Primavera Sound Barcelona 2026 – 06 June 2026 (Barcelona)

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

Big Thief

On a day dominated largely by noise, Big Thief‘s concert, as always when we’ve seen the Brooklyn band, managed to forge a total connection with a particularly captivated audience, drawn in by Adrianne Lenker’s voice. Their electric, psychedelic folk-rock, with its strong guitar presence, was perfect for the late-afternoon setting of the concert, and their performance only improved as they interspersed great tracks from their latest album, Double Infinity (2025), with new songs such as “Mr. Man“.

As the band seemed to enjoy themselves more and more, Adrianne Lenker became increasingly emotional between songs towards the end of the show. The final 20 minutes were truly memorable, featuring ‘Vampire Empire‘, ‘Beautiful World‘ and ‘Incomprehensible‘, performed with great subtlety and tension.

Foto of Adrianne Lenker from Big Thief taken by Eric Pàmies provided by Primavera Sound 2026

Little Simz

With an exceptional master of ceremonies like Little Simz, it wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes for that peaceful calm to turn into a riotous party. After her incredible performance at Sónar 2023, which left us speechless, the British artist returned as a seasoned star to showcase her magnificent album Lotus (2025), one of the best of last year. Backed by a top-class band, she performed a concert that allowed her to switch effortlessly between rap, funk and jazz. The opening stages focused precisely on her latest album, featuring tracks such as “Thief“, “Flood” and “Young“.

The party really got going as soon as the band left the stage, with the London act performing a DJ set and getting the crowd jumping and dancing to tracks such as ‘Game On‘ and ‘Open Arms‘. The energy never let up during the marvellous final third, with ‘Free’, ‘Woman’ and ‘Gorilla’ sending the crowd into a frenzy. The British act could have kept the spellbound crowd entertained for hours.

Photo of Little Simz taken by Clara Orozco provided by Primavera Sound 2026

Touché Amoré

With everyone gearing up for My Bloody Valentine and wondering if we would experience anything close to the mind-blowing performance at the Auditori in 2009, we went to the Schwarzkopf stage to see Touché Amoré celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album Stage Four (2016), widely regarded as one of the most important albums in post-hardcore history.

Led by the intense drumming of Elliot Babin, “Flowers and You” kicked off 50 minutes of controlled madness. During this time, the enthusiastic crowd never stopped jumping and moshing to the interplay of incredible guitar riffs and heart-wrenching vocals from Jeremy Strewn. As ‘Gather‘ brought the album to a close, the crowd went wild when they realised that the concert was continuing with ‘Pathfinder‘ and ‘~‘ from Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me (2009), along with three of the most powerful tracks they have released this decade. ‘Reminders‘, ‘Come Heroine‘ and ‘Nobody’s‘. The night ended with sweat, bruises and the feeling of having enjoyed one of the best gigs of the festival.

Photo of Jamie from The XX taken by Eric Pàmies provided by Primavera Sound 2026

The XX

In yet another complete U-turn in terms of style, it was decided that The XX would be the next act to be featured on the main stage, with their return to the festival being marked following their last performance in 2017. While we wait for a new album, the British band have enough hits to captivate an audience without new material. But, to be fair, Saturday’s concert was perhaps one of their least polished performances (and I’ve seen them nearly a dozen times).

True to their minimalist style, they surprised the audience by suspending a giant X-shaped lighting rig above their heads. This created a variety of effects and heightened the emotional impact of certain tracks. However, the somewhat weak volume in the first half, a few songs that felt out of sync and the excessive presence of tracks from their solo careers, almost strung together in the second half of the show, such as Romy‘s ‘Enjoy Your Life‘, Oliver‘s ‘GMT‘ and Jamie‘s ‘Loud Places‘, ‘Wanna‘ and ‘Treat Each Other Right‘, dampened the initial euphoria. Their concert was outstanding. The finale, featuring ‘On Hold‘, ‘I Dare You‘ and ‘Intro‘, was breathtaking, but we’ll have to wait for the new album to see if The XX return to their best form on stage.

Photo of Knocked Loose taken by Sergio Albert provided by Primavera Sound 2026

Knocked Loose

Our desire to see the live performance by American band Knocked Loose, who blew us away in 2024 with their incredible album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, led us to leave the Gorillaz show early. The band had opened their set by inviting the son of Palestinian political prisoner Marwan Barghouti to speak, and he used this opportunity to draw attention to the suffering of his people. Musically speaking, the five tracks we heard showcased Damon Albarn at his best in a long time. He clearly had a brilliant time performing tracks such as ‘The Happy Dictator‘ and the timeless hit ‘19-2000‘.

However, any doubts about whether this was the right place to be were dispelled as soon as Knocked Loose‘s set began… What power and intensity! What a sound! It’s like watching the early days of Slipknot or Slayer on stage from the opening bass lines of ‘Blinding Faith‘, you can’t help but be hit by the urge to jump up and tear everything apart as Knocked Loose takes to the stage. This feeling is only intensified by the band’s heavy, syncopated riffs, as heard in ‘Mistakes Like Fractures‘ and ‘Hive Mind‘, which merge with the screams of Bryan Garris. At times, Garris’s voice is reminiscent of George Clarke from Deafheaven.

The tracks unfold, building emotional exhaustion, which reaches its climax in ‘Suffocate‘. This song doesn’t feel the slightest bit like missing Poppy – and that’s saying something… In just 50 minutes, there were moments when it was hard to catch your breath amid the circle pits, mosh pits and walls of death! It was an absolutely brilliant gig. I’d like to know when the guitars stopped playing, because the mental fog caused by the constant distortion throughout the concert lingered in my head for hours afterwards.

Photo of Kneecap taken by Eric Pàmies provided by Primavera Sound 2026

Kneecap

The final day of Primavera Sound 2026 was set to feature one of the most highly anticipated concerts: a performance by the irreverent Irish band Kneecap. Our expectations were very high; perhaps because we were anticipating a memorable concert, we were ultimately disappointed by what was, in the end, just a good concert. Perhaps it was because the stage felt too big for them at times, or because the constant breaks between songs prevented the concert from flowing fully. The late hour and fatigue from the whole festival may also have played a part, but the truth is that their performance had many ups and downs that affected the overall impression.

They got off to a spectacular start with the spoken-word introduction ‘Éire go Deo‘, the dark ‘Smugglers & Scholars‘, and the pop hit ‘Better Way to Live‘, during which Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. jumped on stage himself. It wasn’t until Fawzi from Palestine took to the stage on “Palestine” that the set regained the fast-paced energy typical of Belfast band. DJ Próvaí also took on a more prominent role on vocals; he had seemed somewhat out of place during the first third of the concert.

The middle section was somewhat lacklustre, with the backing tracks a bit too quiet. This caused the audience to lose their initial enthusiasm. However, the final 10 minutes were great, with some catchy tunes as “FENIAN” or “H.O.O.D” sent the crowd wild once again, who sweated and revelled in every gem the Irish band delivered. Hopefully, their next visit will be to a smaller venue, where we can experience the brilliance of one of the best live acts on the independent scene.