Primavera Sound 2025 Takes The Crown

Primavera Sound started out as a pure indie festival, but over the years it has grown into a space where seemingly opposite worlds collide and the raw, independent spirit of indie music meets the glossy, massive appeal of pop. In 2025, this balance was clearer than ever: the lineup brought together artists from both ends of the spectrum, showing how popular and independent don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

With such a diverse and dynamic lineup and with 13 stages and 3 days of non-stop music, Primavera once again proved why it’s one of the most exciting festivals on the calendar and one of the best in the world.

Stick around to read about how our weekend unfolded day by day…

THURSDAY: The Night We Danced

We arrived early, before 5 PM, to catch Rigoberta Bandini’s short set at the Levi’s 505 stage, a small round space near the festival entrance. Her unapologetically sharp, funny and critical approach stands out, especially after her two-year hiatus. Her theatrical storytelling, supported by dancers, made her new album Jesucrista Superstar feel fresh and engaging, along with some of her hits.

Afterwards, we dove into something much more rooted and folkloric with Frente Abierto, Israel Fernandez and Lela Soto. It was one of those genre-defying sets: merging rock, experimental and, of course, flamenco. The local scene continued to impress with Ciutat – with songs like “Chesterfield” and “Triste de Felicidad”, they made us emotional and with “Quiero Verte Bailar” or the collaboration with Teo Lucadamo they made us smile. Elsewhere, IDLES brought their politically charged punk rock energy, especially notable was their shoutout to Palestine supported and appreciated by the audience.

Ciutat by Sergio Albert

FKA Twigs gifted us a multidisciplinary show combining music, theatre and dance. It was visual poetry deeply rooted in eroticism and emotion, blurring the lines between concert and performance art in a show based on her last album “Eusexua”. Jamie XX commanded the night with his unmistakable style. His sets are always marked by clear identity, layered beats and hypnotic visuals with dancers from the audience that claim collective experience, and this was a special one because he presented numerous hits like “Dafodil” from his last album “In Waves”, dropped in September, almost 10 years since his previous.

FKA Twigs by Clara Orozco

In between XX and XCX I couldn’t resist going to see Parcels. And what can I say? They’re probably the tightest live band playing festivals right now. Their sound is a polished, funky time capsule that somehow feels futuristic. People danced like they were in a Studio 54 fever dream, and their charisma is extremely organic: no gimmicks, just groove. Speaking of groove, I want to extend my gratitude to the belle of the ball: Noah Hill, the band’s bassist. The crowd wasn’t just vibing, they were truly grateful to be witnessing something special. Let me tell you, I dropped and broke my sunglasses running toward the Amazon stage as I didn’t want to miss the first bit of “Tieduprightnow”. Was it worth it? I mean, they were my favourite shades and I do not regret it at all.

Finally, we had Charli XCX celebrating a breakthrough year after dropping BRAT precisely a year before her show alongside best friend Troye Sivan, who also happened to be celebrating his 30th birthday at Primavera. She took the stage to a sea of BRAT merchandising, green accessories and Troye look-alikes, the anticipation had been building up for a few hours. Troye had a very cool on-stage presence and infectious charm that makes it impossible not to love him. But the main character was undeniably Charli: MOTHER was mothering. She has the ability to turn a giant crowd in an outdoor performance into a club. Her minimalist approach and her diva qualities, this time dressed up by the locals 404 Studio and Javier Guijarro with controversial looks, make her the perfect headliner of this festival. They finished with their collaboration “Talk Talk”, an anthem for the gays and the girlies.

Brief mentions go to the electrifying Brutalismus 3000 and the house legend Armand Van Helden, who kept the dancefloors alive late into the night.

Photography by Mateo Ibarra

FRIDAY: The Night We Let Ourselves Wander

Friday felt like a long, expansive journey, one where I let go of the strict itinerary (big thanks to Clashfinder) and gave myself permission to explore the festival in full. I wandered through nearly all thirteen stages, stumbling across new acts, hidden gems, and unexpected energy shifts. It was the day I trusted the layout, the atmosphere, and the instinct to drift – and I was rewarded.

I started with FADES, the queer pop trio from Mallorca whose mission is as clear as it is necessary: to take up space in the mainstream. “We’re three fags and want to occupy the mainstream space of the music scene” as they mentioned in the past. Their live show echoed that statement: vibrant, defiant, and full of autotune, choreography and joyously exaggerated pop references. From there, Chico Blanco delivered a set that blurred urban and electronic genres, as always. It was pretty cool to dance on a small stage next to the members of Ciutat, but I would’ve liked to see him perform for a bigger audience.

Over at the Cupra stage, Zaho de Sagazan held the crowd in the palm of her hand. Her voice shifted between tenderness and fury, and her presence was pure magnetism. The crowd became unruly happy with her cover of “Modern Love” by David Bowie.

One of the day’s biggest surprises came with a low-key but buzzworthy DJ set from Kevin Parker (aka Tame Impala), tucked into the evening without any formal announcement until that very day. It wasn’t a Tame Impala show, but it did include some of his hits like “Let It Happen” or “The Less I Know The Better”. The best part and what surprised me the most, though, was his impeccable jungle, DnB, garage and breakbeat selection, especially the breakbeat versión of “It Feels So Good” by Sonique as the sun set in the Pulse by Cupra new stage (RIP Boiler Room).

