# Primavera Sound 2023

The Primavera Sound 2023 music festival was held between 1 and 3 June at the Parc del Fòrum, in Barcelona, Spain. The festival's line-up was headlined by Blur, Calvin Harris, Depeche Mode, Halsey, Kendrick Lamar, New Order and Rosalía.
After the two-weekend format introduced the previous year, the festival went back to the usual three-day format in the city, but held a parallel festival in Madrid with a nearly identical lineup a week later under the tagline "I'll Be Your Mirror".
The 21st edition of the festival, performances were also live-streamed on Amazon Music's Twitch channel, which was available to watch through Amazon Prime Video as well. In addition to the main festival, there was also a free "welcome day" concert at the Parc del Fòrum headlined by Pet Shop Boys, with RSVP tickets offered to both festivalgoers and Barcelona city residents. There was also a closing "Brunch on the Beach" party held at the Parc del Fòrum on 4 June, featuring electronic music performances from DJs including Diplo and Purple Disco Machine. Under Primavera a la Ciutat (English: "Primavera in the City"), the festival held shows throughout various different concert venues and clubs in downtown Barcelona in the days surrounding the main festival, featuring exclusive appearances from the likes of Black Midi, Molchat Doma, Cloud Nothings and The Chills.

## Background

The 2023 festival date was announced on 29 November 2022, alongside its lineup announcement. Billed as "I'll Be Your Mirror", the festival was set to be held in two cities, Barcelona and Madrid during the two weekends. On 7 March, New Order was announced as the final festival headliner.
On 26 April, it was announced that the festival was livestreamed on Twitch via Amazon Music's channel and Amazon Prime Video.
During the festival's free opening night on 31 May, a 57-year old Scottish man was killed by a tram outside Parc del Fòrum after the Pet Shop Boys' performance.
Blur performed their UK number-one single "Country House" for the first time since 2015 and the B-side "Luminous" for the first time since 1999.
On Friday 2 June, headliner Kendrick Lamar performed his verses from Pusha T's "Nosetalgia" and The Weeknd's "Sidewalks" live for the first time. Later, Skrillex's set was disrupted because the stage caught fire as he performed.
Rosalía, a Barcelona native, reportedly drew the largest crowd gathering of the festival when she headlined on Saturday.
On Saturday 3 June, the Ron Brugal stage suffered from sound problems. Kelela's set was halted for 10 minutes and ultimately cut short as her microphone suddenly cut out. The delay resulted in Måneskin's set on the neighboring Amazon Music stage also running past its scheduled end time. As a result, Death Grips could not take the Ron Brugal stage on time, and Death Grips fans began to boo Måneskin for continuing to perform overtime and delaying the Death Grips set.
Prior to performing their final song "Bull Believer" on Saturday, Wednesday lead singer Karly Hartzman criticised Jeff Bezos and Amazon while performing on the Amazon Music stage, dedicating the song to "any warehouse workers who have ever been mistreated."
Ticket preferences shifted with the previous ratio of 90% full festival tickets to 10% day tickets reversing in both editions. This change in trend was linked to the rising prices of tickets, flights, and accommodation. Barcelona experienced a decrease in foreign attendees from 70% to 52%, mainly among British visitors, which was attributed to the impact of Brexit and increased costs.

