Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025 – 06 June 2025 (Barcelona)

After a first day marked by Charli XCX‘s show with Troye Sivan and the passionate performances of Midnight and Idles, the second day of Primavera Sound 2025 was initially considered the weakest in terms of the line-up. Sabrina Carpenter was the main attraction, alongside TV on the Radio, Floating Points, Carolina Durante and Wolf Alice, who we were looking forward to seeing.

Photo of Wolf Alice by Sergio Albert, courtesy of Primavera Sound 2025.

Wolf Alice

It was the band from North London that kicked off our Friday. Seeing the evolution of the Ellie Rowsell-led band since we discovered them at the now distant London Calling 2014 in Amsterdam is surprising, to say the least. This is not only due to their aesthetic change, but also their adaptation towards much less forceful rhythms that bring them closer to more classical styles. The first songs of their concert were precisely in this spectrum of conventional rock, such as ‘Safe From Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)‘, but the show gained a lot of momentum as soon as the guitars and vocals amped up the intensity, leading to a masterful second half of the concert with songs like ‘Yuk Foo‘, ‘Play the Greatest Hits‘ and ‘Giant Peach‘.

Photo of Gouge Away by Clara Orozco, courtesy of Primavera Sound 2025.

Gouge Away

Moving away from the main stages meant missing the concerts by HAIM and Beach House, but we opted for big walk to enjoy the performance by Gouge Away at the Trainline stage. Fronted by the incredible Christina Michelle, the band delivered a show full of rage.. The problem was that, weighed down by the still-biting sun in the sky, the general sound of the band — marked by rage and the power of the drums — prevented those arrangements and small details that elevate their Deep Sage (2024) to one of the best albums of last year from being appreciated. We therefore moved to the Cupra stage, where Zaho de Sagazan from France offered one of the greatest shows of this edition.

Photo of Zaho de Sagazan by Sergio Albert, courtesy of Primavera Sound 2025.

Zaho de Sagazan

With some first songs closer to the typical French chanson, in which he even dared to play the piano with the delicate ‘Tristesse‘, his concert made a 180° turn as soon as he took off a kind of cape he wore over his shoulders.. Synthesizers were given centre stage by the Saint-Nazaire native, and electronic pieces were delivered by her, turning the Forum amphitheatre upside down, backed by a masterful band. The highlight of Saturday was undoubtedly her final mini-rave of ‘Dansez’ and her long-awaited cover of Bowie‘s ‘Modern Love’.

Stereolab

Still on a high, and not far away, Stereolab returned to Spain to present Instant Holograms On Metal (2025), their first album in 15 years. And while it is impossible to put a but to a perfect performance, with Laetitia Sadier splendid on vocals, keyboards, trombones and whatever else, during the concert there was an evident lack of synchrony with the audience. It was a masterful performance, with each instrument in songs such as ‘Cybele’s Reverie‘, ‘Transmuted Matter‘ and ‘Esemplastic Creeping Eruption‘ perfectly distinguishable. However, the audience was apathetic and distant, never connecting with the band.

Photo of TV on the Radio by Clara Orozco, courtesy of Primavera Sound 2025.

TV on the Radio

This was quite the opposite of TV on the Radio‘s performance at the Cupra Amphitheatre. With just a couple of images displayed on the back screen, Tunde Adebimpe‘s voice was the perfect guide to a show that was equally commanded by him and guitarist Kyp Malone. Amidst the ongoing and essential protests against Trump and in support of Palestine, their setlist progressed from lesser-known songs to a series of hits, opening with the well-known ‘Wolf Like Me’ and concluding with the powerful combination of ‘DLZ’ and ‘Halfway Home’. It was nearly an hour-long concert for a band that has spent more than 10 years without performing in the country, while we anxiously await the release of a new album by him and guitarist Kyp Malone.

Photo of Carolina Durante by Eric Pàmies, courtesy of Primavera Sound 2025.

Carolina Durante

Back on the Amazon Music stage, we were due to meet up with Carolina Durante from Madrid again. Despite Diego Ibañez being on crutches due to a recent knee ligament operation, they gave one of their usual fast-paced concerts.. Their performance was a testament to the incredible health of Spanish bands, with attendance figures at Primavera Sound that rival those of legendary acts like Los Planetas. It was a sight to behold, with foreigners in the audience asking what the name of the band on stage was, while most were busy watching Sabrina Carpenter.. In a setlist focused on their latest album, Elige tu propia aventura (2024), which is a declaration of love for the city of Barcelona, the song ‘Misil’ stood out, as did references to the past in ‘Niña de hielo’ and ‘En verano’. With everyone anticipating a performance by Rosalia or Amaia on ‘Normal‘ or ‘Perdona‘, the band instead took the Forum by storm with a second part of the show that showcased their entire discography. This included their collaboration with Barry B in ‘Yo pensaba que me había tocado Dios‘ and the crowd-pleasing ‘Las canciones de Juanita‘, with which they concluded the concert. Undoubtedly the most popular concert outside of the main stages! A set and match point for the Madrid band!

High Vis

As the body craved more, the British band High Vis appeared to be a satisfactory option to maintain one’s ebullient momentum and execute a pogo. Their light hardcore, which sometimes sounds like Britpop and at other times comes close to the Happy Mondays themselves, fused with the night’s atmosphere thanks above all to their magnetic singer Graham Sayle. Their setlist featured a selection of tracks from their three studio albums. The highlights were ‘Altitude’ and ‘Walking Wires’, and the powerful finale of ‘The Bastard Inside’ and ‘Choose to Lose’, both of which are from their debut album, No Sense No Feeling (2019). Above all, however, the superb ‘Mob DLA‘ stands out. This song, written by Sayle himself, tells the story of the bureaucracy his family has to deal with because of his brother’s cerebral palsy and autism.

Photo of Floating Points by Christian Bertrand, courtesy of Primavera Sound 2025.

Floating Points

The crowds were so dense that it was impossible to get close enough to the stage to see the end of Wet Leg’s performance. We decided to squeeze into the packed Amazon Music stage to see if Samuel Shepherd, performing under the name Floating Points, would dare to bring a classical orchestra to perform his recently released music, including the incredible Cascade (2024), as part of his live show at the PS. Much to our disappointment, we were once again treated to a live DJ set, this time accompanied by an artist who created images instantly with tempera. His musical offering was less forceful than at Sónar 2024, instead deploying IDM with a delicacy that delighted many in the audience, who voted for him as the closing act of the day.