Planning for this year's edition of Primavera Sound was pretty mundane, thankfully. Last year, I wasn't sure about anything due to, you know, circumstances. I did, however, end up being able to book a last minute flight and make it. This year was smooth, and the festival was a riot.
First off, like every festival, you start with the headliners. And what a trio it was. The Powerpuff Girls. Chappell (Blossom), Charli (Buttercup) and Sabrina (Bubbles). These are three of the top tier Pop Girls of right now. They're all different vibes, but I enjoyed each one.
We saw La Casa Azul and Caribou on opening night. If you're not acquainted, the opening night is a free night which is sort of a thank you to the city for letting them put on the festival. Pretty much anyone can go, even if they don't have a ticket for the main days of the festival. In any case, I hadn't heard La Casa Azul before but they seemed pretty cool. Might have to investigate further. Caribou, well, I've seen them a few times. Always great.
Night One Standouts
- Momma. Check out their excellent new album, Welcome to My Blue Sky.
- Magdalena Bay. I fucking love love love them. I saw them touring for Mercurial World a few years ago, and this set and theatrics felt like a huge leap forward. And Imaginal Disk (their newest album) is really fucking good.
- Spiritualized. They played Pure Phase. The whole album. In full. Legendary, y'all.
- Kelly Lee Owens. Killed it. Her album from last year, Dream State, is worth tracking down.
- Charli XCX. Brash, unapologetic and all up in your fucking face. Charli is an immersive experience. BRAT Summer forever.
Night Two Standouts
- Julie Byrne. I love this woman, she's so cool. This was a city gig, we had to go to Sala Apolo to see her and it was totally worth the trek. 10/10 would go again.
- Waxahatchee. I saw her years ago when she was doing that indie rock thing. It seems like she's really hit her stride, and she looks so at ease and confident. Her past couple albums, Tigers Blood and Saint Cloud, are the sound of an artist finding her voice and flexing the shit out of it.
- Wolf Alice. I've heard them before but it didn't really stick. Also, I continually confuse them with Alvvays for some dumb reason. This set made me realize that this is a rock band. It was fun and I really enjoyed it and I'll be giving them another listen.
- Haim. These sisters are fun and super talented. They definitely know how to play to a festival crowd, they don't fuck around.
- Stereolab. Still going strong, they have a new album! Very cool hypnotic space jams.
- Sabrina Carpenter. She's got that Disney-kid training and put on a very kitschy and theatrical set, complete with winks and nods. Great bops (including a cover of It's Raining Men) and a ton of fun.
- Wet Leg. Infectious energy and amusing, tongue-in-cheek wit. Can't wait to hear their new album.
- Floating Points. Chill beats (plus a live art cam) and a cool way to close out the evening at like 5am or whatever time it was.
Night Three Standouts
- Christian Lee Hutson. Nice way to ease into the final day. Acoustic storyteller vibes in that casual, Phoebe Bridgers-observational kinda way. Very good.
- Los Campesinos!. I never got into them, but this was pretty cool and much different than I would have expected. Will definitely have to investigate.
- Chappell Roan. This woman is pure theater. She goes big and hard and one million fucking percent...and the crowd ate it all up. It was like a giant drag show sing-a-long and it was great fun. Super glad I had this chance to see her.
- LCD Soundsystem. Might be the best live band out there right now. There are so many moving parts, but they make it seem so effortless, casual and cool as fuck. The cherry on top was finally getting to hear them play North American Scum, my fave LCD song which I hadn't heard live before. If you're not jumping around by the time they get to All My Friends, then I don't even know what you're doing there.
So, until next year...
