(English) Sónar 2018: making cutting-edge music in Barcelona

Barcelona is art, history, gastronomy and tradition, but it’s also increasingly about music, lots of music. If the city has achieved anything over recent years, it’s to position itself as the hallmark of all things quality music, with the world’s biggest stars all heading here on their global tours and a whole host of amazing festivals held right here in town. There couldn’t be a wider range of musical styles on offer here, with everything from classical to the most cutting-edge. Sónar plays a key role in the latter genre, an international reference-point for advanced music and new media art.

From 14^th to 16^th June, the Fira de Montjuic (Sónar by day) and the Fira Gran Vía de Hospitalet (Sónar by night) stages will be set to once again host a long list of phenomenal music events, all daring, experimenting and constantly seeking new sounds that move away from the established norms. Sónar is all about taking a risk, but a good type of risk.

One of the festival’s many great strengths lies in its ability to bring together successful musicians and their amazing back catalogues with brand-new talent that will be the talk of festival seasons for years to come. This year will see the likes of Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Richie Hawtin CLOSE, Olafur Árnalds, Kode 9, Bonobo, Bicep, Lorenzo Senni, Helena Hauff, Wiley, Black Coffee, John Talabot o DJ Harvey. In total, 150 artists will be part of this musical explosion spread over three intense days.

If anything perfectly sums up Sónar 2018, it’s the rich and diverse line-up that will help this edition go down in history as a new leap in quality, making the event bigger and better than ever. At the same time, this year is a great time for female acts, with the inclusion of scores of amazing women who are very popular on the current advanced musical landscape. Among others, these include FKA Twigs and Róisín Murphy.

It’s a chance for Barcelona to once more showcase its ability to host large-scale events, providing the very best level of service to the thousands of people who’ll come from all over the world to soak up 72 hours of almost uninterrupted music. Once again, the HCC hotel chain can offer guests a wide range of perfectly-located accommodation throughout the city, where you can easily access the two stages where the festival takes place.For those attending Sónar by day, because of its close proximity to events at just 8 minutes’ walk away, we recommend the Hotel HCC Lugano. However, the excellent locations of all HCC hotels make us the greatest option for relaxing in between your days out at the festival. Likewise, our hotels can provide up-to-date information on lots of other fun things you can do in Barcelona to get to know the city and all its hidden treasures, enjoying a wide range of entertainment and dining options with the best Mediterranean cuisine there is.

Barcelona is already gearing up for Sónar and expectations this year couldn’t be higher. Don’t forget, we’re talking about a festival here that has already notched up 22 editions so far, making it an internationally-acclaimed event in the musical calendar. To prove that point, suffice it to say that some of the world’s biggest cities, including New York, London, Buenos Aires, Tokyo and Lisbon are all currently hosting a range of festivals that took their inspiration directly from Sónar in Barcelona.

All that remains is for you to pack your bags and start enjoying this truly amazing line-up that’s full of talent, an event that promises to thrill everyone who’s lucky enough to attend this long-awaited festival. Long live Sónar!

Categories: barcelona