The Prodigy finally make their debut at Sónar on Saturday

The UK group first gatecrashed the UK rave scene in 1991 with tracks like ‘Charly’ and ‘Everybody In The Place’. Three years later, the first edition of Sónar was held. However, the paths of the legendary rave crew and the Barcelona festival have never crossed… until now.  This year both The Prodigy and Sónar both make up for lost time, with their explosive live act set to headline the festival’s biggest stage, SonarClub, on Saturday 20th June.   

With a new album set to drop, Skepta headlines on Friday

The artist who took grime global returns to Sónar seven years after his last appearance. The British rapper will - in what is essentially world premiere - perform tracks from his eagerly-awaited forthcoming album Fork & Knife, due out later this year. Barcelona is gearing up for one of grime’s most brilliant lyricists (and most underrated producers) to shake SonarClub to its foundations

Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens lead a new generation of techno

The first performs on Friday with a freshly-announced audiovisual show: The Resistance; while the second appears on Saturday with her first major AV show, which she’s been developing over the past year. But Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens are just two of the names ushering in a new era of techno. They’re joined by US artist Sara Landry - with another AV show - plus sets by rising stars and established selectors like Daria Kolosova, DJ Gigola, Ciara Cuvé, SALOME, Akua, ANNĒ & Sera J, plus many more.

STOOR Live: the most ambitious project in the history of Sónar 

After several years of behind-the-scenes work and preparation, STOOR and Sónar are ready to bring STOOR Live to Spain for the very first time. Featuring five performers improvising together on stage, Speedy J’s hardware-driven live concept takes over SonarCar on all three days.  With a five-hour session on Thursday and a pair of seven-hour sessions on Friday and Saturday, the Dutch techno legend will be joined by four different guests each day, for experimental improvised live performances that take in techno, house and beyond. With the artists positioned in the centre of the room, surrounded by the audience, and 360º sound, each night will be an unrepeatable experience. Amongst the guest performers are Reeko, Mathew Jonson, Colin Benders, Nadia Struiwigh, and FJAAK (who’ll also perform live with Kittin for an improvised live set  on Saturday at SonarLab x Rinse). 

Cabaret Voltaire celebrate 50 years with an exclusive Spanish appearance at Sónar

Formed in Sheffield in 1973 by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson, ‘The Cabs’ are the definition of a cult band. Avant-garde pioneers of both industrial and post-punk, their influence is incalculable. To celebrate 50 years since their first concert, the two surviving members of the band - Mallinder and Watson - are performing a series of shows in tribute to Kirk, who passed away in 2021. This will actually be the first time that Watson - who left the band in 1981 to pursue a storied career in field recording for TV - has appeared on stage together with Mallinder in over 40 years. And if that wasn’t incentive enough, their appearance at Sónar 2026 on Thursday 18th June will be their only appearance in Spain.

SonarVillage by Estrella Damm: non-stop music from sunset to sunrise

Maintaining the daytime vibe of the former Sónar by Day as well as the nighttime open-air atmosphere of the former SonarPub, the brand-new SonarVillage by Estrella Damm invites dancers onto its iconic astroturf dancefloor from the moment doors open until the moment they close. Under the Barcelona sky, it hosts some of the festival’s most anticipated live performances - WhoMadeWho, Modeselektor, Kelis, Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers - and some of the most lively DJ sets, from Chris Stussy, Sammy Virji and Arthi,  to KETTAMA, Carlita, Gerd Janson b2b Marcel Dettmann, without forgetting Kilopatrah Jones and MALUGI b2b Benwal. That’s not all: there’ll be two unforgettable closing sessions too, with MK (Marc Kinchen) b2b TSHA tapped for  viernes, and CARBS: Ketiov & Fernanda Arrau ready to close out the entire festival on Saturday.

Japanese artists take centre-stage at Sónar, just days before Sónar returns to Japan

The close relationship between Japan and Sónar is once again in evidence in 2026. Inimitable polymath and technologist Daito Manabe, already a Sónar favourite, has developed a new live set using Google DeepMind’s AI tools (in part, thanks to meeting their engineers at Sónar+D last year).    Dub titan GOTH-TRAD explores his packed library of hard-hitting dubstep and bass music. Takuya Nakamura lands at Sónar with a hybrid set, using pads and trumpet to move between jungle, broken beat and smooth, jazzy house. SonarLab x Rinse features a typically cerebral, introspective live techno set from Wata Igarashi, as well as a pair of contrasting, but equally striking, selectors, riria and DJ MARIA.. Bu the links don’t end there: a few days after the festival, the first edition of  NU Festival takes over Takanawa Gateway City in Tokyo. With a musical programme presented in collaboration with Sónar Sound, and a programme of talks, exhibitions and performances presented in collaboration with Sónar+D, it marks the first time Sónar appears in Japan in 13 years.  

