Sónar

Sónar is a three-day music festival held annually in Barcelona, Spain. Focused on electronic music, creativity and technology, it strives to become a meeting point for creative people from different communities. The festival consists of two parts, Sónar by Day and Sónar by Night, which are held in different venues.

The inaugural Sónar music festival was held from July 2–4, 1994 as the Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art. The daytime part took place at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and the nighttime part was held at the Apolo club. The first festival featured performances by Mixmaster Morris, Holger Czukay, Sven Väth, Laurent Garnier, Trans Global Underground, and Atom Heart. It attracted around 6,000 attendees.

The attendance doubled the next year and tripled in 1996. Today, Sónar draws around 115,000 attendees from over 100 countries. The program of Sónar by Day features concerts, DJ showcases and creative industry events. Sónar by Night hosts DJ sets and live shows from some of the biggest names in the international music industry.

One of the main highlights of the festival is Sónar+D, a 3-day congress dedicated to creativity, technology and business running concurrently with Sónar by Day. The congress features conferences, talks, film screenings, art installations and exhibitions, tech shows and displays, workshops, and other events designed to create networking, business and professional opportunities for members of the digital creative community.

As far as the festival’s music program is concerned, Sónar features both established artists and emerging talent. Past performers include many renowned musicians such as Duran Duran, Skrillex, The Chemical Brothers, Pet Shop Boys, Massive Attack, Fatboy Slim, and others. For up-and-coming artists, Sónar is a chance to perform in front of a huge audience for the first time. The festival radically transforms the atmosphere and dynamics of Barcelona, turning the city into the epicenter of electronic music, contemporary art and digital technology.

Alongside the main festival in Barcelona, the organizers and their partners run a series of Sónar events around the world. The first Sónar event outside Barcelona was held in London in 2002. The festival has since traveled to Boston, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Denver, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Lyon, Montreal, New York City, Oakland, Osaka, Reykjavik, Seoul, Stockholm, Tokyo, Toronto, and other cities.