Primavera Sound schedules more Catalan artists, but language use declines

Primavera Sound is well known in the international music festival scene, but since it opened doors for the first time in 2001 in Barcelona, it has also promoted local musicians, both emerging and renowned. 

In recent years, many Catalan festival-goers have raised concerns about fewer Catalan artists performing at the venue. However, this year, compared to the 2024 edition, Primavera Sound has more local artists scheduled. Meanwhile, the number of musicians singing in Catalan has decreased, and only 10% of the overall lineup sings in the local language.

Some singing in Catalan are The Crab Apples, Llum (who played on the free inauguration day that took place on Wednesday), Maig, Fades, and Rigoberta Bandini. However, the rest, over a dozen, are artists who do not use the language as they sing in Spanish, English, or any other language, or they are just DJs who do not sing, such as John Talabot. There are other cases, such as klara missyle, an Italian artist based in the Catalan capital.

Another example is HEAL, a band formed in Barcelona that officially debuted in 2024 with their first LP, The Shiver. Despite being a newly formed band, Laia Vehí, Dani Ambrosí, Edu Mató, and Raúl Pérez knew what they were doing beforehand. All of them used to take part in other Catalan projects such as Wind Atlas, North State, Wann, and Glitterhouse.

"I would love to sing in Catalan or Spanish, I am working on this, but it has to happen naturally, if not, it will not be the case," Laia told Catalan News after performing on Friday afternoon at the music festival.

"It has to be something natural, we do not want to force it, if it happens, it happens," Edu added.

Emerging artists

HEAL is one of these bands considered emerging artists. In this case, the band was born in Barcelona, as was the festival itself, which praises the 'Created in Barcelona' slogan. The group performs under the Primavera Labels, part of the Primavera Sound group.

While many say the number of Catalan language artists at the festival has decreased, organizers say it is the "same as always." They add that "we are a festival very proud to say we are 'Created in Barcelona,' and this is not only based on our staff, production team, and values, but also on the artists we schedule."

This year's edition, "does not change compared to previous years," as organizers always "consider the creative scenery in Catalonia." And while this year there are no big names compared to last year's edition with Guillem Gisbert, Mushkaa, or Ferran Palau, it is all because of the "tours and LP releases of local artists."

"It is true that in this year's lineup, there are more emerging artists," organizers say, such as HEAL, who are already preparing their next album.

"There is a lot of support for bands, such as ourselves, we are very pleased to be here, but it would be amazing if there were more," Edu, from HEAL, told this outlet minutes after performing at Primavera Sound's Schwarzkopf stage.

"It was fantastic, not only being able to play, but also to meet up with other artists from all around the world," Laia said.

"We even played a new song today [on Friday at Primavera Sound]," Laia added before announcing that they are "expecting to record new material this summer."

Rigoberta Bandini

One of the major names of Catalan music at Primavera Sound is Rigoberta Bandini. While she does not sing in Catalan, she spoke in Catalan during her show on Thursday afternoon at the Levi's Plaza stage.

Rigoberta, stage name for Paula Ribó, sang in front of around 200 people some of her latest hits, such as 'Pamela Anderson,' or 'Amore Amore Amore,' both from the recently released album 'Jesucrista superstar.'

She returned to stages earlier this year, after stopping touring for some time in 2022.