MUSIC FESTIVALS IN SPAIN

• January

January…The cold but fresh start of the year, opening with 01 New Year’s Day Festival where you can begin the new year dancing to the beat of the freshest tunes in Techno, Electronic and House music. Or if you prefer, Guitar BCN, a smaller but intimate festival can instead offer you a showcasing of the almost all genres of music made with the beloved guitar.

• February

February is perhaps the least busy month in terms of festivals given the cold weather and awkward timing. However Guitar BCN does still perform in this month and is definitely something worth visiting if you enjoy the guitar, so do check their programme for this month and see if there’s something you might want to see.

• March

March…The month where the chill of winter starts to fade away as the blossoms of Spring start to creep in, bringing with it the first kick-start to Spain’s major festival calendar as things get warmer, allowing Spain’s real charm to bloom as Spring break starts for many of you.

This month sees the scene of Electronic, Dance and Techno really starting to liven up as MUTEK Barcelona and Daydream festival enter the calendar alongside Brunch in the City’s first performance of the year.

If you’re into Reggae and Indie music then don’t worry, you’ve got International Dub Gathering and Sansan Festival heading your way, shaking off your chills of winter and firing you up with the warm embrace of music so you can really blossom this Spring.

• April

As Spring starts to settle in and make itself at home, as the reggae of International Dub Gathering ends during the beginning of this month, things open up to some new fresh tunes as new genres now enter the scene.

One of these being Festimad’s impressive Multi-Genre portfolio bringing together Pop, Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop and Indie Rock to Spain’s display of music in Madrid.

As well as this, House music also starts to make an appearance alongside Electronic and Techno at Electrosplash in the ‘City of Arts and Sciences’, Valencia.

• May

As Spring warms up into summer during May as the sun shines brighter with more people hitting the beaches, Festimad’s last performance closes and we enter a new month of musical euphoria.

May sees the entrance of more internationally renowned festivals such as the more Electronic/House Dance focused IMS IBIZA and Spring Break Salou, as well as Mallorca Live Festival and Warm Up Festival’s more Pop and Indie Rock showcasing of talents from across the globe.

As well as this, Love the 90’s starts its tour this month in Madrid and Sevilla for all of you nostalgic fans who can’t get enough of the 90s.

Of course, towards the end of the month comes possibly Spain’s most famous festival presenting a spectacular goodbye to the beauty of spring at Primavera Sound, a multi-genre festival display the absolute best in genres including Indie, Electronic and Hip Hop (amongst others) with their spectacular line-ups.

I live in Barcelona and I gotta say, Primavera Sound was a euphoric experience I will never forget, and neither would anyone who loves music.

• June

June is where Spring blooms into the perfect young summer, presenting Spain in probably its most beautiful light with a charm that never seems fade no matter how long you’re there.

As we start the summer, Spain’s programme of music festivals steps up its game another notch.

Rock giants such as Azkena Rock, Download Festival Madrid and Garage Sound make an entrance alongside electronic behemoths such as A Summer Story and Animal Sound.

In combination with this though, there are also smaller more niche festivals like Blackisback! Weekend for lovers of black soul and funk, as well as Mulafest, a unique garage, indie and electronic festival that is also dedicated to urban art, photography, motor and tattoo art.

Basically, there is a lot of festivals in June from which you can definitely find something to fit your taste which I suggest you check out below.

• July

Now we are happily settled in the heat of Summer with most people in their holidays feeling adventurous and ready to plan their tours across Spain.

As a result, July is also the month packed with the most music festivals in the entire year across the entirety of Spain allowing you to travel across all of spain throughout your tour whilst hitting festival titans at each single stop you make.

Here you have the freedom to hear a lot of the most famous and up-and-coming talents of all genres at the most popular and famous colossal events such Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, Sónar, BBF, Bilbao BBK and Arenal Sound.

To be honest, I could list all of the major festivals that happen during this month for each taste and genre but there are so many during this month that incorporate even more than just an amazing musical programme, such as art exhibitions, gastronomical delights, panels and so much more.

It’s better honestly to just check below and see which festivals are the ones you want see on your tour of Spain in July.

• August

Whilst in August, the beauty and warmth of summers in other countries start to fade away, Spain still remains to be in perfect summer holiday conditions as the charm of summer is something that is often reluctant to leave this paradise of a country.

It makes you forget that Autumn is actually starting to settle in.

As a result of this, August is actually the second most popular month for music festivals as things start to cool down a bit, making it nicer for those who can’t handle the prime-time heat of July (such as myself).

