Há bandas que só fazem álbuns e concertos e há outras como os Os MДQUIИД. entram em combustão e fazem-nos a nós entrar também. São daquelas bandas que podes ver vinte vezes que o teu corpo vai sentir sempre o mesmo.

    Nos últimos dois anos, o trio lisboeta construiu uma reputação rara: concertos onde o palco deixa de ser fronteira e passa a ser epicentro. O público responde em cadeia, corpos projetados sobre a multidão, crowdsurfing, circle pits que parecem abrir crateras no chão, volume suficiente para transformar repetição em transe. Quem os viu ao vivo sabe que há qualquer coisa de físico na experiência. Como se a música deixasse de ser som para passar a ser impacto. Para nós a pergunta inevitável é: como se grava isso? e a resposta chama-se BODY TRANSMISSION.

    Editado pela londrina Fuzz Club, o segundo LP dos MДQUIИД. chega depois de um dos períodos mais intensos da carreira da banda. O caminho até aqui foi sendo desenhado através dos singles "pressure/pleasure" e "agony", da colaboração com o duo catalão Dame Area em "dança" e da estreia dos MДQUIИД. num tema totalmente instrumental com "simulation". O álbum reúne agora todas essas peças, mas revela uma transformação mais profunda:  o trio funde impulso das jams com a arquitetura da canção.

    Pelo meio, houve uma extensa digressão europeia, a primeira passagem pelo Brasil, uma atuação na icónica KEXP, integrada no Trans Musicales 2025, e uma sucessão de concertos em festivais como The Great Escape Festival, Festival Impulso, Basqueiral e Rock in Bourlon, em França. Em palco, o ritual repetiu-se noite após noite, culminando num dos momentos mais memoráveis da digressão, quando Silvia Konstance, metade do duo catalão Dame Area, subiu ao palco para interpretar "dança" com a banda.

    Mas BODY TRANSMISSION não é um souvenir dessa viagem. É a consequência dela.

"Obrigámo-nos a escrever canções em vez de apenas captar jams. Queríamos que soasse pesado, concentrado e dançável. É um álbum sempre a abrir."

    A frase parece simples. Na prática, redefine completamente a banda.

    Se PRATA (2024) respirava como uma massa viva, expandindo-se, contraindo-se e encontrando força na repetição, BODY TRANSMISSION funciona como uma máquina industrial perfeitamente calibrada, nada sobra, nada abranda. Cada riff entra exatamente quando deve. Cada batida parece empurrar a seguinte e cada silêncio existe apenas para tornar a próxima explosão inevitável.

    É um disco construído sobre fricção. Noise rock contra techno. Krautrock contra thrash metal. Industrial punk contra EBM. O motorik alemão encontra a violência de Arise, dos Sepultura; as sombras eletrónicas de Schwefelgelb cruzam-se com o ADN pós-punk dos Section 25 e a agressividade de Fugitive. Em vez de parecer um exercício de referências, BODY TRANSMISSION faz algo mais difícil: dissolve todas essas linguagens até formar um vocabulário próprio.

    As dez faixas, "4-to-the-floor", "collapsing", "dança", "agony", "bizarro", "valve", "simulation", "step on me", "out of fear" e "pressure/pleasure", comportam-se menos como capítulos independentes do que como uma única corrente elétrica. O álbum quase nunca oferece descanso. Quando parece perder intensidade, está apenas a ganhar impulso.

    Também nas letras existe uma ambição renovada. Temas como "agony" mergulham em questões como a desinformação, o conflito e a alienação, enquanto o restante disco aborda ansiedade, isolamento e a pressão constante da vida contemporânea. Mesmo quando o discurso se torna sombrio, a música recusa o imobilismo: há sempre um ritmo insistente a empurrar tudo para a frente.