### Madrid

This year was the inaugural edition held in Madrid exactly a week after Barcelona with nearly identical lineups. The grounds were held at the Ciudad del Rock, outside Madrid's Arganda del Rey municipality. However, the festival was cancelled entirely on Thursday as a result of weather concerns, which was announced a day prior. Blur performed a makeup show at the La Riviera club (capacity: 2,000), while Yard Act and Off! organized a show at the Wurlitzer Ballroom.
The festival faced a mobility challenge, especially on June 9, when traffic jams at the entrances led to a 45-minute delay in Depeche Mode's concert. Limited parking, half of which was unusable due to prior rains, contributed to these issues. There were rumors of widespread distribution of gifted tickets to meet the target of 50,000 daily attendees, though organizers denied any unusual practices without disclosing exact numbers.
Death Grips pulled out of their Saturday set at the last minute, citing an illness.
The organizers noted that 38% of the attendees came from foreign countries, and in Madrid, there was a higher representation of Latin American attendees compared to Barcelona, which they attributed to Madrid being a more accessible and direct destination.
On 22 July 2023, Primavera Sound announced that it would not be returning to Madrid in 2024, stating: "the expectations we had were not fulfilled and the experience of the festivalgoers due to several logistical aspects was not the desired one. Inside the Ciudad del Rock, we experienced a festival full of great musical moments, but we are not oblivious to the annoyances. And that leads us to understand that, now, the conditions are not right for Madrid to have a Primavera Sound as it deserves in 2024."

## Headline set lists

Thursday, 1 June
* "St Charles Square"
* "There's No Other Way"
* "Popscene"
* "Tracy Jacks"
* "Beetlebum"
* "Trimm Trabb"
* "Villa Rosie"
* "Coffee & TV"
* "Luminous"
* "End of a Century"
* "Country House"
* "Parklife"
* "To the End"
* "Girls & Boys"
* "Song 2"
* "Intermission"
* "This Is a Low"
* "Tender"
* "The Narcissist"
* "The Universal"
* "Nightmare"
* "Castle"
* "Easier than Lying"
* "You Should Be Sad"
* "Graveyard"
* "Colors"
* "Eastside"
* "The Lighthouse"
* "Honey"
* "Bad at Love"
* "3AM"
* "Closer"
* "Gasoline"
* "Experiment on Me"
* "Without Me"
* "I Am Not a Woman, I'm a God"
* "Regret"
* "Age of Consent"
* "Academic"
* "Your Silent Face"
* "Be A Rebel"
* "Sub-culture"
* "Bizarre Love Triangle"
* "Plastic"
* "True Faith"
* "Blue Monday"
* "Temptation"
* "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
Friday, 2 June
* "My Cosmos Is Mine"
* "Wagging Tongue"
* "Walking in My Shoes"
* "It's No Good"
* "In Your Room" (Zephyr Mix)
* "Everything Counts"
* "Precious"
* "Home"
* "Ghosts Again"
* "I Feel You"
* "A Pain That I'm Used To" (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
* "World in My Eyes"
* "Stripped"
* "John the Revelator"
* "Enjoy the Silence"
Encore
* "Just Can't Get Enough"
* "Never Let Me Down Again"
* "Personal Jesus"
* "N95"
* "Element"
* "A.D.H.D"
* "King Kunta"
* "Worldwide Steppers"
* "Nosetalgia"
* "Backseat Freestyle"
* "M.A.A.D City"
* "Swimming Pools (Drank)"
* "Loyalty"
* "Purple Hearts"
* "DNA"
* "Rich Spirit"
* "Humble"
* "Sidewalks"
* "Count Me Out"
* "Money Trees"
* "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"
* "Die Hard"
* "Love"
* "Alright"
* "Vent" (with Baby Keem)
* "Family Ties" (with Baby Keem)
* "Savior"
Saturday, 3 June
* "Saoko"
* "Bizcochito"
* "La Fama"
* "De aquí no sales"/"Bulerías"
* "La Noche de Anoche"
* "Linda"
* "Diablo"
* "Despechá"
* "Hentai"
* "Candy"
* "Motomami"
* "La Combi Versace"
* "Con altura"
* "Beso"
* "Vampiros"
* "Héroe"
* "Malamente"
* "Chicken Teriyaki"
* "CUUUUuuuuuute"

## Line-up

Headline performers are listed in boldface. Artists listed from latest to earliest set times.

