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Primavera Sound 2021
Photograph: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com

Why we’re all so goddamn excited about Primavera Sound this year

From the all-star line-up to the dramatic waterfront location, here’s why basically the entire Time Out office is off to Europe’s hottest music fest next week

Ed Cunningham
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Ed Cunningham
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The next few weeks in the Time Out office are going to be eerily quiet. And why’s that, you ask? Are we out having a wild one for the Jubilee? Have we caught Covid again? Naah. We’re all (well, lots of us are) off to Primavera Sound in Barcelona for one of the most hyped festivals of the year.

Primavera Sound Barcelona, for those not in the know, is held in the Parc del Fòrum, a public park on the waterfront in the north of the city that was built for the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures. It’s a spectacular setting known for its fantastic set-up of stages, food stands and bars – not to mention, of course, some truly legendary line-ups.

This year’s Barcelona edition of the fest (Primavera has now spread to the likes of Porto, Los Angeles and São Paulo) has been delayed for two years, meaning that some of us were, ahem, much younger when we bought tickets. Since it was originally planned, the festival has been extended from one weekend to two, and that isn’t even getting into the packed schedule of ‘Primavera a la Ciutat’ – which involves the festival taking over various Barcelona venues throughout the week.

So why are we all so goddamn excited to head down to the Parc del Fòrum over the next couple of weeks? Well, loads of reasons. Whether you’re going to the first weekend or second, the line-up is, as ever, incredible. Plus, it’s also simply not in the UK, which is always nice.

Chiara Wilkinson, Time Out London’s staff writer, said: ‘I'm excited to go to a festival without British weather, and to be able to eat patatas bravas for my hangover food. The programming is as hot as usual, and there’s such a mix of genres – where else can you see The Strokes and VTSS on the same night?’ 

Huw Oliver, Time Out’s international commissioning editor, has had a ticket since January 2020 and reckons that the heat and vibes of Spain in early June make it the perfect time for a music festival – plus, it’s a great excuse to get away from the UK on Jubilee weekend.

By flying into Valencia and getting a train up the coast, he’s also turning the trip into a bit of an adventure: ‘Far more exciting than the trek to Glastonbury!’ Huw’s also out there to see arty rockers Les Savy Fav: ‘They never play but are exactly the kind of band Primavera would dredge out of obscurity for a random 7pm set,’ he said.

Time Out London food writer and Primavera regular Angela Hui usually attends the festival every year, touting the better weather, friendlier crowds and incredible line-ups. ‘I always get a chance to listen to favs so I desperately want to see and discover new acts. I'm most excited to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard again (they’re playing like five times), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes, Gorillaz, Amyl and the Sniffers and Dry Cleaning.’

Primavera Sound Barcelona is running from June 2 to 12 and you can find out more about it here (the two weekends are currently sold out, though tickets will likely appear on the official resale). And if you’ve already got a ticket... we’ll see you there!

Did you see that Iceland just hosted the world’s most remote club night?

Plus: these are the 40 best music festivals in the world in 2022 according to us. 

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