Primavera Sound | 3-Day Music Festival Debuts in LA

Photographed by Miranda McDonald

Primavera Sound, the music festival that started in Barcelona premiered for the first time in Los Angeles last weekend, September 16-18. Chinatown’s LA State Historic Park provided the backdrop for headliners Lorde, Nine Inch Nails, and Arctic Monkeys, and performers like Clairo, Cigarettes After Sex, and Mitski. Over 50,000 people from 50 different countries came together to inaugurate Primavera to the City of Angels.

Cigarettes After Sex photographed by Ismael Quintanilla III

The three-day festival boasted an impressively diverse lineup of 65 artists. It was nearly impossible for someone to have not found something up their alley, from the new wave stylings of Current Joys, to the reggaeton dance tracks from DJ Playero, to Chilean hip-hop from Paloma Mami, to post-punk from Irish band Fontaines D.C., and everywhere in between.

Fontaines D.C. photographed by Ismael Quintanilla III

Day one on Friday, September 16 opened with dance music from Lights Down Low, rock beats from Divino Niño, indie rock from Little Jesus, and electronic tracks from Tim Hecker across the four stages.

Lights Down Low photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Throughout the rest of the evening, audiences saw a myriad of performers including Clairo, known for bedroom pop tracks like “Sofia” and “Flaming Hot Cheetos.” R&B performer Giveon, best known for his collaboration on Justin Bieber’s smash hit “Peaches,” as well as solo tracks like “Heartbreak Anniversary” and “Like I Want You,” also hit the stage.

Clairo photographed by Ismael Quintanilla III

Giveon photographed by Miranda McDonald

After the sun set, the next wave of performers included techno songs to dance to like “The Shit Baby” by artist-producer Omar S; indie rock songs like “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart” to experience a full range of emotions with from Mitski; and tracks like “Solar Power” and “Green Light” to soak in the fleeting moments of summer with headlining indie pop star Lorde. The night concluded with the experimental electronic Darkside and house music from Octo Octa b2b Eris Drew.

Lorde photographed by Ismael Quintanilla III

Mitski photographed by Pooneh Ghana

Saturday marked day two and brought in a new host of fans and artists. The four stages, staggering in start times, opened with Andalusian rock band Derby Motoreta's Burrito Kachimba, British indie performer Wunderhorse, Argentinian indie rock group Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado, and DJ collective Chulita Vinyl Club.

Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba photographed by Quinn Tucker

Throughout the day, the park saw performers come and go, including Norwegian black metal group Mayhem who lit up the stage with tracks like “Deathcrush” and “Freezing Moon,” and genre-bending trio Khruangbin with fan favorites “So We Won’t Forget” and “Time (You and I).”

Khruangbin photographed by Pooneh Ghana

To close out the night, headlining industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails wowed with greatest hits like “Closer” and “The Hand That Feeds,” alongside deeper cuts (if that’s possible from such a seminal group) like “Gave Up” and “God Break Down the Door.” The night concluded with electricity—electronic music at least—with jams from electronic duo Bicep, producer Danny L Harle, and John Talabot.

Nine Inch Nails photographed by Pooneh Ghana

Bicep photographed by Quinn Tucker

Before LA knew it, Primavera was coming to a close on Sunday. The beginning of the end was kicked off by Spanish singer-songwriter Núria Graham, Brooklyn punk band Gustaf, Spanish indie performer Marina Herlop, and SOS Music, comprised of DJs Maddy Maia and Tottie.

SOS Music (Maddy Maia and Tottie) photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Núria Graham photographed by Ismael Quintanilla III

Indie pop performer Faye Webster brought hits like “Right Side of My Neck” and “Kingston” to life in the middle of the day, while girl in red crowd-surfed amid bedroom pop hits like “we fell in love in october,” “i wanna be your girlfriend,” and “girls.” Shoegaze band Cigarettes After Sex, known for dreamy tracks like “Apocalypse,” “Sunsetz,” and “K.” began to send off the final night.

girl in red photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Headlining English rock band Arctic Monkeys’s performance was a true testament to the revival of the mid-2010s indie sleaze Tumblr era, where tracks like “Do I Wanna Know?” and “Why’d You Only Call me When You’re High?” reigned supreme. The final stretch of Primavera was held strong by English singer-songwriter James Blake (best known for “Retrograde”), and DJ Jeff Mills, whose techno hits include “The Bells” and “4Art,” who ended the show off with a bang.

Arctic Monkeys photographed by Pooneh Ghana

Primavera Sound will come to cities across the world through the rest of the year: next, to São Paulo; after, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Benidorm. But fear not, this isn’t the end for Primavera LA; audiences can expect Los Angeles to be a host city for the festival in coming years.

Photographed by Ismael Quintanilla III