Tame Impala and Gorillaz join King Gizzard and more as Primavera Sound 2021 readies its lineup

Following the cancellation of Primavera Sound 2020 and the announcement its accompanying conference Primavera Pro would move online, today Primavera Sound Barcelona is gearing up for 2021, by announcing the first 100 acts set to play what will now be the festival’s 20th anniversary event.

The event will take the #bestfestivalforever theme that the 2020 event was supposed to have, and the lineup will be a mix of acts that were due to play the event this year, and new acts who are sure to bolster excitement for the 2021 festivities, due to take place from June 2nd to 6th, 2021.

Among the new acts set to play are Australia’s Tame Impala, Gorillaz, Jorja Smith, Jamie xx, FKA twigs and Charli XCX. They join artists like Iggy Pop, Beck, The National, Tyler, The Creator, The Strokes, Pavement, Bad Bunny, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Bikini Kill, who have all reconfirmed their presence.

Tickets will go on sale on June 3rd, and exchanges and refunds for 2020 ticket holders will also commence at that time.

Meanwhile, the event’s first ever expansion into North America – Primavera Sound Los Angeles, which had not yet announced its lineup but was due to take place in September 2020, has been moved to 18-19 September 2021. Nine Inch Nails were expected to take part in that event.

The full statement from Primavera Sound organisers can be found below, and the full lineup is at primaverasound.com.

First of all, thank you. The entire Primavera Sound team would like to acknowledge that we really appreciate all the messages of support, for the understanding and encouragement that we have received over the past few weeks. These are hard times for everyone and to feel that so many people are looking forward to collective events like our festival pushes us to work with more passion than ever towards the week of June 2nd to 6th, 2021, when the next edition of Primavera Sound Barcelona will take place. To liven up the wait and with the aim of shining a little light on these times, today we are announcing the first 100 names that will shape the Primavera Sound Barcelona 2021 line up, the 20th anniversary of Primavera Sound.

THE FESTIVAL THAT WE OWE OURSELVES

Whoever said that the second chances are never good did not imagine that we would experience something like what is happening this 2020. With the whole world on pause due to the evolution of the global pandemic and with the live music sector holding its breath facing a summer without festivals, we can only look forward: towards 2021, specifically, the year in which we are going to recover everything that will be pending from 2020. So, we are especially proud to announce that the first names in the Primavera Sound Barcelona 2021 lineup feature a majority of artists who reconfirm their presence at the festival as well as the occasional very special new addition. A first selection of artists that condenses the spirit of the festival for an edition that is as long awaited as this 20th anniversary edition is, and that will be updated soon with new names, both from the 2020 lineup and new surprises. There is no doubt: in 2021, Primavera Sound will still be Primavera Sound.

It will still be a festival with no small print committed to both the world hip-hop titan Tyler, The Creator and the budding British earthquake Little Simz; to The Strokes living their second youth thanks to The New Abnormal and Fontaines D.C. as the standard bearers of a new generation of incendiary guitars; to the superstar Bad Bunny who this year has already released not one but two new albums and Bad Gyal who takes giant steps forward with each new song she releases; to Pavement, who will delay their long-awaited reunion to premiere it at the festival, and to Bikini Kill, who will help us to let off steam with their riot grrrl ferocity; to the elusive Chromatics returning after a long absence; to the rapper of the moment Young Thug and to the future urban Latin empress Paloma Mami; to the virtual superband Gorillaz visiting us for the first time; to FKA twigs after signing one of the best albums of last year and to Jamie xx on his journey through the depths of dance music; to the R&B star Jorja Smith and the pop revolutionary Charli XCX; to Tame Impala once again, this time with the suggestive songs of their new album The Slow Rush and to the explosive IDLES, who will return to the festival after having set it on fire in 2018 flying the flag of rock as an act of resistance. Primavera Sound is committed to all of them, and we will continue to fight for them all.

