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Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi, known in the Western world as the musical voice of the Arab Spring movements of the past decade, arrived in Barcelona on a hot summer’s night to perform tracks from her latest album, MRA (2024), on Montjuïc, also known as the “magical mountain”. The concert featured a powerful stage presence based
At the start of Barts Festival 2026, there was no easy nostalgia, but rather a precise and demanding reconstruction of a repertoire that still feels challenging, even forty years on. BEAT took to the stage at Poble Espanyol, turning the first night of the series into a celebration of cerebral progressive rock. Adrian Belew, Tony
Now that the 2026 Azkena Rock Festival has come to an end, we can confirm that the festival is in excellent health, despite initial concerns about the calibre of the headliners. The big winners included Alice Cooper, who put on a theatrical showcase of classics, and Social Distortion, who reaffirmed their status as a cult
Now that Sónar 2026 has come to an end, we can confirm that this was a transformative edition, with club culture once again taking centre stage. However, the lack of a distinctive visual identity for the 33rd edition was surprising, as was the absence of the now-traditional rucksack that has become a staple of every
After the sublime Friday that made everyone forget the weather-related problems of the previous day, Saturday was set to be the highlight of Primavera Sound 2026. The line-up included The XX, Gorillaz, Big Thief, Little Simz, Knocked Loose and Kneecap, among others. Photo of Gorillaz taken by Gisela Jané provided by the Primavera Sound 2026
Thursday 4 June Just a few hours ago, we were telling you what it’s like to try to arrive in time for the start of a festival when you have children… This writer’s parental misadventures were once again in evidence on Thursday, when – a couple of months before the festival was due to take
It’s been years now—specifically the six years my eldest daughter has been alive—since I’ve come to realise that any attempt to plan an arrival time for the Wednesday-Thursday slots at Primavera Sound is as much a work of science fiction as Christopher Nolan’s films or Cixin Liu’s books. Between endless goodbyes and the traffic jam
“Good evening. Welcome to PiL. ” John Lydon introduces himself in the manner of an English host welcoming his guests at the door. He delivers a welcome to the world of PiL with a very British, polite air of normality. However, it soon becomes clear that there isn’t much room for normality here. John Lydon
Califone takes the stage, and a narcotic guitar starts to hum, comforting us. What would we do without the imprint your songs leave, Tim? The thrill of hearing the wonderful “Funeral Singers“, perhaps for the first time in Barcelona (Tim Rutili swears he’s never played in the city before), makes the moment very special. For
Although they have different origins and backgrounds, Packaging and Fin del Mundo share a similar approach to songwriting, linked to movement, change and the feeling of always being in transition. At the Upload venue, the two acts perform side by side with unexpected ease. Packaging, Sala Upload Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Meritxell Rosell
