Five acts to catch at Sónar 2019

Slotting neatly into the global events calendar just six weeks after Primavera Sound, Barcelona’s Sónar proves exactly why Spanish festivals currently reign supreme. Returning for their 26th(!) year, Spanish music lovers are soon to be blessed with the electronic festival that goes by the slogan ‘Music, Creativity & Technology’, (all of which it has in heaps, and has certainly not gone undelivered in the past).

This year, Sónar spans the third weekend of July with an impressive lineup that will give any regular festivalgoer a serious case of FOMO. With that in mind, here are the weekend’s must-sees…

Just in case you’re yet to be acquainted with his colourful beats, Manchester-based polymath Murlo has a strong penchant for icy synths and neon sounds. His coveted live set takes place at the Sónar Lab, complete with his self-drawn visuals that melt with his tracks to create an unmissable experience.

Related: The graphic novels, books and non-fiction that inspired Murlo’s ‘Dolos’

Cutting her teeth in the London music scene, Brazil-born Lyzza will be offering up some eclectically ethereal beats at Sónar 2019. Her Latin-inspired tracks such as ‘Talk Ur Talk’ and ‘Girls R Us’ often feature her own vocals, making for some unique floor-fillers guaranteed to make you rumba.

Of course, any festival lineup isn’t complete without Dan Snaith in one of his many incarnations. This time, we’re lucky enough to be in the presence of his Daphni alias. Both you and I already know he’s a genius, so we’re sure to be in good hands. The festival’s 2017 edition saw him play a head-bopping, foot-stomping set alongside Hunee, and is right on track for the same reactions this year.

Any Barcelona-based festival wouldn’t be complete without a home-grown hero like Bad Gyal (who, alongside Rosalía, is currently repping Catalan culture internationally). Her music is the Rosetta Stone to a multi-national audience, switching between Spanish, English, and Catalan. She’s sure to be claiming her homecoming crown next weekend, promising an energetic set with some of her biggest crowds to date.

If you want to witness the Spanish equivalent of a crowd reacting to Skepta at Wireless, Bad Bunny is your guy. He’s one of the biggest names in Spanish music right now, and his bombastic mix of reggaeton and hard-hitting trap are enough to turn the Pope into Pablo Escobar.

Find tickets for Sónar 2019 here.