A new wave of Spanish rap, trap and r&b comes into its own in 2026

Equal parts vampire, barbie and satanist, Metrika has emerged as one of the most provocative and undeniable talents from a resurgent Spanish rap and trap scene. It’s hard to think of a better moment for her to make her Sónar debut. She’s just the tip of the iceberg, as this year’s lineup also features sarcastic, empowered and equally provocative female voices like Main Costa, who’ll perform - likely with a fake gun in her hands - her new album Ugly Trap Better. Plus GlorySixVain, TAWA, and the Cutemobb collective - featuring founder LEÏTI - represent different sides of the Catalan scene.  

UK dance music takes centre stage again 

It’s hard to imagine Sónar without a traditional dose of music straight from the UK underground. Top of this year’s list is next-generation jungle artist Nia Archives, who appears ahead the release of her second album Emotional Junglist. They join already-mentioned artists like Arthi and Sammy Virji, as well as enigmatic duo ⌭ IceMorph ⌬ and a stacked deck of selectors including Addison Groove, Amaliah b2b Pangaea, and Danielle (who’ll go back-to-back with Ryan Elliott).

BULTO and Glitterbox keep SonarHall dancing until the early hours (for the very first time)

Although its red curtains have traditionally been more associated with attentive listening than wild dancing, in 2026 for the first time, SonarHall will be two stages in one, transforming from concert hall to club in a matter of minutes. In the early hours of Friday, Bogotá queer kinky collective BULTO bring hard-hitting, seductive techno to Sónar 2026; while on Saturday, there’s a dose of house- and disco-flavoured hedonism, courtesy of legendary Ibiza event series Glitterbox.

LedPulse’s architectural sculpture ORGANYSMO brings the spirit of Sónar+D to Fira Gran Via… 

For the first time, it will be the turn of Sónar+D to welcome the audience to Fira Gran Via. Designed by LedPulse, world-leaders in immersive experience design, ORGANYSMO is 30 x 30m architectural sculpture. Using thousands of LED ‘neurons’ it creates 3D images, turning light into a  sculptural material. Instead of seeing visuals projected onto a flat surface, the audience are surrounded by moving shapes, colours and forms that hover and unfold in the space around them. 

…while Sónar+D explores new ways of living with technology at Llotja de Mar

The programme for this year’s edition of our ‘event like no other’  is an invitation to shift from passive consumption of technology to active engagement with it. Sónar+D 2026 moves to a new venue at Llotja de Mar, reinvigorating this historic building in the centre of Barcelona with two days of activities on Thursday  18th and Friday 19th June. Highlights include creative minds like Yancey Strickler, Eugene Healey, niceaunties and Mindy Seu; lectures that redefine the format from Mónica Rikić, Joana Moll and Eneritz Tejada; interactive workshops by Chia Amisola, 0xSalon and Keiken; physical performances from Evicshen and Fitnesss & Riusforza; and the third year of AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS, which features Nao Takui and Anna Xambó, performances by dadabots and Ignasi Terraza & Philippe Salembier, as well as a pair of AV shows at Fira Gran Via by Daito Manabe and Reinier Zonneveld (appearing alongside a holographic version of himself).

More Sónar than ever before…

With 10 hours of music and four stages running simultaneously on Thursday, and 14 hours and six stages on Friday and Saturday, Sónar 2026 offers the audience more options than ever before. With music until 3am on Thursday, and six stages located inside one single venue - both firsts in the festival’s 33-year history - the audience will be able to experience more Sónar than ever before. With everything located at Fira Gran Via, the public can go from one end of the festival to the other in just five minutes, leave and re-enter the venue, as well as rest and hydrate themselves in designated areas as needed.

…occupying Barcelona from one end to another, with Sónar+D at the centre 

Sónar and Sónar+D remain the two central events of Sónar Week, which transforms Barcelona into the undisputed capital of music, innovation, creativity and technology for a whole week in June. Sónar Kids returns with a programme of music and creativity designed for families on Saturday 20th June in Parc del Fòrum. And the party won’t stop thanks to a series of events at Sónar District (also in Parc del Fòrum), OFFSónar (in Poble Espanyol) and Moog x Sónar, which celebrates 30 years of the legendary club in the heart of Barcelona’s Raval district.