rock

‘Primavera als Bars’ is a pre-festival date of the city with one of its main music events, the Primavera Sound. This free show will bring 22 international and local music bands to fifteen bars, restaurants and hotels around the city of Barcelona. These concerts kicked off on the 24th of April and will finalize on the 18th of May. All these concerts are free and offer the chance to get to know young local artists like Núria Graham or to international bands such as the Americans Purling Hiss.

The 13th edition of the Festival de Cap Roig will run from the 20th of July until the 16th of August, and it is one of the main milestones of Catalonia’s cultural landscape during the summertime. The music event takes place in the Cap Roig gardens, a green promontory overlooking the sea, located in Calella de Palafrugell, at the centre of the Costa Brava. This year, the budget has been reduced by 20% and the average ticket price will be reduced by 16% due to the economic crisis. The Catalan bands Manel, Gossos, Antònia Font and Blaumut will play at the festival that will be kicked off with a concert by Elton John, making the only stop in Spain of his 'Rocket Man - Greatest Hits Live' tour. Other important artists are Katie Melua, Fito & Fitipaldis, Vicente Amigo, Melendi, Malú, Rosario and Ainhoa Arteta.

Pau Debon, the singer of the band, tells CNA the evolution of the group and how they got here. From Majorca to Catalonia, and later to Galicia and the Basque Country, Catalan-speaking Antònia Font has broken its two-year silence with a new album ‘Vostè és aquí’ (Here you are) and a tour throughout Spain. With a new distinguished style escaping from the stereotyped three minutes and ten-song album, they have experimented with new formats and sounds. Debon assures that after sixteen years together and nine albums, now he would like to play in festivals throughout Europe.

The music festival will celebrate its 13th anniversary with an impressive lineup and the participation of a long-list of prestigious artists. The Primavera Sound Music Festival, which takes place every year in late May in the city of Barcelona, is considered to be one of the best international music events in Southern Europe. It is also one of Barcelona’s musical highlights, along with the Sonar festival in June. This year’s Primavera Sound edition presented what is said to be the best list of participating artists since the beginning of the festival. Indie, rock and electronic music will be the mainstays of the festival.

This weekend, 14,500 people rocked at the Palau Sant Jordi, in Montjuïc, in a charity concert that brought together the most famous Catalan singers and bands. Singer songwriter Lluís Llach interpreted a poem with former F.C. Barcelona Manager, Pep Guardiola, who finished with the verse: “Everything is to be done, and everything is possible”. 20 more artists participated in the concert, which turned into a cry against AIDS and for the independence of Catalonia.

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band offered two three and a quarter hour concerts in Barcelona. In the two consecutive shows, on May 17th and 18th, the American musician changed almost half of the repertoire. Whereas the first performance started with a clear leitmotiv, the economic crisis and its consequences for the working class and middle classes, the second one was more of a dedication to his greatest fans. As he did in other years, The Boss talked in Catalan on some occasions during the concerts.

The Great Escape Music Festival, in the UK, known for its commitment to up-and-coming groups, continues to support bands from Catalonia and other Catalan speaking areas. The latest edition of the festival brought together groups that have already performed over the past three festivals such as Mishima or Manel. This year the organisers also decided to include an exclusive space in the programme for bands from the Balearic Islands.

Pulp, PJ Harvey, Belle & Sebastian, P.I.L, The White Stripes, Interpol, The National, Sufjan Stevens or Nick Cave were some of the participating artists. Barcelona’s indie music festival ended its largest edition with a record audiences, number of concerts and space occupied. The Primavera Sound music festival was held in Barcelona from Wednesday evening until Sunday.

The 2011 edition of the rock-pop festival Primavera Sound will be even bigger with 20,000 square meters more and a brand new bigger and stage. In total there will be 8 simultaneous stages, 2 of them for large concerts.

The pop-rock music festival will use one of its previous locations, the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona’s Montjuïc hill. The most talked about performances from the first round of confirmed acts are Ariel Pink, the Fiery Furnaces, Broadcast and Half Japanese.

The legendry pop punk band from Kansas City played at Badalona?s Sala Estraperlo on Friday night, next to Barcelona. ?Sorry it took us 10 years to come back to Barcelona. We hope it was worth the wait?, said the band?s lead singer, Matt Pryor.

Wilco, Pet Shop Boys and Orbital head a strong line up at the Parc del Fòrum