Barcelona is one of the top cities in the world, we all know that. I have lived here for 2 decades and there are so many reasons to love this city. Just think about the culture, Gaudi’s marvelous architecture, the history dating back to the Romans, the food, the drinks, and certainly the parties. Spain’s second largest city has a richness due to the many different styles; old, new, traditional, contemporary…and partly due to the many nationalities that you can find living here.
Barcelona also has an amazingly vibrant music and festival scene, and now that days are becoming longer it is well worth your trouble to visit some of them. What better way to enjoy those long summer nights? Here are some of my favourite summer music festivals in Barcelona.
The Primavera Sound Festival is probably the most internationally well-known music festival in Barcelona. It offers music-lovers a mix of artists in pop music, alternative, indie, rock, and electronic dance music (EDM). The 2019 headliners include Interpol, Cardi B, Tame Impala, Stereolab, Rosalía, Robyn, FKA twigs, James Blake, Big Red Machine, and many more. Attend this festival at the Parc del Forum, an open-air event centre on the northern edge of the city… but only if there are still tickets available!
Check out this video from the 2018 festival.
If you’re into drama and theatre, this is the festival for you. The all-summer-long Grec Festival, promoted by the Barcelona City Council, offers everything from music and dance to theatre and circus. The Grec Festival supports local productions as well as international acts, (which is why many of the shows are offered in English). Many of the festival’s productions take place a Barcelona’s Grec Teatre (Greek Theatre), which is a replica of an ancient Greek Amphitheatre in Epidaurus, Greece. How magical!
Sónar Festival is all about “music, creativity, and technology”. It combines electronic and alternative music with art installations and various showcases on culture, technology, and more. Although it features some big names, this festival focuses more on “emerging talent” and creative expression. That’s why this music festival in Barcelona is not just for music lovers; it’s also highly respected in the art, tech, and creative industries. What’s more, you can actually choose from 2 different festival options and venues: Sonar by Day and Sonar by Night.
Black Eyed Peas, Kylie Minogue, Foals, Bastille, and Zaz just scratch the surface of the headliners for the 2019 Cruilla Festival. And since it’s celebrating its 10-year anniversary, it’s bound to be bigger than ever. Promoted as “4 days of non-stop fun by the sea”, there should be nothing stopping you from attending this music festival that will play host many of your favorite bands. Cruïlla means ‘crossroad’, so it makes sense that this festival brings together a mix of music, artistic performances, gastronomy, and technology.
Drawing a big, international crowd due to the wild party atmosphere, the Barcelona Beach Festival (BBF) is an electronic music festival that plays popular, mainstream electronic dance music (EDM) from big name music stars. Barcelona is a seaside city, so what better use is there for all those beaches than a music festival? BBF does exactly that, taking place for one crazy night on Barcelona’s Platja del Fòrum (Forum Beach). The enormous stage overlooks the entire beach and pounds out the dance beats to the raving crowd, all while spectacular special effects are going on.
Rock Fest Barcelona, as its name implies, is one of Europe top rock and heavy metal music festivals, bringing together rock and metal fans from across the globe. 2019 marks the six-year anniversary of the festival and this year’s lineup includes legendary bands like ZZ Top and Def Leppard. Set at the Can Zam park in the Santa Coloma suburbs of Barcelona, this 4-day music festival is a great opportunity to take in some heavy rock music and explore the amazing city of Barcelona.
It’s clear that Barcelona goes big, and the Cap Roig Festival is no different, attracting big names like Maluma, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Sting, Diana Krall, Liam Gallagher, and more. Set at the Cap Roig castle and botanical gardens, the open-air stage offers concertgoers a beautiful natural setting in front of the Mediterranean Sea. The prices are on the high side, so the festival is not accessible to everyone unfortunately.
How many music festivals in Barcelona can you factor into your budget? Discover the cost of living in Barcelona, as well as our Cost of Living Guide for Spain in general: