The third and final day of the Sónar Music Festival in Barcelona was most definitely not a winding down, as the masses gave it their all for one last push, making Saturday’s festivities just as explosive as those of the previous days. Despite a smattering of rain for a brief interlude, the crowd was out in full force with the vivacity as we had come to expect from Sonar attendees.
A highlight of Saturday’s Sonar by Day was without a doubt Colombia’s Bomba Estéreo, who rocked the SonarVillage outdoor stage with their animated trademark electro tropical grooves. The powerhouse lead vocalist grabbed the audience through the force of raw energy and didn’t let anyone’s attention wander for the duration of the entire set. Chaos nearly erupted when she invited five women to join her and the entire first half of the audience attempted to charge the stage. Another high point of Saturday’s daytime events was Jackmaster’s invigorating set in the SonarDome. Providing the perfect taste test of what was to follow as we entered the night, Jackmaster lead a spirited mass of dynamic partygoers in warming up their legs and ears for a night that promised to be full of some serious action on the dancefloor and behind the DJ booths.
After making the trek outside the city to the enormous Sonar by Night event space for night number two, we made a beeline for the mammoth SonarClub room, where Dizzy Rascal set the stage on fire with their hip-hop inspired beats and some serious attitude. Providing a brief respite from the wide assortment of techno, house and dubstep was Fuck Buttons, who’s live set at the SonarLab held audience members rapt by offering their nonlinear and experimental beats as an alternative to the traditionally dominant 4×4 sound. Glasgow based label LuckyMe’s showcase was also full of interesting talent, with Machinedrum’s and Éclair Fifi & John Computer’s sets particularly standing out as innovative yet true to the urban sounds of hip-hop and dubstep that LuckyMe is so revered for.
Probably the most highly anticipated act of the evening was The Chemical Brothers, who performed their show to thousands upon thousands of fans, completely packing the largest of the rooms. As was to be expected from the globally celebrated British duo, the show was of epic proportions, including a brilliant light show, which accompanied a selection of classic Chemical Brothers tracks as well as new material.
A total of 84,976 people attended the festival making this year the most successful Sonar yet. We look forward to see what’s in store for next year!