    A receção inicial confirma aquilo que os concertos já deixavam adivinhar. BODY TRANSMISSION tem sido apontado por vários meios especializados como um dos lançamentos mais marcantes do ano no universo do noise rock e da música alternativa europeia, elogiado pela capacidade de transportar para estúdio a intensidade quase incontrolável que fez dos MДQUIИД. uma das propostas mais excitantes do circuito underground europeu.

    BODY TRANSMISSION não representa apenas uma evolução em relação a PRATA. É o momento em que os MДQUIИД. deixam de tentar documentar o caos e passam finalmente a dominá-lo. O resultado é um disco simultaneamente mais disciplinado e mais violento, onde a repetição deixa de ser apenas hipnose e passa a ser linguagem, e onde cada canção parece existir no instante imediatamente anterior ao impacto.

    É esse equilíbrio entre precisão e descontrolo que faz de BODY TRANSMISSION o trabalho mais conseguido da banda até à data. Não soa como um concerto gravado. Soa ao momento em que a eletricidade salta do palco para o corpo, antes mesmo de haver tempo para reagir.

Texto: Sofia Reis

Fotofrafia: Emmnuel Poteau

    Imagine stepping into a film where every scene pulses with energy, sarcasm, and adrenaline. Jepards, from Fafe, have crafted this universe with Pretty Kitsch!, their latest album. It is a sonic journey through a hyperconnected youth, navigating between image and intention, a desire to experiment, and the intensity of a world spinning to the rhythm of an endless scroll.

    The album carries the DNA of 90s Britpop — the sarcasm of Blur, the audacity of Oasis, and the danceable lyricism of Pulp. Jepards transform these references into something modern and irresistible. Riffs explode like neon lights in a city at night, basslines wrap around the skin, drums quicken the heart. Each track feels like a cinematic long take of pure intensity.

    The lyrics function as a cinematic diary: frenetic, provocative, and clever. Confessional spoken-word, explosive post-punk energy, and lyrical moments reminiscent of Jarvis Cocker or Alex Turner. The music carries you, makes your body react, your mind race, and your emotions overflow.

    Pretty Kitsch! is a soundtrack of sound and light, designed to experience Portuguese rock in an epic, cinematic, and vibrant way. Every track is an experience, every chord an invitation to enter the world of Jepards.

    Plug in your headphones, turn up the volume, and let yourself be carried away. The world of Jepards is waiting for you.

Written By Sofia Reis

    After an opening day defined by contrasts and careful introductions, Friday arrived with a different kind of confidence. The programme promised collisions between worlds that rarely occupy the same space, yet Primavera Sound has always understood that musical differences do not need to become divisions. Here, unexpected combinations are not obstacles. They are part of the experience. Under the trees, between the open lawns and the distant presence of the Atlantic, the festival continued to breathe at its own pace.

    The City Park has become one of Primavera Sound Porto's greatest strengths precisely because it never feels overwhelmed by its own scale. Even as the crowds grew throughout the day, movement remained natural. People wandered between stages without urgency, searching for the next performance while still allowing themselves time to stop, sit on the grass, share food or simply watch the constant movement of a crowd arriving from different parts of the world. By the second day, the festival was no longer something people were attending, it was somewhere they were living.

    The paths through City Park once again carried voices from across Europe. Portuguese conversations mixed with Spanish, British, French, German and many other languages, creating the familiar international atmosphere that has become central to Primavera Sound Porto's identity. Every group arrived with its own history, its own musical references and its own reasons for being there, but all of them were connected by the same idea: that music remains one of the few places where different worlds can meet without explanation.

    The second day was built around contrast. Not simply between different artists, but between completely different ways of experiencing music. Within the same afternoon, Primavera moved from silence to noise, from contemplation to physical release, from careful arrangements to complete abandon.

