Staged Haze Takes Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025: Our Recap

This year saw the twenty-sixth edition of Spain’s Primavera Sound festival. The festival, which started as a showcase for Spain’s avant-garde noise scene, has grown to amplify artists across a variety of genres, from musicians in the nascent stage of their career, to more stories acts like LCD Soundsystem, TV On the Radio, and Floating Points. In its twentieth edition, the festival was headlined by pop music’s three biggest players, Charli XCX & Troye Sivan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan and Staged Haze’s Ilana Michelle Carmi and Jesse Roth were on site to report on it.

THURSDAY

Beabadoobee

Photos by Karen Lopez for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Jesse: I saw Beabadoobee at Central Park SummerStage last year, so I was especially excited to catch her again. This time, the stage setup was more minimal—just a few hanging lights, some floor lamps, and a single small tree—but it suited the dreamy mood of her set. Styled by Guess, she looked adorable in a very Y2K-inspired outfit, perfectly echoing the nostalgic vibe of her latest album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves. She opened with “California,” which felt like it was just for me—maybe because I’m from Los Angeles and still get sentimental any time it comes up in a song. I couldn’t take my eyes off her guitarist, who was wearing a shirt that read “I Am Everything.”

Ilana: No one enjoyed her set more than the two best friends in classic festival attire dancing and singing all the words together. It was extremely touching and was the perfect demonstration of how to be at a festival in your 20s.  

Jamie xx 

Photos by Christian Bertrand for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Ilana: Jamie’s festival presence is so powerful an audience member may not realize that he hasn’t spoken a word to the crowd. His set began seamlessly with a “Dafodil” intro leading into “Wanna.” The transcendence of the music itself was more powerful than the edible I took and powerful enough to enrapture the VIP section on the opposite side of the stage. By the time Jamie arrived at his massive hit, “Gosh” from his first album In Colour, every one was at the whim of every kick of the beat. To the dismay of his Primavera spectators, his set had to end but he chose a circuitous finale with “Baddy on the Floor,” the lead single from In Waves. 

FKA Twigs

Photos by Clara Orozco for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Jesse: FKA Twigs was on our list, but I hadn’t really thought about what to expect from her set—and maybe that’s why it ended up being such a standout. She was absolutely mesmerizing. The performance had everything: pole-dancing, voguing, swordplay, costume changes, wigs. It felt like performance art in the best way—hypnotic, theatrical, and totally unpredictable. Seeing it live, it really hit me how referential Eusexua was—it felt like an ode to Ballroom and stripping. She clearly has both the knowledge and the talent, and she approaches it all with so much respect for the art. On top of that, her voice was stunning. The control she has and the notes she can hit live genuinely made my jaw drop multiple times. 

Ilana: One of the most exciting surprises from this set was the unexpected performance of my favorite CAPRISONGS track, “papi bones.” Apart from that her set had a very clear narrative, divided in two three acts, Act I: Practice, Act II: State of Being Perfect, and the final, Act III: The Pinnacle. Eusexua, a fabricated state of being which could very easily be a vapid marketing ploy morphs into its own life form in the mind and body of FKA Twigs. Eusexua is it’s own sexuality and it’s own artistic movement.

Charli xcx and Troye Sivan

Jesse: Since Ilana and I had ventured to Philly to see the Sweat Tour last year, we knew what to expect—but that didn’t make it any less exciting. The show is so well-constructed, with Troye and Charli switching off every few songs in a way that keeps the energy high and the pacing tight. Troye’s smooth vocals and fluid choreography perfectly balance Charli’s raw fierceness and undeniable star power. Seeing it in a festival setting, surrounded by thousands of people dressed to theme and fully living their best lives, made it feel even bigger and more joyful.

Ilana: Definitely, very clearly polished but at the same time it’s always so evident how strong the friendship is and how much fun they have touring together. Always a super fun show with sexual tension and choreography.

