sónar music festival

Björk to open Barcelona’s ‘Sónar’ music festival

May 10, 2017 11:51 PM | ACN

Björk, the famous Icelandic singer, will perform an exclusive four-hour DJ session for Sónar festival’s opening night on June 14. The same day, an ‘immersive’ exhibition dedicated to the artist (‘Digital Björk’) will open its doors at Barcelona’s Center of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) and the artist will give a talk at Sónar+D. The 24th edition of the Sónar festival will open Wednesday, June 14 with Björk’s DJ performance and close on Sunday, June 18 in Barcelona’s Auditori with a Nico Muhly concert accompanied by the German orchestral group Stargaze. As for the festival’s musical program, this year’s edition comprises of outstanding names such as Justice, Nicolas Jaar, Moderat, Masters at Work, Arca & Jesse Kanda, Soulwax, Dj Shado or De la Soul among others.

Sónar kicks off, blends artistry, technology and business in festival's 22nd year

June 18, 2015 09:43 PM | ACN

The 22nd edition of Sónar, the largest electronic music festival in Europe, roared out of the gate Thursday in Barcelona. Considered the "most ambitious" iteration of the festival in Sónar's history, this year's programme has 147 performances scheduled between the festival's two campuses – Sónar by Day at Fira Montjüic and Sónar by Night at Fira GranVia – from Thursday to Saturday. But apart from the musical acts, there is a greater presence of audiovisual and technological shows than ever before. In addition, Sónar+D is an international tech conference at the festival geared toward artists, entrepreneurs and businesses and features over 120 activities and networking opportunities, showcasing big-name companies like Kickstarter, Google and Vimeo.The festival's biggest attractions include The Chemical Brothers, Skrillex, Duran Duran, Die Antwoord, A$AP Rocky, FKA Twigs, Hot Chip, Flying Lotus, Jamie XX and Arca.

Sónar+D to host 4,000 experts and 2,000 companies from global creative and digital tech industries

April 9, 2015 10:53 PM | ACN

Sónar+D is an international professional conference for creativity and technological innovation, which coincides with Barcelona's Sónar Festival of electronic and advanced music. The 3rd edition of the professional event will take place in Barcelona on the 18th, 19th and 20th of June 2015, at the same time as the popular and prestigious music festival. Its main aim is to bring together international experts presenting initiatives and tools that will shape future creative experiences in the fields of music, visuals, and interactive content and transmedia platforms. This year, 4,000 professionals and 2,000 companies from all over the world will take part in the event, a remarkable leap forward on last year's figures. "It is not just a fair or a conference", Sonar co-Director Ricard Robles said on Thursday. "It is a 360-degree, all encompassing event, a point of interaction between the creative and technological communities".

Sónar Barcelona presents part of 2015 festival line-up, featuring Duran Duran and Chemical Brothers

February 14, 2015 01:12 AM | ACN / Rochelle Bath

An additional 38 artists have been announced to perform at the 2015 Sónar Festival, held each year in Barcelona in June. This includes the likes of Eighties pop band, Duran Duran, pop diva Róisín Murphy, British quintet Hot Chip and FKA Twigs, considered as one of the most prominent vocalist at the moment. South African duo Die Antwoord, Arca, Flying Lotus and Skrillex, are also confirmed.  With these additions, Sonar’s lineup is shaping up to be its best yet, with the already confirmed performances of Autechre, Kiasmos, Kindness, Sophie, Daniel, Ten Walls, Holly Herndon, Kate Tempest, Jamie XX and The Chemical Brothers, who will present their new album ‘Hanna’.

109,000 attend Barcelona Sónar music festival, featuring Massive Attack, Nile Rodgers & Chic, and Rudimental

June 16, 2014 09:37 PM | ACN

Sónar, Barcelona´s ‘Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art’ came to end on Saturday night with a total attendance of 109,000 people, the second best in the festival’s 21 year history. However, it is a 10% less than 2013 record figures. 53% of those attending the 2014 edition were foreigners. Sónar by Night on Saturday has claimed the ability to make the masses dance with a program marked by disco anthems from Nile Rodgers of Chic to performances by Rudimental and DJ Snake. Massive Attack were among the best performers of the night, in their second concert after the opening day. Multiple simultaneous stages with performances from some of the biggest names in electronic music gave national and international festival-goers a lot to choose from.

Sónar+D unites more than 100 artistic companies in the field of digital innovation

June 13, 2014 06:55 PM | ACN

Sónar+D is an international conference for creativity and technological innovation which coincides with the Sónar by Day Festival. The conference will organize lectures, project exhibitions, stage activities and hold meetings with experts to enhance talent and further opportunities in the digital environment creating a strong parallel to the music festival. This year is the second edition of Sónar+D and the conference is growing now bringing together more than 100 companies, as well as artists, entrepreneurs and technicians from around the world to promote talent and business opportunities in the area of ??culture. The festival's co-director Enric Palau recently revealed details about this year’s program, which is a new initiative divided into four areas. An area dedicated to round table conferences, an exhibition area where more than 40 featured worldwide technology projects are to be on show, a space for art shows and an area where attendees can meet renowned professionals.

Electronic music festival Sónar brings a top quality line-up for 2014 to Barcelona

June 11, 2014 09:16 PM | Anders Ballegaard / Christopher Tulloch

The 21st edition of the International Festival of Advanced Music and New Media Art Sónar 2014 is set and ready to take over the Catalan capital from the 12th -14th June. As in recent years, the festival will alternate between two different locations depending on whether it is a day or a night event. Fira Montjuïc is the location for Sónar by Day whereas Sónar by Night takes place in Fira Gran Via L’Hospitalet. In this way, the festival offers two different venues for the crowd, one for those who prefer a relaxing chill out in the Mediterranean sunshine and another for a greater party atmosphere as the night draws in. The two locations are ready to play host to the performances of a packed line-up made up of more than 130 artists, bands and deejays. With several stages and a program replete with star names, the Sónar crowd is in for a treat as top notch electronic musicians from all over the world will perform before a local and international crowd.

Electronic music Sónar Reykjavik and Stockholm welcome over 12,000 visitors

February 17, 2014 07:45 PM | ACN

The international expansion of Barcelona-based festival of electronic music, Sónar, continues. The first edition of Sónar Stockholm and the second edition of Sónar Reykjavik have attracted more than 12,000 attendees between them this past weekend. Both festivals have welcomed Nordic and international artists who performed in over 100 concerts on eight different stages. In the Icelandic capital, the festival was held in the Harpa Auditorium, at the very centre of the city. A total number of 8,900 visitors attended at least one of the 70 concerts spread over five stages. On the other hand, 40 concerts were scheduled on three different stages during Sónar Stockholm, which attracted 3,600 people, with several concerts sold out weeks ahead.

Europe’s largest gay and lesbian event ‘Circuit Festival’ begins in Barcelona for the 6th consecutive year

August 9, 2013 09:06 PM | ACN

On Thursday, Europe’s biggest gay and lesbian event started and will receive an incredible 70,000 attendees from 50 countries around the world. The internationally renowned ‘Circuit Festival’, which is in its 6th year, lasts between the 8th and 18th of August, and presents a wide reaching program of cultural, artistic, sporting and party activities. According to the event organisers, 70% of visitors come from abroad and during the 10 -day event they will spend a total of €100 million in Barcelona. Those attending the festival will stay in the Catalan capital for an average of seven days, and it is estimated that each visitor will spend €250 per day.