Music and progressive politics mix in an increasingly corporate environment reports Graham Kirkwood from Primavera Sound 2026 held last weekend in Barcelona

It’s a strange mix Primavera. On the one hand it’s built around a culture of progressive politics, against war, against fascism, for gender equality; on the other, an environment of total corporatism. It seems every part of the festival is sponsored by one corporation or another and over the years this aspect has increased. S.A. Damm, brewer of Estrella Damm beer, are a major sponsor, as are finance giant Revolut. Disney and Levi were there and you could get your hair done on site by Schwarzkopf.

The music continues to be something for everyone. Although not the most radical of festivals, it does promote new artists and an increasing number from Spain and Portugal. The big acts still tend to be from the English speaking world and this year saw The Cure headline along with The XX and Gorillaz.

Einstürzende Neubauten are regular attenders and get better each time. They played indoors this year at the auditorium at the Parc del Fòrum, allowing the audience to appreciate their more delicate sounds along with their trademark heavy percussion. Singer Blixa Bargeld conjures up an atmosphere reminiscent of Kurt Weill.

Kneecap went down a storm. It must be a source of some irritation that following the British state’s attempts to silence them, their popularity and profile are greater than ever. They invited Aarab Barghouti, son of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, to address the crowd on the day of his father’s birthday. Damon Albarn made sure Aarab Barghouti also addressed the huge crowd watching his band Gorillaz.

The musical and entertainment highlight for me was the wonderful Lambrini Girls. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a band enjoy themselves so much on, and off, stage. Their pro Palestine, anti fascist politics blended into the set seamlessly and were well received along with their own mix of feminism and trans activism.

So, it appears that for now at least a section of capital may not be totally sold on the militarisation agenda. There’s still money to be made from peace.