### Estrella Damm

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Blur New Order Turnstile Black Country, New Road | Skrillex Kendrick Lamar Baby Keem Los Hacheros | Rosalía Caroline Polachek Sevdaliza Grupo de Expertos Solynieve |

### Santander

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Halsey NxWorries Alex G | Fred again.. Depeche Mode Japanese Breakfast | Calvin Harris St. Vincent Arlo Parks |

### Amazon Music

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Darkside Alison Goldfrapp Rema Ghost Joe Crepúsculo Antònim | Mora Christine and the Queens Four Tet Sparks Julia Jacklin Carlota Flâneur | Charlotte de Witte Måneskin The War on Drugs My Morning Jacket Wednesday Desert |

### Cupra

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Folamour (A/V) Loyle Carner Perfume Pusha T flowerovlove Júlia Colom | VTSS B2B LSDXOXO Yves Tumor Bad Religion The Moldy Peaches The Delgados Bala | DJ Coco Two Shell Nia Archives Maggie Rogers Holly Humberstone Twin |

### Plenitude

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Hudson Mohawke Drain Gang Self Esteem PinkPantheress Sudan Archives Terno Rei Cabiria | TSHA (Live) Unwound Goat Girl Alvvays Gabriels Soul Glo Niña Coyote eta Chico Tornado | Overmono DJ Playero Liturgy Tokischa Be Your Own Pet Judeline Alissic |

### Ron Brugal

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| The Comet Is Coming Le Tigre Central Cee Red Velvet Yard Act Heather | Channel Tres Trueno The Wedding Present Avalon Emerson & the Charm Cavetown | JPEGMafia Death Grips Kelela The Voidz Surf Curse DOMi & JD BECK |

### Auditori Santander

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Boris Come Emeralds | Swans Julia Holter Beth Orton Israel Fernández y Diego del Morao | Laurie Anderson John Cale James Ellis Ford Núria Graham |

### Dice

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Ascendant Vierge Machine Girl Amenra Off! Built to Spill joe unknown | Lebanon Hanover Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Nation of Language Karate Shellac The Beths | Los Ganglios Gilla Band Jockstrap Gaz Coombes Villano Antillano Bar Italia |

### Pull&Bear

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Brutalismus 3000 Chica Gang Karenn Juliana Huxtable B2B Jasss Rhyw (Live) Verraco | Daphni John Talabot The Soft Pink Truth (Live) Voices from the Lake Gigi FM Nazira Maddy Maia B2B Tottie Velmondo | Jayda G Pional Josey Rebelle DJ Storm Anish Kumar Wooden Wisdom + DJ Fitz |

### Stone Island Sound at the Warehouse

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Jana Rush Abadir & Hogir (Live) Blackhaine Slauson Malone Heinali Salamanda | Bill Kouligas Upsammy Tzusing Low Jack x Lala &Ce (Live) Honour Tongue in the Mind | CCL Mala Om Unit (Live) The Drift Institute Oriana B2B Melina Serser Ubaldo |

### Night Pro

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| RIP Elmalamía European Vampire Vale Castillo Guatemala Dagger Moth | Chunyan Farze Atzur Lilium Rubber Band Ibiza Pareo | Dirtytwo Monikaze Prins Proteins of Magic Dem Mob Cruz Caiman |

### Boiler Room × Cupra

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Tra Tra Trax Sound Sistema Avalon Emerson S-Candalo OK Williams Kikelomo Mellow & Sleazy European305 Iration Steppas Nplgnn (Live) | Musa XXL x Toro Mura Masa (DJ set) CCL Crystallmess DJ Babatr Vhoor Jon K Yves Tumor (DJ set) Ikram Bouloum | La Creole Drazzit LustSickPuppy Physical Therapy Akanbi DJSport Jehia |

### Aperol Island of Joy

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Ganges Magia Bruta Mira Paula MARIALLUÏSA Julia Amor | TMATNB Ciutat Selva Nua Comic Sans Amore | Enry-K (DJ set) Antònim Morreo Yudi Saint X Galgo Lento |

### The Vision by Pull&Bear

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Numero Group DJ Dorian Concept Blondshell Gallus Chaqueta de Chándal NOIA️️ | DJ Playero Enamorados Japanese Breakfast Tomberlin The Wedding Present Casero | Unai Muguruza L'Hereu Escampa Del Water Gap Soyuz Molly Payton Heal |