    Few performances represented that philosophy better than Black Country, New Road's appearance on the ZYN Stage. The British band approached the festival environment with a remarkable sense of patience. Their music has always existed somewhere between composition and improvisation, between fragile moments of intimacy and sudden emotional shifts, and their live performance embraced that uncertainty. Rather than attempting to dominate the audience, they invited people to listen. Every change in rhythm, every instrumental movement and every gradual build felt carefully observed by a crowd willing to follow wherever the music led. In a festival environment where attention is often divided between stages, conversations and constant movement, Black Country, New Road created a rare atmosphere of concentration. For a while, the surrounding noise of Primavera seemed to disappear. It was a performance built on trust, both from the band and from an audience prepared to give the music the space it required.

    That quiet intensity was followed by a completely different kind of presence from Baxter Dury on the Estrella Damm Stage. Where Black Country, New Road created tension through musical detail, Dury worked through personality, timing and observation. His songs have always carried a distinctive conversational quality, somewhere between spoken narrative and understated pop, and his stage presence reflected that same unusual balance. Relaxed but entirely in control, he delivered a performance driven less by dramatic gestures than by attitude. There was humour, confidence and a sense that every phrase had been carefully placed. The result was a concert that felt personal despite the size of the crowd, a reminder that charisma does not always need volume.

    Then came Panda Bear on the Vodafone Stage, shifting the atmosphere once again. Noah Lennox's long-running solo project has always explored the relationship between repetition and transformation, turning layers of sound into something that feels constantly in motion. On stage, those ideas expanded into a performance built around gradual changes, where melodies appeared and disappeared inside a constantly evolving landscape. The audience responded in different ways. Some stood still, absorbed by the details unfolding in front of them. Others moved gently with the rhythm, allowing the music to guide them rather than demanding a traditional concert reaction. It was another example of Primavera's ability to place artists together without forcing connections. Each performance offered a different doorway into the festival.

    As the afternoon moved towards evening, the mood began to change, the careful listening of the early hours gave way to something louder, stranger and far less predictable.

    Viagra Boys arrived on the Vodafone Stage with the kind of disorderly energy that has become central to their reputation. Yet beneath the chaos there was a clear understanding of how to control a crowd. Led by Sebastian Murphy, the Swedish post-punk group turned the stage into an extension of their own world. Their performance combined humour, aggression and complete unpredictability, creating a set where anything appeared possible while everything remained perfectly timed. Murphy moved across the stage with the confidence of someone who understood the relationship between performer and audience as a conversation rather than a one-way exchange. The crowd responded immediately, matching the band's energy and turning the space in front of the stage into one of the day's most animated gathering points. It was not simply a loud performance, it was a performance built around release.

    Then, almost immediately afterwards, Melt-Banana pushed that idea even further. The Japanese band transformed the ZYN Stage into one of the festival's most intense environments, compressing speed, noise and precision into a performance that seemed to operate at a different frequency. Their music has always challenged conventional ideas of structure and momentum, and live they took that approach to its extreme. Every second felt packed with movement. Every transition arrived with unexpected force. Yet beneath the apparent chaos was extraordinary control. Melt-Banana's performance demanded attention in a physical way, leaving little room for passivity. It was one of the day's most demanding sets, but also one of its clearest demonstrations of Primavera's willingness to embrace music that exists outside easy categories.

    From the quiet concentration of Black Country, New Road to the unpredictable force of Melt-Banana, the second day was already proving its central idea: that contradiction is not something to overcome and it is the reason the festival works. As darkness settled over City Park, Primavera Sound Porto entered the most unpredictable part of its second day. The contrast that had shaped the afternoon became even more evident. The festival moved between celebration and introspection, between artists who transformed the space into a collective gathering and those who created moments where thousands of people seemed to disappear into their own thoughts.

    Few performances captured that change in atmosphere better than Bad Gyal's appearance on the Vodafone Stage. The Catalan artist arrived with a completely different energy from everything that had come before. Where previous performances had focused on tension, experimentation or controlled chaos, Bad Gyal brought movement. Her set was built around rhythm, confidence and a direct connection with the audience, transforming the area in front of the stage into a celebration that extended far beyond the boundaries of the performance itself. Drawing from reggaeton, dancehall and contemporary pop influences, she created a show designed around physical response. The crowd moved constantly, following every beat and every change in direction, turning the festival space into something closer to a vast open-air dance floor. It was a reminder of another important part of Primavera Sound Porto's identity: that the festival's openness is not only about the number of genres represented, but about allowing each audience to find its own moment.

