Last night, Barcelona’s most prestigious festival, Primavera Sound, announced its complete 2015 lineup. To the already confirmed The Strokes and Ride’s highly awaited reunion show they added a glut of names that defy belief. Ranging from the up-and-coming (Kelela) to the legendary (The Replacements!), Primavera pretty much has all bases covered: there’s the indie-flavored quasi-mainstream artists you’d expect to headline this type of event (The Black Keys, Alt-J, Damien Rice, Belle and Sebastian), big names from the not-so-distant past (Interpol, Panda Bear, Spiritualized, Fucked Up), very current “hot items” (Run the Jewels, Caribou, Sleater-Kinney, Sun Kil Moon), nostalgia acts/assorted reunions (The Church, OMD, Cinerama, Babes in Toyland), idiosyncratic pop auteurs (James Blake, Antony and the Johnsons), old and reliable weirdos (Einstürzende Neubauten, Swans, Sunn O))), Ariel Pink), emo founding fathers (American Football, Mineral — looking at you /mu/), and even a couple of representatives from so-called world music (Tony Allen, Les Ambassadeurs). You can check the whole lineup below.
Perhaps Southern Europe’s finest musical gathering, Primavera Sound has been known for welcoming an insultingly eclectic gamut of styles, offering simultaneous nonconflicting experiences to very different publics. The same festival that lets you catch Electric Wizard, Earth, and Pallbearer also has Perfume Genius, Roman Flügel, Tune-Yards, Patti Smith, and Tyler, the Creator in store. Mind we’re not talking about mammoths à la Coachella or Glastonbury; Primavera still is an urban, fairly mid-sized event. How they do it is anyone’s guess, but these guys could probably cook up a deal that finally brought peace to the West Bank. They might be behind the recent US-Cuba talks, I tell you.
As if slapping you with a lineup this caliber wasn’t enough, Primavera is turning fifteen this year; a symbolic passing-into-womanhood age akin to the Anglo-Saxon ‘sweet sixteen.’ Last night they revealed the festival’s lineup at a party where Cinerama played an exclusive show, but a mariachi band — a staple of ‘quinceañeras’ — showed up too. So be prepared for more Primavera-related surprises, or at the very least to review your definition of “embarrassment of riches,” in weeks to come.
Primavera Sound takes place in Barcelona from May 25 to 31.
• Primavera Sound: http://primaverasound.com