### Barcelona Sona by Estrella Damm

| Thursday, 1 June 2023 | Friday, 2 June 2023 | Saturday, 3 June 2023 |
| Miqui Puig (DJ set) Nahoomie Santa Eulàlia Stein B2B Formica | Tamarindo Vonvon Rob Maart | Tropikal Rockers Iets Anders Santoral Disco |

## Primavera a la Ciutat line-up
### La [2] Apolo

| Monday, 29 May 2023 | Tuesday, 30 May 2023 | Wednesday, 31 May 2023 | Sunday, 4 June 2023 |
| Panic Shack CUMGIRL8 Pip Blom Saya Gray | Far Caspian Just Mustard La Paloma | Marc Piñol Darkside | Klara Missyle ElectroniCON Maggie Rogers Gwenno Lila Drew |

### Razzmatazz

| Monday, 29 May 2023 | Tuesday, 30 May 2023 | Sunday, 4 June 2023 |
| Black Midi Los Bitchos Goat Girl Enumclaw Heather | Black Country, New Road Las Robertas PUP Cabiria | Sama Yax Loyle Carner Yves Tumor Joy Anonymous Ciutat |

### Razzmatazz 2

| Monday, 29 May 2023 | Tuesday, 30 May 2023 | Sunday, 4 June 2023 |
| Arab Strap The Goa Express MAVICA | The Comet Is Coming Yunè Pinku The Waeve Blondshell | Jockstrap Blondshell Japanese Breakfast The Chills Adelaida |

### Razzmatazz 3

* Tuesday, 30 May 2023
* Elmalamía
* Vale Castillo

### Sala Apolo

| Monday, 29 May 2023 | Tuesday, 30 May 2023 | Sunday, 4 June 2023 |
| L'éclair Molchat Doma Calibro 35 Crack Cloud | Glass Beams Melody's Echo Chamber Zopa Julia Amor | Oddzero B2B Ferdiyei Dave P DJ Playero Pet Shop Boys |

### Paral.lel 62

* Sunday, 4 June 2023
* electroniCON party
* Satin Sheets x ESPRIT 空想
* FM Skyline
* Windows 96
* Neggy Gemmy
* George Clanton
* Death's Dynamic Shroud
* Unwound
* Gilla Band
* Cloud Nothings
* joe unknown
* Niña Coyote eta Chico Tornado

### Welcome Day and Closing Party line-up
#### Amazon Music

* Wednesday, 31 May 2023
* Pet Shop Boys
* Confidence Man
* Jake Bugg
* La Paloma

#### Night Pro

* Wednesday, 31 May 2023
* Dagger Moth
* Guatemala
* Dagger Moth

#### Cupra

* Sunday, 4 June 2023
* Diplo
* Purple Disco Machine
* CamelPhat
* Ben Böhmer
* Carlita
* Two Ex

## Reception

Rolling Stone praised this edition of the festival for improving logistics from the year prior, such as boosting the number of on-site essentials while reducing the overall capacity, though lamenting the loss of the electronic music-centered Bits area at Sant Adrià de Besòs. It commented on the musical diversity on the lineup, which had multiple East Asian pop acts including Red Velvet, Perfume and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and the Nigerian singer Rema. Pitchfork said that the festival held appeal from "casual festival-goers and full-on obsessives to outright skeptics... you could lose it on the dancefloor to pop phenomena like Rosalía, mosh by the sea to the epiphanic black metal of Liturgy, or hear a Numero Group DJ set featuring the rarest-of-rare Italo disco 7''s, and still feel like you’ve only scratched the surface." Variety said "the female performers – like St. Vincent, PinkPantheress, Caroline Polachek, Arlo Parks, Maggie Rogers, Holly Humberstone and the girl-fronted Alvvays and Wednesday – really dominated the festival’s lineup and provided some of the most spectacular, standout sets."
NME gave the festival a four-star review, stating that "a festival that entreats its punters to care about the future looks to be gradually entering a new, bright and reinvigorated era of its own."