FRIDAY

Wolf Alice

Photos by Sergio Albert for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Ilana: I really appreciated Primavera’s eclecticism when it came to booking top tier acts in a variety of genres that are maybe not the most ubiquitous. Wolf Alice is a band I’ve been a fan of since my 20s but I had never had the opportunity to see them live. The group at this point is such a well-oiled machine and their interaction on stage can only happen so fluidly because of how polished they are at what they do. Lead singer, Ellie Roswell, is a powerhouse with a vocal range I don’t see highlighted enough. In the same breath that she performs an aggressive anthem, she can shift to a treacly, sweet ballad. While she does most of the vocals, it still feels like the rest of the band members, Jeff Oddie (guitar), Theo Elise (bass), Joel Ames (percussion), and Ryan Malcom (keys), are all equally holding the cheer pyramid together. Their set was a perfect illustration of talent and sportsmanship.

Jesse: We were both sort of taken with how hot the entire band is…it seems all the best and sexiest acts at the festival are British, hmm….

HAIM

Photos by Gisela Jané for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Jesse: I insisted we get to the ground-level VIP section early so we could camp out behind the barricade—Haim is one of my all-time favorite bands, and I wasn’t about to watch their set from the sidelines. I know every single song by heart, and since I once met them in a J.Crew in Los Angeles, I like to think we’re basically homies. Their set covered most of their biggest hits, along with the singles from their upcoming album I Quit, out June 20. One standout moment came during “Relationships,” when the sign onstage flashed what seemed to be real-life breakup stories submitted by fans—raw, emotional, and totally gutting. If that song is any indication, this album is going to wreck me in the best way. 

Ilana: If Haim is not already in the wax museum they need to be and they need to specifically use Este’s bass face. I have never seen such a unapologetic and unself-conscious demonstration of passion. Bravissima!

Sabrina Carpenter

Photos by Sharon Lopez for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Ilana: Sabrina’s irreverent humor is a perfect contrast to her saccharine and tongue-in-cheek image. I loved the retro commercial interstitials in between songs, another layer of creativity and dynamism to her set. She’s a really strong vocalist in addition to being one of our biggest pop-stars—the hard work she’s put in over the years to get here was very obvious.

Jesse: I was so excited that after what felt like years of watching TikToks from the Short n’ Sweet tour, we were finally getting to see it live. The timing couldn’t have been better—Sabrina had just announced her new single, “Manchild,” and I had a feeling we’d get to witness the first-ever performance (we did)! She looked incredible in a sparkly blue custom Loewe jumpsuit with her name across the front, and wore her hair in soft curls that gave the whole look a playful, retro feel. My favorite moment of the set, though, might have been her surprise cover of “It’s Raining Men.” It was campy, fun, and totally in line with the cheeky pop persona she’s leaned into lately.

Wet Leg

Photos by Christian Bertrand for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Ilana: I’m a newer Wet Leg fan and I’m so glad we were able to catch their set. What an electric performance. Not unlike the range demonstrated by Wolf Alice’s Ellie Roswell, Rhian Teasdale also has an expansive range. While my knowledge of hardcore music is close to zero, one of my favorite moments of their set was when they played their older hit “Ur Mum,” an aggressive, angry onslaught targeted at an ex-boyfriend. You could feel the glee in long time fans to be on the receiving end of their brief return to an older form.

Jesse: I’m so glad I finally got to see the songs “Wet Dream” and “Chaise Lounge” performed live—the “rock chick energy” as I like to call it was palpable and infectious. Their sound was tight, their stage presence was effortlessly cool, and the crowd was fully locked in. It was such a fun, high-energy way to end the night. I left feeling even more excited for their upcoming album, moisturizer, out July 11.

Saturday

Fontaines D.C.

