In Spain, in addition to beaches, sun, and good food, there is a wide cultural offer. This also includes music and, of course, festivals. If you are from Spain or you are planning to come, you are in luck! because from TopFestivales we bring you a selection of the best music festivals in Spain. Get ready, because there are festivals for all audiences, tastes and musical genres.
Must-attend: the best music festivals in Spain
To enjoy live music and the concert experience to the fullest, there is nothing like attending a festival. Luckily, in Spain there is a wide range of them. Do you like indie music? Or maybe you're more of a reggaeton fan? But what if you like both, fear not! One of the strong points of some of the festivals we bring you is precisely the eclectic mix of genres. Don't miss any of these festivals!
The best music festivals in Spain are:
- Mad Cool
- Primavera Sound
- Cruïlla Festival
- Starlite Festival
- Resurrection Fest
- Benicàssim International Festival (FIB)
- Reggaeton Beach Festival (RBF)
- O Son Do Camiño
- Bilbao BBK Live
Mad Cool
Mad Cool Festival is, without a doubt, one of the best music festivals in Spain. It emerged in 2015 and has always been held in Madrid: first in the Caja Magica and now in one of the IFEMA facilities.
The festival focuses on indie, rock, pop and electronic music. The festival combines music with other artistic expressions, always enhancing the tourist facet of the city of Madrid.
In its first edition, in 2016, it already had big names in its lineup. Among them The Who, Neil Young, Two Door Cinema Club, Bastille or Vetusta Morla.
Originally, the festival had a duration of three days. It ran from Thursday to Saturday. From 2019, the festival decided to extend its duration, lengthening it to four days: from Wednesday to Saturday.
Primavera Sound
Undoubtedly, the Primavera Sound festival had to appear on the list of the best music festivals in Spain. Primavera Sound is held in the city of Barcelona, but the organizers have announced that, soon Primavera Sound will also be held in Madrid.
The festival is committed to introduce new names of the international independent music but, at the same time, counting with artists who already have a more than consolidated career. Some of these are internationally recognized, such as Arcade Fire, Kendrick Lamar, Pet Shop Boys, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes.
Primavera Sound attendees grow edition after edition. The last one was held in 2019 and the attendance of 220,000 spectators was recorded.
Cruïlla Festival
If we talk about the best music festivals in Spain, we could not miss one of the essential events in the city of Barcelona. The Cruïlla Festival is a 100% Barcelona festival that has been organized since 2005.
Some of the elements that define the Cruïlla festival is the commitment to eclectic sounds from different parts of the world. It does not matter that the line-up is not homogeneous in terms of genres, as Cruïlla wants to offer a mix of styles to learn from each other.
Other activities complement the concerts of the festival. Among them we find a section dedicated to art and another dedicated to comedy. Both have been growing in importance within the festival over the years.
We find among its posters of past editions names like The Black Eyed Peas, Foals, Bastille, Love of Lesbian, Izal, Pet Shop Boys, Two Door Cinema Club or Kylie Minogue.
Starlite Festival
The Starlite Festival is one of the essential dates for festival lovers in Spain. It was born in 2012 and is held every year in the city of Marbella, in the province of Malaga.
It is defined as a boutique festival. This means that festivals like Starlite offer a smaller capacity and quality activities, betting on a personalized experience. For that reason, this festival also focuses on art, cinema, fashion and gastronomy.
Starlite Festival is not organized in the same way as most festivals. At Starlite we find a daily program that lasts for two and a half months during the summer. This makes it the longest festival in Europe.
The Starlite Festival is dominated by national music. Singers such as Raphael, Julio Iglesias, Estopa, Paco de Lucía, Alejandro Sanz, Sergio Dalma, Melendi, C. Tangana and Rosalía have performed at the festival. However, international artists such as Simple Minds, Brian Adams, Kool & the Gang, Pet Shop Boys, Tom Jones, Status Quo or Jason Derulo have also attended.