    Immediately afterwards, the atmosphere changed completely, Slowdive took over the Estrella Damm Stage and slowed everything down. The difference was almost immediate, the movement that had filled the park moments earlier gave way to stillness, conversations became quieter, people stood watching, allowing the band's carefully constructed sound to spread through the space. For more than three decades, Slowdive have occupied a unique position within alternative music, creating songs where texture and emotion are as important as traditional structures. Their live performance reflected that approach with remarkable clarity. Guitars expanded gradually, melodies seemed to hang in the air and every element of the band's sound was given room to develop. There was no rush towards a dramatic conclusion. Instead, the performance found its power in patience and the audience responded in the same way.

    Thousands of people stood together, sharing a rare moment of collective concentration. In a festival environment usually defined by movement, Slowdive created a space where simply listening became enough. It was one of the night's most contemplative performances, a necessary pause before the festival moved towards its final chapter.

    That final chapter belonged to Gorillaz. Closing the Estrella Damm Stage, Damon Albarn's virtual band arrived with a performance that existed somewhere between concert, visual production and celebration of an entire musical journey. Few groups have managed to build such a distinctive universe around themselves. Since their arrival at the beginning of the century, Gorillaz have constantly blurred the boundaries between alternative rock, hip-hop, electronic music and pop culture, creating a catalogue that belongs to several generations at once. At Primavera Sound Porto, that history unfolded across the stage. Through projections, characters and a band performing with complete confidence, the concert moved through different periods of Gorillaz's career without feeling like a simple retrospective. The songs carried their original identity while also taking on a new dimension in a live setting surrounded by thousands of people. The audience reaction reflected that connection. Some fans had followed the band since the earliest records. Others had discovered them more recently. Different generations stood together, united by songs that had travelled across decades without losing their ability to bring people together.

    The performance continued to build throughout the night, balancing nostalgia with a sense of movement towards the present. It was a closing set that understood the importance of memory without becoming trapped by it. By the final songs, City Park had become a landscape of celebration. The crowd responded with the kind of collective energy that only appears when a festival moment feels shared by everyone present.

       That was perhaps the defining quality of Primavera Sound Porto's second day, it felt like several festivals happening simultaneously. The silence and concentration of Black Country, New Road existed alongside the chaos of Melt-Banana. The humour and unpredictability of Viagra Boys shared the same space as the emotional depth of Slowdive. Bad Gyal turned the festival into a celebration of movement, while Gorillaz transformed it into a journey through memory, technology and pop culture. On paper, these worlds should not necessarily fit together, at Primavera, they do. That ability to place seemingly distant musical languages next to each other without making them feel disconnected has become one of the festival's greatest achievements. It does not attempt to create a single identity from its artists. Instead, it allows each performance to tell its own story while remaining part of a larger conversation.

    By the end of the night, the feeling was not one of contradiction, but of connection. The second day of the 2026 edition confirmed that its greatest strength remains the ability to embrace difference without forcing uniformity. In a musical landscape where festivals increasingly compete for attention through scale and spectacle, Primavera continues to find its identity somewhere else: in curiosity, in discovery and in the belief that the most rewarding experiences often come from unexpected combinations.

    Over the coming days, we will continue publishing dedicated reviews of the performances that shaped this year's Primavera Sound Porto, looking in greater detail at the artists who made their mark across the festival's stages.

    We will also be sharing a photographic gallery on Instagram capturing the faces, moments and atmosphere of a second day that once again demonstrated why Primavera Sound Porto remains one of Europe's most complete and distinctive celebrations of live music.

