The Primavera Sound 2024 music festival took place from 30 May to 1 June at the

Parc del Fòrum {{Infobox park , name = Parc del Fòrum , photo = Barcelona desde el mar - panoramio (6).jpg , photo_width = 300 , photo_caption = Parc del Fòrum seen from the Mediterranean Sea. , type = Public park , loca ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain. The line-up was headlined by

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, Vampire Weekend and

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on Thursday, Lana Del Rey, The National and Disclosure on Friday and

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the hip ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

, Mitski and Charli XCX on Saturday. It was the 22nd edition of the festival. On Wednesday, 29 May, Phoenix headlined the free "Jornada Inaugural" opening day concert on the Amazon Music stage at the Parc del Fòrum. Parc del Fòrum also hosted a "Brunch on the Beach" event on Sunday, 2 June, featuring DJ sets from performers including ANOTR and

The Blessed Madonna Marea Stamper (born 1977), better known by her stage name the Blessed Madonna (formerly the Black Madonna), is an American DJ, producer and musician. ''Mixmag'' named her the DJ of the year in 2016. She founded her own record label called We Sti ...

. Primavera a la Ciutat continued to be held in smaller local venues throughout the city of Barcelona, featuring exclusive performances from groups such as The Chameleons and

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, as well as an intimate performance by The National in the 2,000-capacity Razzmatazz club. Steve Albini, who performed at every Primavera Sound since 2008 with his band Shellac, died weeks before the festival. A stage was renamed after him in his honor. The festival sold 268,000 tickets, an improvement from 2023, with over 130,000 unique visitors from 134 different countries. 59% of attendees came from overseas, and the

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and

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were the most represented foreign countries. Amazon Music livestreamed performances from six stages.

Background

The line-up for the 2024 edition of Primavera Sound was released on 21 November 2023. It was advertised as showing "love for its own history", using a retro font that recalled a 1994 poster where the words "Primavera Sound" were first used to promote a series of concerts at the venue KGB in Barcelona. The initial line-up featured 42% female artists, 42% male artists and 15% mixed-gender artists, continuing Primavera Sound's mission of being the first major festival in the world to achieve a gender-balanced lineup under their tagline "The New Normal". On 24 April 2024,

Kim Petras Kim Petras (born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Republ ...

cancelled her appearance at Primavera Sound, along with all other summer performances, due to a medical advisory. Steve Albini, who performed at 15 editions of the festival with his band Shellac, including every edition since 2006 except for 2007, died of a heart attack on 7 May 2024. Shellac were scheduled to perform for a 16th time in 2024. In a statement, the festival said: "What are we going to do without you, Steve? After having welcomed them at 15 editions of the festival, it is impossible for us to imagine a Primavera Sound without him, because no band explains us better than Shellac." On 14 May 2024, the festival announced that headliner

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

, who had previously cancelled her scheduled performance in 2023, cancelled again and would have her set postponed to 2025. The seafront stage for heavy music where Shellac were scheduled to play was renamed the Steve Albini stage, and it was announced that a listening party for the band's new album '' To All Trains'' would be held during Shellac's scheduled time slot, which

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noted will "function as a kind of wake for Albini's fans". Bands such as Scowl,

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and Brutus were assigned to the newly christened Albini stage. The final wave of artist additions included

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, Princess Superstar and Snow Strippers. On 24 May, ML Buch replaced

Julie Byrne Julie Byrne is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist from Buffalo, New York. To date, she has released two studio albums, ''Rooms With Walls and Windows'' (2014) and ''Not Even Happiness'' (2017). Biography Early life Born and raised i ...

, who dropped off the lineup.

Festival

On 29 May 2024, the festival held its "Jornada Inaugural" opening day event at the Amazon Music stage in Parc del Fòrum, which was headlined by Phoenix. The band brought Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend to perform the final three songs together, including their collaboration "

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

", to culminate a performance that was attended by 29,000 people. During

's headlining performance on 30 May, frontman

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

dedicated " Something Changed" to late bassist Steve Mackey and Steve Albini. Cocker also told the audience that

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was found guilty on 34 felony counts, which was breaking news hours earlier. Pulp performed a surprise second encore for " Razzmatazz", in honor of the nightclub in Barcelona named after the song. Lana Del Rey's headlining set on 31 May began half an hour late. ''Far Out'' reported that Del Rey's fans began lining up at the festival entrance in the morning even though doors did not open until 3:45 p.m. Her performance received negative reviews from publications including ''

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'', who called it "flat" and "disconnected", and ''

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'', who noted she was "marked by an uneasiness in her energy, each move she makes seemingly apprehensive and uncertain." Disclosure, who closed out the main stages on Friday, played their first live set since 2016. A heavy rainstorm began on 1 June during

's headlining slot, who dedicated "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" to Steve Albini (the producer behind her album ''

Rid of Me ''Rid of Me'' is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey. It was released by Island Records in May 1993, approximately one year after the release of her critically acclaimed debut album '' Dry''. It marked a ...

'') and performed "Black Hearted Love" from ''

A Woman a Man Walked By ''A Woman a Man Walked By'' is the second collaborative studio album by English alternative rock musicians PJ Harvey and John Parish, released on 27 March 2009 by Island Records. Background It is the second collaboration between Harvey and Pari ...

'', her collaborative album with John Parish, for the first time in 15 years and the second time ever. The storm culminated in lightning during Mitski's set after.

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was cut off in the middle of performing for going over her scheduled set time with Harvey waiting to perform after her on the main stages. At the entrance to the festival grounds, an art installation titled the "Gaza Mirror" by Jofre Oliveras was displayed. It referenced the

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to connect Gaza and Barcelona, showing images of ruins in Gaza from the

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and also mirroring the current destruction in Gaza onto iconic Barcelona landmarks. During their festival performances, several artists including

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and

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expressed support for

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Line-up

Headline performers are listed in boldface. Artists listed from latest to earliest set times.

Estrella Damm

Santander

Amazon Music

Pull&Bear

Cupra

Plenitude

Steve Albini

Auditori Rockdelux

Primavera a la Ciutat line-up

Sala Apolo

La de Apolo

Paral·lel 62

La Nau

LAUT

Razzmatazz

Jornada Inaugural

Amazon Music

Brunch on the Beach

Pull&Bear

Reception

'' Rolling Stone Italia'' noted that the festival was "divided into two", with a "coexistence between these Shellac t-shirts and these Coachella outfits."

References

{{reflist Primavera Sound May 2024 events in Spain June 2024 events in Spain 2020s in Barcelona Events in Barcelona 2024 music festivals