It will still be a legendary festival. Because a festival doesn’t get to 20 years old without a constellation of names that form a unique and irreplaceable universe of its own. Be they universal legends like the eternal Iggy Pop, the resurrection of the gothic icons Bauhaus, the great lady of Catalan song Maria del Mar Bonet or the first appearance of Beck at the festival, or familiar legends of the house like Shellac, always Shellac, and the usual suspects The National, Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr, The Jesus and Mary Chain (playing Darklands) or local band Manel who will all help us to give the meeting that anniversary vibe. They won’t be alone: the post-hardcore idols Jawbox, the veteran grindcore turbine Napalm Death, and the exponentially triumphant hip hop duo Freddie Gibbs & Madlib will expand the classical stylistic palette alongside legends in the making such as the crooner of darkness King Krule, Caribou and their emotional electronic music (can’t do without them), the psychedelic drive of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard or the solo project by Jehnny Beth of Savages. Legends of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

It will still be a festival in the present and the future tense. No matter what year it is: the Jamaican artist Koffee will carry on fighting for the reggae throne, Amaia will make us all mellow with her pop hits, unrepentant experimenter Earl Sweatshirt will carry on doing his thing in the world of rap, Caroline Polachek and Hannah Diamond’s pop will still sound ultra-futuristic, Duki will still be the kingpin of Argentinian trap and Shame will still leave their mark with their stark post-punk. 2021 will also sound like Rina Sawayama’s new polymorphic pop, like the communal anthems of Carolina Durante, the soul with a message by Jamila Woods and the dreamlike adventures of Helado Negro. As always, here and now.

It will still be a challenging festival. Where else could such inspiring and differing proposals coincide? Einstürzende Neubauten, the sound performance of the pioneer Jordi Valls and his project Vagina Dentata Organ, 100 gecs with their electronic music from the Matrix, electroacoustic experimentation from AEAEAE by Nicolas Jaar and Patrick Higgins, minimalist rockiness with traditional Southeast Asian folklore by OM, BigKlit’s knife-wielding flow, Autechre as ambassadors of IDM, the insane labyrinths by black midi, happy hardcore from Gabber Modus Operandi or the Dominican proto-trap crew Los Hijos de Yayo, who will be the guests of another addict to permanent challenge, Yung Beef. Keen on risk, always.

It will still be a party. Let that be clear. Although the premise is the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Primavera Sound, it is obvious that the 2021 edition will be something more. Much more. It will be the collective reunion two long years after the last time, and it reassures us to know that it will be energized by the long-awaited comeback of Disclosure, by the uncomplexed fun of the hip hop collective Brockhampton, Metronomy with their infinite dance, C. Tangana in his capacity as a pop for the masses idol, the Brazilian drag star Pabllo Vittar, the tireless Black Lips and Les Savy Fav, the cumbia mobile disco of Sonido La Changa, the queen of bounce Big Freedia, the reggeaton entente Sangre Nueva made up by DJ Florentino, Kelman Duran y DJ Python and by the master classes behind the decks from Special Request, Fatima Yamaha and Leon Vynehall for when you still want more. And if you do, there will still be the first edition of Brunch -On The Beach on Sunday, June 6th, 2021, also with its confirmed big names: the Disclosure DJ set, techno goddess Nina Kraviz, the lively Amelie Lens and the South African DJ Black Coffee.

The countdown starts with this first announcement of more than a hundred names, which will be completed over the next few months to shape the definitive lineup for our 20th anniversary. Let’s synchronize our watches: there are exactly 371 days left until Primavera Sound Barcelona 2021. The festival that we owe ourselves. The #bestfestivalforever.

TICKET SALES INFORMATION

All tickets purchased for Primavera Sound Barcelona 2020 are valid for the 2021 edition.

From Wednesday 3rd June at 12 midday tickets for Primavera Sound Barcelona 2021 will go on sale for 165 €* on DICE. VIP full festival tickets will also go on sale for 400 €* and the full festival tickets in installments on Festicket.

*Distribution fees not included

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROCEDURE FOR EXCHANGES AND REFUNDS

On Wednesday, June 3rd, the procedure for exchange and refund of tickets will open for all those who have a full festival ticket or a day ticket for Primavera Sound Barcelona 2020. All buyers will receive an e-mail today outlining the details and all the available options.

Those of you who bought physical tickets can contact us at [email protected] to get information about the advantages of keeping your ticket and the procedures to donate your ticket or get a refund.

Primavera Sound would like to express their gratitude for the renewed commitment of their strategic partners, Heineken, SEAT and Pull & Bear, as a fundamental part of the continuity of the festival in the face of the challenges posed by the current scenario. And also, of course, for the support from adidas Originals as well as from Desperados, Aperol and Lotus. Now more than ever, we need them to undertake our most ambitious festival and to celebrate these 20 years of music together.

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.