Words by Sofia Reis

Photos by Hugo Lima

    When Gorillaz first appeared at the turn of the millennium, they did not feel like a conventional band arriving with a conventional record. They felt like a glimpse of what music could become: a meeting point between sound, animation, technology and visual storytelling. What began in 1998 as a collaboration between Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett quickly grew beyond the boundaries of a musical project, creating a universe where hip-hop, electronic music, dub, pop and alternative rock could exist side by side, and where the line between reality and imagination seemed to disappear.

    At Primavera Sound Porto, Gorillaz returned to Parque da Cidade carrying almost three decades of history with them. But this was not simply a concert built on nostalgia. The band appeared as what they have always been: a project in constant transformation, capable of looking back without becoming trapped by the past, combining songs that have defined generations with new ideas and collaborations that continue to expand their universe.

    The connection with the world created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett stretches across several different eras. Their appearance at Isle of MTV in Lisbon in 2002 came at a time when Gorillaz were still introducing the world to their debut album and when the concept behind the band seemed to have arrived from the future. Back then, the project carried a sense of mystery that was difficult to compare with anything else: real musicians performing on stage, but with a visual identity dominated by the characters 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel, brought to life through a language that merged concert, animation and storytelling.

    Gorillaz did not invent the use of visual elements to transform a live performance into something larger than a traditional concert. In the early 2000s, several artists were exploring new relationships between stage and audience. In Portugal, for example, performances such as Gotan Project’s appearance at Paredes de Coura during that period showed how shadows, projections and atmosphere could completely alter the experience of a live show. But what Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett achieved was taking that idea into another territory: they transformed the visual element into a complete identity, with characters, narratives and a universe that extended far beyond the stage.

    More than two decades later, at Primavera Sound Porto, the feeling was different. The initial mystery was no longer the same, because Gorillaz had moved from being a groundbreaking novelty to becoming one of the most recognised names in contemporary music. Yet the ability to surprise remains intact. The band no longer needs to prove that it is different; its own history has become the evidence.

    Watching the performance between a group of people from Dublin on one side and another group from Liverpool on the other led to an interesting conversation about what fans are looking for from Gorillaz today. The feeling was that many were not there simply to experience the band’s latest chapter, but also to reconnect with the moment when everything felt new and unpredictable. There was a desire to recover the sense of discovery from those early years, when a Gorillaz performance was an experience that brought together music, imagery and the feeling of witnessing something entirely different. But that nostalgia did not represent a rejection of the present. Quite the opposite: Gorillaz’s greatest strength has always been their ability to evolve. The band never remained trapped in the success of “Clint Eastwood”, “19-2000” or “Feel Good Inc.”. They continued searching for new directions, new sounds and new collaborators, keeping the project in constant motion.

    Musically, the Primavera Sound Porto performance reflected that journey between different eras. Opening with “The Mountain”, the band introduced its latest phase before moving through different moments of its career with songs such as “Tranz”, “19-2000”, “Rhinestone Eyes” and “El Mañana”. With each track, it became increasingly clear how naturally Gorillaz continue to combine electronic music, hip-hop, pop and alternative rock without losing their own unmistakable identity. As has always been the case throughout the group’s history, collaboration remained central to the experience. Joe Talbot of IDLES joined the band for “The God of Lying”; Kara Jackson appeared on “Orange County”; Moonchild Sanelly featured on “With Love to an Ex”; Yasiin Bey brought his presence to “Stylo” and “Damascus”; while Bootie Brown renewed his historic connection with the group on “Dirty Harry”. These appearances reinforced one of Gorillaz’s greatest strengths: their ability to create a meeting point between different genres, cultures and generations. More than a traditional band, the project has always functioned as a creative platform where different artists can find common ground.

    Towards the end of the night came two of the most anticipated moments: “Feel Good Inc.” and “Clint Eastwood”. These are songs that have long escaped the circumstances in which they were created and continue to serve as a bridge between longtime fans and newer listeners. For those who have followed the band since the beginning, they represent a return to a period of discovery. For those who arrived later, they remain entry points into a universe that continues to expand.

