The line-up for Sónar 2026 is here The Barcelona festival is back with a brand new format
The Sónar 2026 begins with a double announcement: a first tranche of 31 names in the line-up and a structural shift that changes how the festival will be experienced. From 18 to 20 June, the entire musical programme will be concentrated in a single location, Fira Barcelona – Gran Via in L’Hospitalet, with continuous music from the afternoon until late at night. A choice that removes the historic day/night split and aims more for practicality than spectacle, with a single flow and zero transfers.
The initial selection confirms the festival’s usual approach, continuing to read the presence of electronic music through generational, geographical, and stylistic intersections. Leading the announcement are Kelis, performing at Sónar for the first time with a live show spanning twenty years of R&B shaped by electronic and pop influences, and Skepta, who will bring his new project Fork & Knife and reinforce the strong UK presence in this edition. The British imprint is constant: Nia Archives debuts with a full band, Sammy Virji pushes garage into more frenetic territories, while Joy Orbison, Gerd Janson b2b Marcel Dettmann and Danielle b2b Ryan Elliott complete the picture.
On the techno side, Sónar brings together for the first time two of the most dominant names of the last decade: Charlotte de Witte, with a live show dedicated to her new album, and Amelie Lens, who will present AURA, an audiovisual project centred on light and movement. Modeselektor also return with a new, unreleased show, while the most historically significant presence is that of Cabaret Voltaire, celebrating fifty years since their first concert with Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson reunited on stage.
The line-up then opens up to voices and languages far from each other: the electronic pop of WhoMadeWho, the hybrid composition of the new project by Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore, the club continuum of Boys Noize, DJ Gigola, Kettama, Funk Tribu, Ascendant Vierge, and emerging names such as Alba Franch, La Sofy, riria, ISA and 30drop with a live performance created together with visual artist Santiago.
In parallel, Sónar+D expands its presence inside the Fira, with installations and digital projects spread throughout the festival, while the congress dedicated to innovation and creativity will continue to take place in the city, in venues yet to be confirmed. More than a simple update, 2026 marks a complete reorganisation of the Sónar experience: six stages, half indoor and half outdoor, a single venue and continuous programming. A format more rational than spectacular, designed to reinforce Sónar’s role as an observatory of global electronic culture without diluting its narrative.