During the beginning of this month, as the titan festival Arenal Sound comes to a close, things open up bright and bombastic with Los Alamos Beach Festival, guaranteed to deliver an exhilarating performance in the Electronic/EDM spectrum of music.

Other big names on the electronic scene I personally find are also amazing are Medusa Sunbeach, Aquasella, as well as Dreambeach Villaricos who also include some more Hardbass and Hardstyle Techno for those of you that are into it or just wanna explore the best that sub-genre has to offer as it blows up the crowd into a dance frenzy.

For those of you into Indie Pop and Indie Rock, you’ve got some great choices I suggest you check out such as Sonorama Ribera, Ebrovision and Gigante.

There’s also Leyendas del Rock if you are more of a Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal kind of person.

What’s also especially interesting in the list of festivals happening in August, leading onto September, is ‘The Ark’.

The Ark is honestly a different class of music festival in which it actually takes place on a massive and lavish cruise ship, voyaging across the western mediterranean setting sail from Barcelona and voyaging to the Balearic Islands and even stopping by the south of France, all whilst hosting the best global talents in Electronic music.

It’s honestly an amazing festival like no other, though accordingly, given it’s also a fully serviced lavish cruise, it’s also quite expensive.

Alongside this there are also the Cap Roig and Starlite festival that host performances of multiple genres and are definitely worth checking out.

Finally, a massive name to look out for in this month is Rototom Sunsplash, a reggae festival showcasing brilliant performances and talents that has thus earned it international renown and has solidified itself as one of Spain’s most famous festivals.

• September

Now in September we are firmly settled in Autumn with the weather settling down to nice comfortable temperatures that are neither hot nor cold for anyone, whilst still maintaining the warmth and charm of the spanish sun.

As The Ark finishes its voyage during the beginning of this month we come to a new range of fun festivals to visit that present fantastic line-ups.

In the realm of Indie and Rock, there is Granada Sound, a more Indie Pop-focused DCODE and a more alternative-focused Donostia Festibala.

In the kingdom of Electronic, House and Techno we instead have Into the Valley and Loveland Festival which take place towards the end of the month.

Last but not least, there is the famed Chanquete World Music Festival that showcases performance of multiple genres from around the world including those such as Hip Hop and Reggae during the middle of the month.

• October

In October the spanish Autumn starts to become more chilled as we inch closer to winter and as a result, the amount of music festivals do start to reduce themselves significantly from this point onwards. But the festivals that do still take place in October are amazing just as well, with no dip in quality at all, allowing you to still enjoy your music festival needs.

A very notable name in October is BIME Live Festival, which is Spain’s largest indoor festival, showcasing multi-genre performances including Rock, Pop, Alternative and Electronic.

Also alongside this is the famous Caravan Sur, an excellent festival taking place in Sevilla with a mesmerising mix of Funk, Reggae, Classic/Latin Rock, Soul and Blues. It’s a mostly local festival in terms of crowd but is an excellent event to experience if you are in or near Sevilla during the beginning of the month.

Alongside this there is also another great reggae and dub festival known as Telerama Dub Barcelona, as well as the famed Akubierto, a performance loved by fans of Rock, Punk and Heavy Metal.

• November

Now in November as we settle into Winter, the amount of music festivals have now reduced significantly as more and more people are reluctant to leave their cozy warm homes to go out into the cold (such as myself).

Though for those of you that aren’t bothered by it, you have the choice of the excellent and honestly stunning Sensation Madrid that blasts the best beats in electronic music whilst also delivering a great visual euphoria of a performance.

It’s honestly one that I’d recommend going to if you’re planning to be in the Spanish capital this month.

On the other hand, if you’re further down south in Sevilla and are a fan of Indie, then I’d definitely push you to check out Monkey Week, a nice and cozy local week of great showcasing of Indie talents amongst a warm crowd.

• December

Finally, we’re at the end of the year now, and after a long and excellent blast of amazing and unforgettable performances with festivals that we got to experience all across the beautiful country of Spain, now things must come to an end, such as all things in life, as we prepare ourselves for the next coming year.

However, luckily we get to have some last final experiences of musical euphoria before the year is over.

The first of these being the last final performance of the amazing tour of Love the 90s, taking place in Bilbao as their final destination, giving you one final show of the nostalgic 90s.

Finally at the end, is DGTL Madrid. For those of you know the famed Dutch roots of DGTL will know that it is a perfect final festival to end the year on as it showcases the absolute best in Electronic House and Techno from the underground, leaving you well satisfied as you finish the year, ready for the next.