Primavera Sound: the festival euphoria returns 1,000 days later

• Festivals Primavera Sound will be based in Madrid in 2023

What a feeling to set foot on

like before, like we always did: the cement floor of the

the loudspeakers in the background rumbling, the sea breeze in your arms, the smell of fried food from the food stalls at the entrance. , the lines to drink and pee and drink and pee again, the sticky heat: everything was there, in its place, three years, a

Almost as if nothing had happened.

The celebration of Primavera Sound after three years of authentic via crucis for the music industry

to the party and the crowds in style.

The festival

of life (an event that was going to be celebrated in the cursed year, 2020) now converted into a gigantic monster of unprecedented proportions in Spain: 500 concerts over two weekends at the Fòrum and ten days of uninterrupted music adding the

in the city during the week that, from last night until next June 12, make Barcelona the European musical capital.

This year the festival has promoted the idea of ​​bringing headliners such as

or

to small clubs and stages: many stars will double or triple in more intimate formats, a nod to the ecosystem of small concert halls in Barcelona, ​​one of the most played and the one that had to suffer the most from the draconian restrictions during the pandemic.

A lap, we said, in an absolutely enjoyable and pre-pandemic way: without a mask, without QR codes, without previous tests,

The festival, with all the tickets sold for more than a year, hopes to receive some

half a million attendees in total, while it prepares its arrival in Madrid in 2023. And that the subscription price for the entire festival with non-attendance insurance amounts to 447 euros.

The festival, which has been complaining about the treatment Barcelona has given it for months, when it announced its intention to hold an edition in Madrid, woke up yesterday with a huge piece of graffiti intended to generate controversy: in it, the mayor of Barcelona

and the president

kiss.

A replica of the famous mural by

in which those who joined in a kiss were the Soviet leader

and the president of the

which caused some stupefaction among the locals.

It is not the first time that the festival gets into political puddles.

In the 2018 edition,

to liven up the end of the party.

Despite the euphoria of the reunion, the Covid has been noted in the trail of cancellations in recent days that the organization of the festival has been patching up as best it can.

It has especially hurt

one of the hooks of this first weekend.

With all the members (except one, the positive one) already in Barcelona for days, their concert this Friday is cancelled, but not next week's.

The festival started with a certain organizational chaos in the bars, with long queues of up to an hour to get a beer and a patient crowd.

The waiters, one more year, are Portuguese.

The first day was divided between the new and old legends of the festival, which over the years has been building its own mythology based on groups from the indie scene of the 90s who are no longer asked for novelty, but to play records from 25 years ago, like

or

One of the happy surprises of the festival was

practically unknown here who got into the public's pocket from the first song with their adolescent self-confidence and youthful fury, despite playing on one of the furthest stages, in front of the sea, next to the yachts.

Discovered by

and sponsored by the best of

her spirited guitar pop with a feminist message seems destined to stay.

"We skip school to be playing here," confessed their bass player before introducing the members of the band from the United States, made up of two sisters, a cousin and a friend of Asian and Latin American origin, aged between 11 ( those who have the drums, absolute boss) and the 17. The Linda Lindas are one of the few bands that greeted their parents yesterday from the stage, some parents whom we presuppose are fans of

seen what seen

- style guitar pop

and his sense of showbiz mixed with his adolescent candor conquered a very devoted audience.

There were even pogos in the front row.

started in a half-empty auditorium ,

who dedicated one of her first songs,

to the festival itself, which has decided to rescue this

star with a half-century career on stage.

"Do not miss this festival and that we do not have any more pandemics, please," said the singer.

Before, in the afternoon, the attention was shared between the woman who changed alternative rock forever, Kim Gordon, and the latest promise to emerge from the periphery destined to renew electronic music from folklore, the Asturian

a true showman.

's sticky-as-bubble festive pop

reverberated on the packed main stage.

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• Barcelona

• Coronavirus

• Carles Puigdemont

• USA

• Isabel Diaz Ayuso

• Ada Colau

• covid 19