Resurrection Fest
If you are a fan of punk, metal or hardcore music, you cannot miss Resurrection Fest. This is one of the best music festivals in Spain and the most important in these genres. It is held annually in the Galician town of Viveiro.
It was born in 2006 and, since then, it has been held every summer. In its first edition, admission was free, as the festival was financed with the support of the local government. In 2010 the festival was extended, for the first time, to three days.
Names and bands such as Rammstein, Iron Maiden, The Offstring, Bring Me The Horizon, Bullet for my Valentine, Motörhead, Korn, Megadeth, Slipknot, Kiss, Scorpions or Slayer have passed through the stages of the festival.
Resurrection Fest has become known internationally, as it hosts major rock, metal, punk and hardcore bands. It has become one of the leading festivals of these genres in Europe, gathering more than 80 thousand people.
Benicàssim International Festival (FIB)
Another of the best music festivals in Spain is the Benicàssim International Festival, a must for festival-goers. Also known as FIB, the festival focuses on musical genres such as indie, rock, pop or electronic, but we can find many more.
The festival is known at European level and welcomes many international visitors every year. It is held in the Castellón city of Benicàssim, which also gives its name to the festival. The festival was born in 1995 and has been growing ever since. The festival stands out for betting on innovative groups and singers, something that makes it an eclectic festival. But the festival also welcomes established and recognized names.
Names such as Amy Winehouse, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, Keane, Leonard Cohen, My Bloody Valentine, Mika, Hot Chip, Lou Reed, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Weekend have played on the stages of the Benicàssim International Festival.
Reggaeton Beach Festival (RBF)
If you are looking for a reggaeton festival in Spain, you are in luck! Because the Reggaeton Beach Festival is the most important festival of this genre in the country and in Europe. Also known as RBF, this festival is held in various parts of Spain, so you can choose the location that suits you best.
Barcelona, Madrid, Santander, Benidorm, Mallorca, Tenerife, Marbella, Nigrán, Marina d'Or and Avilés are the places where the RBF is held. This is the largest urban beach festival in Europe and, in all its editions promises to have a great time.
Well-known artists of the genre have stepped on the Spanish stages at the hands of the Reggaeton Beach Festival. Some of them are Nicky Jam, Mike Towers, Anuel AA, Justin Quiles, Jhay Cortez, Manuel Turizo, Lunay or Jay Wheeler.
In this festival, not only concerts of the main names of the current reggaeton are offered, but there are also other activities, water attractions, foodtrucks or shishas.
O son do Camiño
Undoubtedly, one of the best music festivals in Spain is O son do Camiño. It is held in Santiago de Compostela, the Galician capital. The festival lasts three days and hosts a large number of artists. If your tastes dance between reggaeton, urban music, Argentine trap, Spanish indie, English indie, rap or pop, you can't miss this festival.
This conglomerate of genres and artists ranging from international to national, with representatives of Galician folk music is what defines the festival. Well-known names with emerging ones are always the guests at O son do Camiño.
Bilbao BBK Live
On this list of the best music festivals in Spain is the Bilbao BBK Live. It was born in 2006 under the name of Bilbao Live Festival. Since then it has grown to become Bilbao BBK Live. The festival focuses especially on pop, indie, rock (including hard rock) or electronic music.
Among the artists who have taken to the stages of Bilbao BBK Live we find both national and international names. Some of them are Liam Gallagher, Vetusta Morla, The Strokes, Rosalía, Brockhampton, Florence + The Machine, Alt-J, Childish Gambino, The Chemical Brothers, Gorillaz, Depeche Mode, The 1975, The Killers or Two Door Cinema Club.
But concerts are not limited to Bilbao BBK Live, there are other festivals associated with it. These are held at other times of the year so you don't have to wait until summer to enjoy a good festival. These are Hirian, Bereziak, Akelarre, Night & Day and BBKLive Negua, which is held at the Wizink Center in Madrid.
