This year’s edition of primavera_sound was an overdose of musical wealth. The Barcelona festival has always been ahead of the curve in not just understanding the range of taste of modern music fans, but respecting it: it’s a dream festival for the listener who moshes to Turnstile and knows “Pink Pony Club” by heart. The 2025 iteration booked dizzying sets by LCD Soundsystem, Stereolab, FKA twigs, Waxahatchee, but it was the pop trifecta of Charli_xcx, ChappellRoan, and SabrinaCarpenter that the festival pushed the hardest, and it paid off. ⁠ ⁠ Where else could you see Beach House and Sabrina Carpenter, or Fontaines D.C. into Chappell Roan within 24 hours?⁠ ⁠ Affectionately dubbed “The Powerpuff Girls,” the trio’s booking marks a major moment in Primavera history. Their support of female pop as a traditionally indie rock-leaning festival is refreshing, and needed. All three are mainstream pop stars, sure, but there is an edge to all three of them that suits the alternative reputation of...