The best part about being a KCRW DJ is that no one tells us what to play. This freedom allows us to bring you the best music from obscure finds of yesteryear, to the biggest acts of tomorrow. We enjoy this luxury because we are sustained by your confidence and support. To show our thanks, if you donate to KCRW today, you are automatically entered to win a trip to Barcelona (my favorite city in the world), to attend the Primavera Sound Festival. It is absolutely one of the premier music festivals around.
Before I get to the music, let me tell you a little bit about Barcelona.
The best way to describe this ancient city is: imagine the best version of Los Angeles. Like L.A., it’s on the coast, and full of beautiful beaches. One of Barcelona’s main thoroughfares, Las Ramblas, is a fusion of 3rd Street Promenade, Hollywood Blvd and Sunset, all in one. Similar to our Sunset Blvd, Las Ramblas also ends at the beach. It’s culturally diverse (with a quarter of our population) and their mass transportation system puts Los Angeles’ to shame. Incredible food, art, drink, architecture…it’s all here too. And, guess what? The festival is right in the heart of the city so this backdrop is yours to explore before or after the music.
Now that I’ve sold you on Barcelona, let’s highlight some of the artists performing at this year’s Primavera Sound.
The XX, Sampha, Kate Tempest have all appeared on several of our playlists just this week! Acts like Miguel, Run The Jewels, Frank Ocean, King Krule and Wild Beasts received some of their earliest support on our air waves. Seu Jorge and Solange will perform as part of our World Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl this Summer, June 25th & September 24th respectively. Arcade Fire, Flying Lotus and Metronomy are Morning Becomes Eclectic alumns and have been station favorites since their first recordings. Grace Jones, Joy Orbison, Sinkane…taking a look at the lineup, one might think it was curated by KCRW.
Mac DeMarco, Glass Animals & BadBadNotGood have all made appearances in the KCRW studios within the last 18 months. Consider these MBE performances teasers for the fest and check out a couple others set to take on Barcelona.
Mac DeMarco
Glass Animals
BadBadNotGood
Miguel
Wild Beasts