leaving early, and the rest were chatting so loudly we had to move spots three times.

To make matters worse, the festival’s recurring sound issues struck again – it was shockingly quiet. When Damon sang into his radio mic, you literally couldn’t hear anything over the bass. And the lack of ‘DARE’ in the setlist, topped the negativity off. Albarn seemed totally disconnected. The saving grace? Little Simz making a surprise cameo for ‘Garage Palace’. By the time they wrapped up with ‘Feel Good Inc.’ and ‘Clint Eastwood’, the crowd finally woke up, saving the set from total disaster.

Our final band of the weekend was the one and only Kneecap. They are a trio perfectly aligned with the political heartbeat of Primavera, and they had the Occident stage engaged from the word go. Without needing a massive introduction, they welcomed Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten out to the stage – whom eagle-eyed fans had spotted earlier. He sent the crowd into absolute meltdown for ‘Better Way to Live’.

The energy was feral. The lads paused the chaos to speak about Marwan, a Palestinian man wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years, bringing his son on stage to talk about standing up for justice. It was a deeply emotional moment that ended with a resounding cry of “We will be free.” Finishing on ‘H.O.O.D.’ and ‘THE RECAP’, the mosh pits were the wildest I’ve personally seen at Primavera – the perfect cathartic release before the end of the weekend.

There was time for one last dance, courtesy of electronic royalty Peggy Gou. She was arguably booked on the wrong stage, as the Cupra area was dangerously packed out for her 4:30am to 6:00am closing slot. Once the initial crushing subsided and people cleared out, it became a lot more comfortable.

There’s nothing quite like watching the sunrise over the ocean to the sounds of ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana’, with planes descending overhead and boats drifting into the harbour. It was beautiful beyond belief.

As the sun finally takes its place over the Parc del Fòrum, the reality of a wild, soaked, and emotionally draining weekend sets in. Primavera Sound 2026 was far from perfect- communication meltdowns, questionable stage scheduling, and erratic sound engineers. But in spite of the chaos, it remains a festival that delivers moments you simply cannot get anywhere else on the planet. Where else can you heal your inner child with Robert Smith, scream pop anthems with Olivia Rodrigo, and watch the sunrise with Peggy Gou? It’s exhausting, it’s beautiful, and I’ll see you there next year.