    The greatest challenge for any band with almost 30 years of history is avoiding the transformation of its legacy into a museum piece. Gorillaz have escaped that fate because change has always been at the centre of their identity. Nostalgia exists, and it remains a fundamental part of the emotional connection many fans have with the group, but it has never been their only argument.

    At Primavera Sound Porto, the audience was not simply witnessing a celebration of the past. They were witnessing the continuation of an idea that began almost three decades ago: the possibility of a band existing between different worlds, between real musicians and imagined characters, between what we already know and what is still waiting to be discovered.

    Perhaps that is the true reason why Gorillaz remain so relevant. The characters may have been born as drawings, but the music has always been deeply human. Between memories of the early concerts, when the band seemed to anticipate the future, and the current era in which they continue to reinvent themselves, one feeling remained clear: Gorillaz are still doing what they have always done best — turning change into identity.

    Nation of Language write songs that seem to illuminate the night from within. Between glacial synths and pulsating rhythms, the New York trio have found a rare way of giving shape to nostalgia without leaving it trapped in the past. At Primavera Sound Porto, that identity revealed itself in full, in a performance of effortless elegance where each song felt like a continuation of the last, as if the entire set was part of one long nocturnal journey.

    Before the lights and synthesizers took centre stage, Ian Devaney paused to share a moment of gratitude. He reflected on the band’s previous appearance at Primavera Sound Porto in 2023, when they played on a smaller stage, and spoke about what it meant to return this time to the festival’s main stage. The occasion was so meaningful that the families of all three members had travelled to Porto to witness it. This was not simply another date on a tour schedule; it was a milestone — the result of a journey built patiently, step by step, in front of an audience that had grown alongside them.

    Then the songs took over. “September Again” once again proved why it remains one of the band’s defining moments, while “Across That Fine Line”, “Weak in Your Light” and “The Wall & I” transformed the Parque da Cidade into a space suspended between the ethereal and the electric. Devaney’s voice, restrained yet deeply emotive, floated above crystalline synth textures and relentless basslines, creating a performance where atmosphere mattered more than spectacle. The closing surge of “Inept Apollo” left behind a feeling of quiet triumph, as if the night could have carried on for several hours more.

    In a festival filled with artists competing for attention through scale and spectacle, Nation of Language chose a different path: trusting the songs, the atmosphere and the emotion. And it was precisely there that they delivered one of the most memorable moments of this year’s Primavera Sound Porto. Three years ago, they were a discovery for many; now, standing on the main stage, they sounded exactly like a band that had finally arrived where they were always meant to be.

words by Sofia Reis

Photos Hugo Lima

    There are bands whose power comes from volume, excess or spectacle. The xx have always existed in the opposite space: a world built on silence, restraint and the emotional weight of what is left unsaid. Since the release of their debut album xx in 2009, the London trio have created a sound where intimacy becomes something massive, proving that a whisper can sometimes reach further than a scream.

    At Primavera Sound Porto, The xx returned to Parque da Cidade carrying the weight of a catalogue that has become one of the defining sounds of the last fifteen years. Their appearance was one of the most anticipated moments of the festival, not only because of the strength of their songs, but because it marked the return of a band many had been waiting to experience together again. Since their last concerts as a group, fans had followed the individual journeys of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie xx, discovering their solo work and the different directions each member explored — but nothing quite compares to the feeling of seeing The xx as a complete band on stage.

    Their return was not simply a reunion with the past, but a reminder of why their music has remained so influential: because behind the minimal arrangements, the spaces between the notes and the understated performances, there has always been an extraordinary emotional intensity.

