Imagine Dragons – 1 July 2025 (Estadi Olímpic – Barcelona)

As a journalist, it can sometimes be difficult to understand how some bands quickly go from filling medium-sized venues to headlining huge festivals, or becoming what used to be called a ‘sell-out’ band. This was the case with American band Imagine Dragons. Despite many of the songs in their setlist being considered hits, they failed to fill the Palau Sant Jordi during their last visit to Barcelona in 2018.

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Palau Sant Jordi 06/04/2018 – Photo taken by Esther Vicente Garcia for Indieofilo^©

The hot afternoon at Barcelona’s Magic Mountain at the beginning of July kicked off with an exceptional opening act: the British Declan McKenna. We have seen the Londoner grow in his performances at the FIB (in 2017 and 2022), and he offered a pop concert that built in intensity, perhaps also influenced by the small audience at the start of his performance at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. The first few songs, which were mainly from their latest album What Happened to the Beach? (2024), lacked strength in terms of both the guitar sound and the general volume. The only exception was the lively ‘Nothing Works‘. However, after his rendition of David Bowie‘s ‘Heroes‘, the concert took a radical turn with a finale that saw him perform ‘Champagne‘, his big hit ‘Brazil‘ and ‘British Bombs‘, shirtless and doing somersaults on stage.. It was a good ending for an artist whose performance we are already looking forward to seeing again in a Barcelona venue.

Declan McKenna, FIB 2017 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos for Indieofilo^©

As the sun set behind one of the grandstands and a spectacular set of lights and screens was revealed, Dan Reynolds and his band took to the stage to the sound of ‘Fire in These Hills‘. It took less than 15 seconds for the audience to surrender to the singer’s feet after he said ‘Barcelona’, despite the thunderous volume and excessive reverb in his voice. Amidst fireworks, giant beach balls and various other pyrotechnics, the first few songs of the concert were a whirlwind of rhythm. The audience chanted along to some of their biggest hits, including “Thunder”, “Bones” and “Shots”.

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Palau Sant Jordi 06/04/2018 – Photo taken by Esther Vicente Garcia for Indieofilo^©

After ‘I’m So Sorry‘, which started off weakly with an unnecessary guitar solo in the middle section — though it did include riffs from some of the best-known songs in rock history — and improved to a good ending with a duel between Ben McKee‘s bass and Andrew Tolman‘s drums, came what was probably the best song of the night: a perfect ‘Whatever It Takes‘ in terms of sound.. Incomprehensibly, given the atmosphere they had created, the whole band moved to the front of the b-stage to perform two acoustic songs, bringing the concert to a sudden halt after it had reached a remarkable cruising speed. ‘Next to Me‘ featured barely perceptible percussion, while the already distant ‘I Bet My Life‘ was reduced to an adaptation of a Mumford & Sons song, which robbed the original American song of all its power.

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Palau Sant Jordi 06/04/2018 – Photo taken by Esther Vicente Garcia for Indieofilo^©

As the rest of the band returned to their original positions, Dan Reynolds, amazing in his role as master of ceremonies, recalled his few Spanish lessons by reciting a few verses of ‘Guantanamera’. He wondered if it was a song or a poem and was surprised when the first few people to answer said it was both. From here, the concert entered its best phase. First came ‘Bad Liar‘, which showcased Dan’s vocals. After the unnecessary ‘Wake Up‘, which went on too long, came the spectacular ‘Radioactive‘. The drum rhythms unleashed the madness of a dedicated audience, and even Dan Reynolds dared to play a solo on the second drum kit. With the tailwind ‘Demons‘ and ‘Natural‘ closed, a first-rate 20 minutes that showed us the best side of the Las Vegas band.

Imagine Dragons, Palau Sant Jordi 06/04/2018 – Foto realizada por Esther Vicente Garcia para Indieofilo^©

Unfortunately, the concert then went into a downward spiral, with the rhythm gradually fading away. Following Dan Reynolds’ speech, in which he shared personal experiences and offered messages of self-improvement and freedom of expression, ‘Walking the Wire‘ and ‘Sharks‘ failed to engage the audience, seemingly lacking context at the time of the concert. Although the track that the band recorded for the Arcane soundtrack, ‘Enemy‘, picked up the pace slightly and the band filled in J.I.D.’s rapped parts perfectly, ‘In Your Corner‘ and ‘Birds‘ fell flat again due to the lack of punch from the drums and guitar.

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Palau Sant Jordi 06/04/2018 – Photo taken by Esther Vicente Garcia for Indieofilo^©

There was still time for a grand finale, as every stadium concert deserves. This came in the form of a mass singalong to the band’s biggest hit, ‘Believer‘, amidst fireworks and confetti. This seemed to slightly erase the sensation of the previous 25 minutes. Without playing any encores, and saying nothing more than ‘Thank you, Barcelona’, the band left the stage, leaving us with even more doubts about the answer to our initial question… What makes them different? From what I’ve seen in Barcelona, nothing particularly special. Perhaps their secret is their adaptability without stridency. Led by the incredibly empathetic and approachable Dan Reynolds, they perform pop-rock that draws equally from electronic and hip-hop influences, appealing to all audiences , 2ell, that’s basically what made them successful. In any case, how have they overtaken their countrymen and friends, The Killers, whose largest crowd at the Palau Olímpic de Badalona was 8,000? It’s difficult to understand.