Tommy Wright III brought raw Southern rap to the festival with a short but intense set. It was like stepping into a Memphis underground tape from the 90’s. It felt almost out of place, which only made it more enjoyable, as there wasn’t much hip-hop in the lineup this year.

Photography by Mateo Ibarra

Sabrina Carpenter brought the night’s pop spectacle to its peak. Channelling old Hollywood with a modern edge, she looked every bit the platinum blonde starlet: perfectly styled, yet always in on the joke. There’s something magnetic about how she plays with image. She’s glamorous but very self-aware, like a Marilyn Monroe raised on Disney Channel. “Please Please Please” turned the crowd into a screaming choir, and her live debut of “Man Child” was delivered with playful bite. Throughout the set, she kept locking eyes with the front rows, joking, teasing, and feeding off their energy. It was pure pop theatre, and it worked.

As the night deepened, I drifted from ANOTR’s warm house rhythms to Floating Point’s live show, whose set was a rich, textured journey, cerebral and emotional all at once. It feels almost too perfect that 4am Kru played at 4 a.m. Their set was all gas, no brakes: breakbeats and jungle spun with razor-sharp precision, so tight they felt like they could crack open the concrete. That bass didn’t just vibrate, you felt it deep in your chest. A true gem for the wanderers, and easily one of the best surprises of the entire weekend.

SATURDAY: The Night We Cried

By the third and final day of Primavera, I was everything at once: exhausted, sleep-deprived, emotionally wrung out, and still, deeply excited. There was a strange melancholy in the air, like some kind of bittersweet déjà vu. But there was no time to dwell. This was a night for letting go, a night to feel everything all at once – and cry about it later (or during, but we’ll get to that).

Judeline opened the evening bathed in sunset light with a very theatrical performance. Her voice cut through the thick summer heat like a knife wrapped in velvet. When she sang “Zarcillos de plata”, everything seemed to slow down. For a moment, it felt like time held its breath. Shoutout to her dancer Héctor Fuertes, who graciously embodied emotions such as desire and despair during the performance. Glass Beams followed, offering a meditative counterpoint. We sat on the grass, hypnotized by their spiralling instrumentals and jewellery covered faces, letting our brains reset and our legs rest for a moment. A moment of calm before another emotional storm.

Judeline by Gisela Jané

Then came our beloved Amaia. She pulled us into the most personal corners of her last album: her relationship with her mother, the painful loneliness of adulthood and the uncomfortable awareness of mortality. “Ya está”, a song about death, brought the crowd to silence. Literally. She asked us to hush and delivered an impressive performance with her harp and her angelical voice. She cried; we held our breath.

Chappell Roan didn’t just perform, she embodied the cultural zeitgeist. She owned the stage alongside her all-female band, fusing camp spectacle with genuine vulnerability with her Rocky Horror Picture Show meets pop aesthetics. She gave us goosebumps with songs like “Coffee”, and “Kaleidoscope” (to me, the best live performance of the festival). A guy even proposed to his boyfriend during “Picture You”. Mid show, she started pulling notes out of a hat, confessions from fans about their (sexually) disappointing male exes. “Baby’ I’m a giver”, she said. The crowd was a mess of joy, tears, and, of course, pink cowboy hats ready for “Pink Pony Club” at the very end. A true queer anthem.

Chappell Roan by Clara Orozco

After that, Central Cee struggled a bit to match the emotional high but held his own. Once he leaned into his natural charisma, the crowd came back to him with songs like “Obsessed with you” or “Sprinter”. Then came Aminé, and even though everyone was clearly running on fumes, we couldn’t stop smiling… “4EVA” blasted from the Cupra stage, and everything just… clicked. Primavera was ending but it didn’t feel like an ending, it felt like a memory already forming in front of our eyes and ears. LCD Soundsystem was the closest thing to a collective exhale. “All My Friends” brought it all home. Nostalgia in real time.

Still, we weren’t ready to stop. We drifted to Danny L Harle’s closing set, floating in the liminal space between closure and denial. The pounding beat kept us standing, barely, until the last piano chord of “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge.

I didn’t cry, not really. Crowds make it hard. But my lip trembled, my eyes burned. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by close friends, all of us quietly falling apart together. We hugged, we absorbed, and we let ourselves be cracked open, especially during Chappell. Maybe this is the real power of this final night: the space it made for vulnerability. In a festival full of special moments, the ones that stayed with me were the most intimate. Judeline, Amaia, and Chappel Roan each laid themselves bare onstage. They didn’t just perform, they kindly invited us to something raw, something almost sacred.

Some final words…

It’s no coincidence that this year’s headliners were Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappel Roan, there’s a real shift happening in pop right now and it’s artists like them who are leading it. This new era feels less polished and more real, where charisma, vulnerability and emotional intensity are finally being taken seriously again.

All of them embrace hyper-performance and hyper-emotion, without losing touch with who they are. They’re campy and clever, horny and heartbroken, glamorous and grotesque. They’re not just headlining Primavera Sound, they’re signalling a new era of pop stardom where femininity is a performance, a weapon, a joke, a shield, and a prayer.

This wasn’t just a lineup. It was a statement. And by the end, we were all crying. Glitter in our tears, lipstick smudged, voices gone and hearts full.