    The story of The xx has always been built around balance. Between Romy Madley Croft’s luminous melodies, Oliver Sim’s deeper and more introspective voice, and Jamie xx’s unique ability to transform simplicity into atmosphere, the band created a language that felt instantly recognisable. Their music was never about filling every space; it was about understanding the power of leaving room for emotion to breathe. That approach could have been difficult to translate to a festival environment. The intimacy of The xx has always belonged to darker rooms, closer audiences and moments of quiet concentration. Yet at Primavera Sound Porto, that vulnerability became their greatest strength. Instead of trying to compete with the scale of a festival stage, the band invited the audience into their own world.

    The performance opened with “Crystalised”, a song that immediately transported the crowd back to the beginning of the band’s journey, before moving through different chapters of their career with tracks such as “Say Something Loving”, “Islands”, “Angels” and “Night Time”. The set continued through the emotional landscape that has always defined The xx, with “Sunset”, “Fiction”, “Shelter”, “Infinity” and “VCR” showing how naturally their songs have survived the passing of time. One of the most fascinating aspects of The xx’s return is the way their individual journeys have become part of the band’s identity. Jamie xx’s evolution as a solo artist and producer, Romy’s exploration of a brighter and more expansive pop universe, and Oliver Sim’s deeply personal songwriting have all added new colours to the group’s collective sound. Rather than weakening the connection between them, those different paths have enriched what The xx can represent today. The inclusion of “I’ll Take Care of U”, the Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx collaboration, and the reinterpretation of “Shelter” through Jamie xx’s live remix, showed a band willing to look beyond nostalgia while remaining faithful to their original essence.

    Watching The xx live is also a lesson in the importance of chemistry. There is a unique conversation between the three members, a musical dialogue where every gesture matters and every pause has meaning. Nothing feels unnecessary. Every sound, every movement and every moment of silence exists for a reason.

    At Primavera Sound Porto, that precision did not make the performance feel distant; it created a connection. The audience was not simply watching a band perform familiar songs. They were witnessing a group that understands exactly what makes those songs special and refuses to dilute that emotion. The xx have always been a band of contrasts: electronic yet organic, fragile yet powerful, minimalist yet unforgettable. Their music lives in the space between two voices, between a beat and a silence, between personal memories and collective experiences. Those contrasts came together once again. The songs that introduced them to the world still carried the same emotional weight, while the perspective gained through years of individual exploration gave the performance a new depth. More than a return, The xx’s Primavera Sound Porto concert felt like a continuation. A reminder that some bands do not need to reinvent themselves constantly because their original vision was strong enough to keep evolving naturally.

    In a festival built around discovery and movement, The xx created something different: a moment of stillness. And sometimes, in the middle of all the noise, that is exactly what people are looking for.

Words by Sofia

Photos by Hugo Lima

     The Kneecap story was never built on technical perfection or a carefully manufactured image. The Belfast trio took the opposite route: they reached a global audience through chaos, provocation and an identity that cannot be separated from the reality of where they come from. Formed by Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, Kneecap transformed Irish-language hip-hop into a cultural force, combining humour, social commentary, electronic influences and a punk-like energy that made them impossible to ignore. At a time when many bands attempt to make their identity more universal, Kneecap have done precisely the opposite: they have embraced everything that makes them specific. The Irish language, the history of Northern Ireland, political tensions and Belfast culture are not simply background elements in their music; they are the foundation of an artistic vision that has found an audience far beyond the borders where it was born.

    At Primavera Sound Porto, it was already past midnight when Kneecap stepped onto the Vodafone Stage. The late hour did nothing to reduce the anticipation; quite the opposite, the venue was completely packed, with a predominantly young crowd between the ages of 18 and 30, ready for an experience that would be far more than a straightforward rap concert. Unlike other performances at the festival where different generations came together to celebrate musical memories from previous decades, the feeling surrounding Kneecap was different. This was not a band being rediscovered through its past or a legacy being revisited; this was a group at the centre of its own moment, representing a generation that has found in its music a mixture of identity, rebellion and celebration.