Photos by Eric Pamies for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Jesse: I was really excited to see Fontaines D.C., a band from Dublin who, to me, feel like a modern-day Oasis with the urgency and political edge of The Clash, plus echoes of classic Irish acts like U2. I’ve been loving their new album Romance, and I had a feeling their sound would hit especially hard in a festival setting—and it did. I think it was perfect that they played right before Chappell Roan—it meant a lot of people who may not have been familiar with them got a chance to be pulled into their world.

The song I was most looking forward to, “It’s Amazing to Be Young,” totally delivered live, but the moment that stuck with me most was their performance of “Favourite,” which is my favorite song of theirs—it hit me in all the right ways. They also made a powerful political statement during their set, displaying a Palestinian flag and showing “Free Palestine” on the screens. It wasn’t the only mention of Gaza during the weekend, but it was one of the most visually striking, adding a sense of urgency and solidarity to an already electric performance.

Aminé

Photos by Gisela Jané for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Ilana: After seeing Aminé several times over the past decade, I expected to feel familiar (no pun intended) with what to expect on stage. As he took the stage, I was reminded at how shocked I feel that he isn’t “bigger.”. He blazed through an array of hits from Good For You, to ONEPOINTFIVE and Limbo, and the more recent projects TWOPOINTFIVE, KAYTRAMINE, and 13 Months of Sunshine. His stage presence is inimitable, always accompanied by his longtime DJ Madison LST. He stayed true to his on-stage tradition of the call and response in which he shouts “You’re Beautiful” to the audience and they respond with “I Know.” This could so easily feel like pandering from a less sincere audience, but it’s obvious with every song and ever performance how much care and intention Aminé puts into his career. He’s in it for both a good time and a long time. Lufthansa also lost his luggage so I do hope he got that back expeditiously.  

Jesse: This was definitely the set we were most excited for. I didn’t expect to be so obsessed with Aminé’s new album 13 Months of Sunshine, but I’ve easily listened to it over a dozen times at this point. His live energy is just as fun and magnetic as the music itself. We were surrounded by a group of British girls who went wild with us for “Vacay,” and the whole set felt like a party.

Photos by Clara Orozco for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Ilana: This set has decimated my eloquence. All I can think of is SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!!!! CHILLS!!!!!! THE DRAMA THE DRAG!! THE SET DESIGN!!!!!!!!! THE CROWD!!!!!! It is so clear Chappell was meant for this path. It is inspiring for any artist who is plagued with overpowering self-doubt. It’s almost inconceivable to picture a world without Chappell Roan. God forbid she didn’t share her art with this world. A world without The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess would be grim beyond what we already know of this current global landscape. Thank heavens we at least have her music.

Jesse: The whole thing was giving storybook fairytale realness! It looked like the castle stage design might have been Gaudi inspired? Chappell came out dressed like a butterfly. Highlight for me was when she covered Heart’s iconic song “Baracuda.” After seeing Chappell’s quick rise to fam and the historic crowds she has had at festivals in the past, I honestly felt honored being in that crowd. Watching however many thousand people do the “Hot To Go” dance or screaming Chappell’s hit song “Pink Pony Club” was so special and a moment I’ll never forget.

Confidence Man

Photos by Clara Orozco for Primavera Sound Barcelona

Jesse: I wanted to make sure I caught at least a little bit of Confidence Man’s set—mainly because I love their song “Don’t You Know I’m In a Band.” They didn’t end up performing it, but I didn’t even mind. The Australian electro-pop group—who, fun fact, started making music as a joke—put on one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend. The band is made up of four members: front duo Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, who sing and dance their way through the show with total commitment, and two masked instrumentalists who stay in the background, keeping the beats going in total anonymity. Sugar Bones was shirtless, and Janet Planet wore a bra and short skirt—both looked incredible and radiated pure star power. Their set was a nonstop spectacle of choreography, absurdity, and controlled chaos. It was campy, over-the-top, and completely unforgettable.

Ilana: It was hot and fun. 

Words by Ilana Michelle Carmi and Jesse Roth.

View all of Staged Haze’s festival coverage here.