📍 Barcelona, Spain • 📅 June
Barcelona's festival of advanced music and new media art since 1994
Sónar is one of the most unique and forward-thinking festivals in the world. Founded in 1994 in Barcelona by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergio Caballero, the festival was conceived not merely as a music event but as a celebration of the intersection between advanced music, new media art, and technology. Over three decades later, Sónar remains at the vanguard of electronic culture, consistently programming artists and experiences that push creative boundaries rather than follow commercial trends.
The festival is distinctively split into two complementary halves. Sónar by Day takes place at the historic Fira Montjuïc in central Barcelona, running from midday to late evening across multiple indoor and outdoor stages. The daytime programme emphasises discovery, featuring showcases of emerging artists, experimental performances, art installations, and the Sónar+D technology congress. The intimate scale and cultural setting of Montjuïc create an atmosphere closer to a gallery opening or conference than a traditional festival, encouraging exploration and conversation alongside the music.
Sónar by Night is an entirely different experience. Held at the cavernous Fira Gran Via exhibition complex on the outskirts of Barcelona, the night programme runs from midnight until dawn and features the festival's headline acts performing with full-scale production. Enormous halls are transformed into immersive environments with world-class sound systems, lighting, and visuals. It is here that tens of thousands of attendees come together for the large-scale DJ sets and live performances that define Sónar's musical reputation, from techno and house to hip-hop, bass music, and genre-defying experimentation.
What truly sets Sónar apart from other electronic music festivals is its deep commitment to the creative arts beyond music. The Sónar+D congress, running alongside Sónar by Day, has become one of Europe's most important gatherings at the crossroads of creativity, technology, and innovation. Featuring talks, workshops, and demonstrations from leaders in AI, digital art, music technology, and creative industries, Sónar+D reinforces the festival's founding vision: that electronic music and digital culture are inseparable, and that the most exciting ideas emerge when they collide.
A genre-spanning roster of the world's most exciting electronic artists
Five distinct environments across Sónar by Day and Sónar by Night
The flagship indoor stage at Sónar by Night, SonarHall is a vast, darkened hall within Fira Gran Via designed for immersive headline performances. Equipped with a towering sound system and cutting-edge visual production, SonarHall hosts the festival's biggest acts, from arena-scale DJ sets to spectacular live audiovisual shows. The sheer scale of the space creates an overwhelming sensory experience that is the centrepiece of Sónar by Night.
The second major stage at Sónar by Night, SonarClub is dedicated to club-oriented programming. The hall is configured to feel like a giant nightclub, with a focus on dancefloor energy and DJ-driven sets. Techno, house, bass music, and everything in between converge here, with lineups that favour high-energy performances and marathon sets from some of the world's most in-demand selectors.
Located within Sónar by Day at Fira Montjuïc, SonarPub is an intimate indoor stage that functions as a daytime club space. The programming leans toward leftfield, bass, and hip-hop-inflected sounds, providing an energetic counterpoint to the more experimental stages. SonarPub is where many attendees first discover artists who go on to become global names, and its compact layout generates a uniquely intense atmosphere.
The main outdoor stage of Sónar by Day, SonarVillage is set in the open-air terraces of Fira Montjuïc with views across Barcelona. The relaxed daytime atmosphere makes it the social heart of the festival, where attendees gather in the Mediterranean sun to enjoy DJ sets, live acts, and showcases. The programming ranges from upbeat house and disco to eclectic global sounds, creating an accessible and festive environment.
The most experimental stage in the Sónar by Day programme, SonarComplex is dedicated to live performances, audiovisual premieres, and multimedia presentations. This is where Sónar's commitment to art and innovation is most visible, featuring commissioned works, world premieres, and performances that blend music with visual art, AI, and interactive technology in ways that challenge the boundary between concert and exhibition.
Performances that defined the festival's legacy
A perennial Sónar favourite, Richie Hawtin's marathon sets at SonarClub have become the stuff of legend. His minimal techno explorations, driven by his pioneering use of technology and the PLAYdifferently MODEL 1 mixer, epitomise the festival's ethos of pushing creative boundaries. His performances are as much about innovation as they are about dancefloor devastation.
Arca's performances at Sónar have been among the festival's most talked-about moments, blending deconstructed club music with avant-garde visual art in immersive live shows. The SonarHall performances showcased an artist operating at the furthest edges of electronic music, embodying Sónar's founding spirit of presenting music as an art form without boundaries.
The Howard brothers brought their infectious blend of UK garage and house to the sunny terraces of SonarVillage, turning the daytime stage into a euphoric party. Their ability to bridge underground authenticity with pop accessibility made this set a highlight for thousands, demonstrating Sónar's range in programming artists who appeal across the electronic music spectrum.
The Chemical Brothers' full audiovisual spectacle at SonarHall was a masterclass in live electronic performance. Enormous visuals synchronised to their thundering breakbeats and acid lines turned the hall into a psychedelic cathedral, reaffirming why Sónar by Night remains one of the best environments in the world to experience large-scale electronic live shows.
Three decades at the intersection of music, art, and technology
Sónar was founded in Barcelona by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergio Caballero with a radical vision: a festival that treated electronic music as an art form inseparable from digital culture. The first edition took place at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), featuring a modest but visionary programme of live electronic acts, DJ sets, and multimedia installations that immediately set Sónar apart from every other music event in Europe.
Responding to growing demand, Sónar introduced the Night programme as a separate large-scale event. The move to Fira Gran Via for the night sessions allowed for massive headline performances while preserving the intimate, discovery-focused character of the daytime programme. The Day + Night format became Sónar's defining structural innovation and has been widely imitated by festivals around the world.
Sónar expanded beyond Barcelona with international editions in cities including Istanbul, Hong Kong, Bogotá, Reykjavík, and Cape Town. Each edition was curated to reflect both the Sónar identity and the local music and art scene of the host city. These satellite festivals extended Sónar's influence globally and introduced the brand to entirely new audiences and creative communities.
The Sónar+D congress was formally established as the festival's dedicated platform for creativity, technology, and innovation. Running alongside Sónar by Day, it brought together technologists, artists, entrepreneurs, and researchers for talks, workshops, and demonstrations. Sónar+D quickly grew into one of Europe's most respected gatherings at the intersection of art and technology, reinforcing the festival's position as far more than a music event.
Sónar celebrated its 25th anniversary with a landmark edition that drew over 126,000 attendees across Day and Night programmes. The silver jubilee featured an expanded lineup, special commissioned works, and a retrospective of the festival's impact on global electronic culture. The anniversary cemented Sónar's reputation as one of the most important and enduring electronic music events in history.
After two years of pandemic-forced cancellations, Sónar returned to Barcelona with enormous energy and emotion. The comeback edition was marked by a renewed focus on live performance, with artists and attendees alike celebrating the irreplaceable power of shared physical experiences. Attendance surged as the global electronic music community reunited in Barcelona.
Sónar continues to evolve, integrating AI-driven performances, immersive technologies, and expanded Sónar+D programming into the festival experience. New partnerships with technology companies and cultural institutions ensure Sónar remains the world's leading platform for exploring the future of music, art, and digital culture. The festival's ability to reinvent itself while staying true to its 1994 founding principles is what makes it enduringly relevant.
Everything you need to know about Sónar
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