Sonar Electronic Music Festival

About Event

The date of the event is unique for each year. In 2021, the date is June 17.

Sonar Electronic Music Festival (Sonar) is an annual international music festival that traditionally takes place in June in Barcelona, Spain. It is one of the biggest electronic music events on the planet and a famous brand of Barcelona.

Held annually since 1994, Sonar is a three-day festival that begins in mid-June, on a Thursday, and ends on the weekend. And the music is played for three days and three nights. It is worth noting that Sonar is not only a festival of extended electronic music and multimedia art, but also a forum for contemporary art.

During its existence, it has become a living legend. Progressive musicians and DJs, world-famous stars of electronic music come here, and thousands of fans of electronic dance music “light up” day and night, watch audio-visual installations, DJ-sets, performances of musical groups and artists. An invaluable advantage of the festival is that it takes place in such a beautiful and comfortable city like Barcelona. The local Mediterranean coloring gives the event a unique holiday atmosphere.

Sonar’s program offers the public a huge number of concerts and performances, where the main direction is electronic music. It has a wide scope and stylistic diversity and presents the latest trends in such different directions as electronica, hip-hop, house, electro-pop, electro-jazz, micro-house, digital concretism. The festival program also includes DJ performances, film screenings, conferences, exhibitions, master classes…

Traditionally, the festival is divided into two parts. Sonar by Day takes place at the Santa Monica Contemporary Arts Center complex. It’s daytime concerts, mostly by emerging musicians and young bands, coming here for fresh vibes and new names. There are also daytime exhibitions, conferences, movies, fashion shows and video installations. There’s also a music fair featuring records and CDs, instruments and electronic paraphernalia. Of course, you can try everything in action, buy it here and even get a master class from a famous disc jockey or musician.

Sonar by Night takes place at venues outside the city so as not to disturb the locals. These are night raves with the most famous DJs and bands. It is at night when the real fun and extravaganza of the festival begins – it’s just a real electronic madness, when thousands of young people “break away” to the music.

Musicians and DJs participating in the festival over the years include Orbital, Grace Jones, Vincent Gallo, Animal Collective, Fever Ray, Richie Hawtin, Crystal Castles, Scroobius Pip, Alva Noto, Underworld, Aphex Twin, Human League, Dizzee Rascal, Cut Copy, James Murphy, Chris Cunningham, Boys Noize, Four Tet, Kathy B, Global Communication, Cyclo, Trentemøller, A-Trak, Annie Mac, Hype Williams, Little Dragon, Mary Anne Hobbs, Janelle Monae, Tom Krel, Bjorn Torske and others. Famous musicians from the U.S., Japan, Britain, Russia and other countries, and, of course, many local performers come here.

Concert venues, where the festival program takes place, are more than 10,000 square meters of space, including indoor and outdoor venues, where day and night DJs perform simultaneously and concerts cover a wide range of dance music. Guests of the festival have the opportunity to discover the most innovative and amazing samples of electronic music from different countries.

In general, Sonar’s cultural program extends far beyond the festival framework. In the clubs, bars and beaches of the city and its nearest suburbs, there are all kinds of parties and patios. In addition to the musical delights, you can go swimming on the beaches of Barcelona or wander around this beautiful city.