Loverboy became a Primavera Sound stan account back when we attended our first edition in the Summer of 2017. Since then we have seen the festival experiment, explore and evolve into being the most diverse festival in Europe. Reflected in both the lineup and the crowd’s lewks, the festival takes place in the Catalan Capital, Barcelona, consistently voted one of Europe’s most gay-friendly cities.
Last year Loverboy lived for the choreo of K Pop acts like Red Velvet & Perfume, before watching Rosalía rompiendo el escenario and seeing the sun rise with the sounds of Jayda G. There is always something for everyone and with Troye Sivan, Lana Del Rey, Ethel Cain and SZA playing this summer, it would seem we’ll be experiencing the dream Sad Gay Summer. Oh and did we mention there is a free day open to everyone with headliners Phoenix and Stella Maris, stars of Los Javis’ latest series, La Mesías?!
Kicking off in just three months, 29th May, the festival will first take over the city with the Ciutat shows, giving you the chance to catch bigger (and smaller) artists play at some of the more intimate venues across the capital, like our Italians Do It Better parents, Johnny Jewel and Desire.
To find out more about this year’s edition, Loverboy spoke with Marta Pallarès, Primavera Sound’s Head of Press about the eclecticism of the festival and how the team ensures it remains a safe space through it’s protocol, Nobody Is Normal.
Marta, Primavera Sound 2024 has officially been crowned the year of the Sad Gay Summer. How do you feel about this?
Bring it on! Haha…It is true that we have quite a good representation of artists for you to be crying to this summer. If you are looking for Sad Gay Summer you are going to find it. But also if you want a Dark Berlin Techno Summer, probably you will find that too. It’s like a Pick your own Adventure.
Who are you personally excited for this year?
Troye Sivan. We all know his clips are full of people, dancing, energy. So I am very curious to see how he brings his show to the stage. Someone here said to me, ‘Troye Sivan is the biggest star we have playing this year’, thinking about now but also looking to the future. But equally if I was sixteen years old now, I would absolutely be locked up in my room listening to Ethel Cain, screaming ‘I’m fine’ at my parents but being most definitely not. Haha…I really want to see Lana too. Charli XCX comes every single time but always delivers something different. When she works on a new record, she is always thinking about how to put all that on the stage.
Talking about transitioning to a live stage, we are very intrigued to see Stella Maris!
I can’t wait. Have you seen the show they are from, La Mesías? I loved it. Los Javis were behind it and Hidrogenesse added the songs. Stella Maris will be playing the free day which is actually something I want to stress because it is available to everybody!
Stella Maris will blow the minds of our international friends travelling in for the festival.
It’s going to be so good. We actually say that a perfect day at Primavera Sound should have four elements. First, you will see your favourite artists play. Second, you will discover an act there that will become your next favourite artist. Third you will see someone that challenges you. It could be Stella Maris or extreme death metal but it will be amazing. Then the fourth thing is a crazy memory you make dancing with strangers or maybe even alone. This is what we have in mind when creating our lineups.
How does it work for Primavera Sound when thinking of LGBT representation in the lineup?
We don’t count a percentage on sexual orientation but we do on gender balance and now we have included non-binary artists into that. Our Anti-Sexual Assault protocol Nobody is Normal has a big rainbow flag around the lettering. We wanted it to be a protocol to respect and rejoice all bodily expressions. The festival is a place for transgression. You should be safe, happy and free to express yourself however you want. Normal does not exist.
In fact I was actually asked to speak about Nobody Is Normal at British Parliament last year. They were conducting an inquiry about misogyny in music. We were the only non-British people asked to speak and I was discussed the Live Music sector. I spoke about the gender balance we have had in constant effect since 2019 and how our anti-sexual harassment protocol is not only to protect women but also a little wider.
It’s so obvious how comfortable and safe the community feel at Primavera Sound. You can see it in the looks the crowd wear every year. Seeing them is one of the festival highlights for us.
Absolutely. Last year a good friend of mine came for Rosalía and he was totally dressed up Rosalía-style with crazy nails, sequins and glitter. I loved it and he was just one of hundreds. Portishead’s Geoff Barrow even tweeted in 2019 that he had never seen such a diverse crowd at a festival.
Right and that diversity is a reflection of the great work you do with the lineup.
Thank you. I say this as a Music Journalist but Music Journalism’s role as curator is sadly less relevant now. I feel terrible about that. Actually as festivals, we feel that we are the curators. We really enjoy putting a spotlight on the smaller artists in the fourth or fifth rows. When people prepare for Primavera Sound, they do their homework first, listening to all the artists.
This year we have an extreme metal Belgian band called Wiegedood coming. The name literally translates as ‘cot death’ and one of their videos is full of cockraoches. Watching it made my skin crawl, but it made me think, ‘You know what? Now I actually need to go see them.’ Someone can take all that pain and sorrow and make music out of that. I’m in!
Lastly we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001 so we need to ask, is there a chance Mariah could ever come play Primavera Sound?!!!!
You would need to make a big, big, big Christmas wish for that.
Primavera Sound is 29th May – 2nd June. Tickets are onsale now.
For more info on the festival and also it’s free day see www.primaverasound.com
