Review: Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025

One of the most anticipated global events in the festival calendar, last weekend saw the 2025 edition of Primavera Sound Festival unfold in Barcelona. Held from June 5 to 7 at the iconic Parc del Fòrum, this year’s festival not only showcased a diverse array of musical talent but also marked a significant cultural milestone, which for the first time in its history, Primavera Sound featured an all-female headlining lineup, spotlighting trailblazers like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan. Here at Mixtape Madness, we took the short flight from London to Spain to experience the festival in full for a second year running, and here’s what happened inside.

Thursday night. A brilliant first instalment of music, the first set we checked out was Beabadoobee on the Estrella stage. Performing some of her biggest tracks, ‘the perfect pair’, ‘Real Man’ and ‘the way things go’, the Filipino-Brit singer kicked things off in the perfect style. Elsewhere at the Levi’s Plaza – branded ‘a festival within a festival’, Snow Strippers provided a charged-up thirty-minute set of their American electronic sound to a packed out circular auditorium-type stage. 

It was the English post-punk band IDLES, though, that stood out from the rest of the acts throughout the day. Offloading their politically charged set, which was dedicated to Palestine, they got the crowd frenzied, sparking mosh pits and just a tangible energy that set them apart from the crowd. 

As the night drew in, it was time to craft more basslines and introduce the electronic music. Internationally renowned Jamie XX provided an hour-and-a-half set, featuring brain-tickling synths, extended mixes of tracks ‘Gosh’ and ‘Loud Places’, alongside a mixture of belters from his new project, which soundtracked the penultimate set for the headliner. 

And inside Primavera, there was wave upon wave of Charli XCX fans… if you thought the ‘BRAT’ summer culture from last year had ended, you couldn’t be more wrong. The Estrella Damm stage was completely packed with a sea of green, with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan providing an extended two-hour set of their ‘SWEAT’ show, electrifying the festival’s opening night with a high-energy pop spectacle that seamlessly blended club culture with live performance, playing hits such as ‘Von Dutch’, ‘365’ and ‘Rush’.

It was Sabrina Carpenter who headlined Friday night, making her Barcelona debut with a dazzling set that blended 80s-inspired visuals with contemporary pop. Captivating the audience with hits like ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’, she also premiered the first live performance of her new single ‘Manchild’. Despite a few audio issues around the Revolut Stage, her charisma and stage presence shone through, with excellently put-together choreography making the set feel like a complete show.

ANOTR followed Sabrina’s set with an hour and a half of melodic beats and euphoric electronic music on the Estrella Damm stage, before Floating Points performed a live set on the Amazon Stage and 4 am Kru played an electric set at 4 am with their charged-up jungle beats and bass sounds. Post 12pm was dominated by some of the finest artists in world electronic music, with Amelie Lens showcasing her world-famous techno sounds on the Cupra stage to close out the night to 6pm.

As quickly as it all began, the final evening of Primavera Sound Barcelona had arrived – Saturday night. Headlining the night was Chappell Roan, however, there were so many more artists packed on this all-star lineup. Starting the night with Fontaines DC, the Revolut stage was full to the brim with fans of the Dublin-hailing post-punk band who are signed to XL Recordings.

‘Israel Is Committing Genocide, Use Your Voice’ and ‘Free Palestine’ showed on the screen throughout their performance of ‘Bug’, a heavily moving moment that was received extremely well by those in the crowd; Fontaines throughout their set showed exactly why they are on of the best bands in the world right now. Relatable, dynamic, and able to switch up the set tempo from fast to slow, their set was just a joy to watch.

Chappell Roan was next up, and it was safe to say a vast majority of those in the vicinity of the main stage were there for her. However, a sea of costumes wasn’t quite enough to distract many from the fact that the front of the crowd was sitting down for some of the other sets earlier on in the day, which highlighted a lack of crowd etiquette at times. One of the only disappointing things about the festival this year is that the super fans of headliners Charli, Sabrina and Chappell, who in many videos can be seen sprinting to the front barrier to claim a great spot, sat down at the front of the crowd to mark their spots, meaning fans of the acts earlier on were not able to get as close as possible to the action, and make the crowd as lively as it should’ve been. A minor issue within crowd etiquette, the performances were not affected thankfully, and those who were affected still gave everything on stage.

Central Cee followed Chappell Roan, showcasing his versatility and ability to engage a diverse audience, performing a mixture of tracks from ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’ and ‘Wild West’ along with some of his heavily viral tracks with Dave, including ‘UK Rap’ and ‘Sprinter’. However, it was quite clear that putting Central Cee directly after Chappell Roan didn’t neccessarily go in Cench’s favour with the quick turnaround, however kudos to him, the set was electric from start to finish.

Finishing our Saturday at LCD Soundsystem on the Revolut stage, they claimed the spot easily for best act of the night. Instilling a sense of togetherness in their experimental electronic pop music, which has been popular now for two decades, the set felt nostalgic but also loving and electric. ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ was a particular highlight, but the real moment of the night was the last track of the set. 3:05 AM. The one piano arpeggio-type melody on the loop began playing, and ‘All My Friends’ began. A beautiful track to finish off the most amazing weekend of music, LCD Soundsystem completely defined everything great about festivals.

Having been for the past two years, Primavera feels like a festival that just keeps getting better and better; the vibe, atmosphere and feel-good energy seem as though it’s upgraded yet again. Special moments, special memories, special music. Add that to some beautiful weather temperatures and your friends around you, and for the first weekend of June, there truly is no better place to be.