Barcelona’s Sónar festival begins this week with an intent to defend its position as one of the world’s best electronic music festivals, with a flurry of structural changes and a quiet mission to shake off the lingering controversy of the 2025 event.
Drawing attendees from Spain, Europe and well beyond, with a heavy contingent of fans coming from the United States, Sónar 2026 starts Thursday (June 18) and continues through Saturday (June 20) with a lineup more than 100 global artists. The bill includes legends like The Prodigy and Skepta, along with rising stars, underground favorites and more commercially known names, with Amelie Lens, Boys Noize, Charlotte de Witte, Sara Landry, Chris Stussy, Kelis, SBTRKT and Sammy Virji all on the bill.
Related
A tastemaker since its 1994 launch, a remit to evolve is baked into Sónar’s stated mission of celebrating the intersection of electronic music, technology and creativity — an assignment both symbolized and taken seriously by the event’s new CEO, François Jozic.
“Sónar is not something frozen in the past,” says Jozic, speaking to Billboard in May from his office in Barcelona. “It must evolve, and it must anticipate new trends. That’s part of the DNA, and I’m trying to combine both. Let’s see what the fan says in June.”