    Seeing Kneecap live is to understand that music is only one part of what they do. There is a theatrical dimension, an almost anarchic energy and a constant sense of confrontation. Yet behind the humour, the excess and the provocative attitude lies a very clear message: the defence of the Irish language, the cultural affirmation of Northern Ireland and a political vision that is never hidden or softened.

    Kneecap’s greatest achievement has been transforming subjects that could have restricted a band to a regional context into a universal language. Not everyone in the audience understands every word delivered in Irish Gaelic, but very few fail to understand the intention, the energy and the urgency. The language, rather than becoming a barrier, has become one of the group’s greatest strengths.

    Musically, Kneecap brought to Porto the explosive combination that has made them one of the most singular acts in contemporary music. The performance opened with “Éire go Deo”, an immediate statement of the Irish identity that lies at the heart of the band, before moving through different stages of their career with songs such as “Get Your Brits Out”, “Guilty Conscience”, “Fine Art” and “H.O.O.D”. If “Get Your Brits Out” represents the group’s most provocative and politically charged side, “H.O.O.D” reveals the connection to street culture and hip-hop that helped make them internationally recognised. Along the way, songs such as “FENIAN” and “Big Bad Mo” showed a band that continues to explore its identity without losing the chaotic energy that has always defined them.

    The power of Kneecap lies precisely in this unlikely combination: lyrics in Irish Gaelic, hip-hop rhythms, rave influences and a punk attitude. Live, that mixture stops feeling like a calculated provocation and becomes a collective celebration, where even those who do not understand the language can feel the message through the intensity, humour and commitment of the performance.

    Part of the Kneecap phenomenon also comes from the way they have transformed their own history into a central element of their music. Belfast is not merely a backdrop; it is a constant presence. Political tensions, questions of national identity and the defence of a culture that has been marginalised for decades are all part of the group’s narrative. But Kneecap reject solemnity: they use humour, irony and provocation to communicate a message that could easily become heavy.

    That ability to balance entertainment with political engagement is one of the reasons the band has attracted such a diverse audience. At Primavera Sound Porto, there were fans who knew every word, but also those who arrived simply out of curiosity and were ultimately won over by the intensity of the performance. Communication may begin in a specific language, but the energy of a concert exists beyond translation. Musically and culturally, Kneecap represent a new way of thinking about hip-hop. They do not attempt to fit into the traditional structures of the genre; instead, they blend rave, electronic music, street culture and punk aesthetics, creating a sound that belongs as much in a nightclub as it does on a festival stage. That freedom is precisely what allows them to connect with different audiences.

    At a time when many bands attempt to build a carefully controlled global image, Kneecap have taken the opposite path. Authenticity has become their greatest strength. The controversies, the criticism and the political positions are all part of the package, but above everything else there is a band with an extraordinary stage presence and a rare ability to transform a concert into a collective experience.

    Ultimately, the impact of Kneecap at Primavera Sound Porto did not come only from the songs or the messages. It came from the feeling of witnessing a band that believes deeply in what it is doing. A band that transforms identity into rhythm, history into energy and cultural resistance into celebration. Kneecap are not simply bringing Irish culture to new audiences. They are proving that music remains one of the most powerful ways to express who we are, where we come from and what we believe in.

Words and photos Sofia Reis

    Some bands measure their greatness by the number of records they have released. Others, in today’s world, prefer to count it in millions of streams and social media followers. Texas Is the Reason, however, have always existed outside those metrics. With just one studio album, they built a legacy that has crossed decades and continues to resonate far beyond the brief period in which they were together. Their return to Primavera Sound Porto was more than just another date on a reunion tour; it was a meeting between a generation and one of the defining chapters in the history of emo and post-hardcore.

    At Parque da Cidade, where three days of alternative music brought together different eras and generations, Texas Is the Reason found an audience that reflected that same diversity. Among those who grew up with Do You Know Who You Are? were listeners who discovered the band many years after their initial break-up, drawn in by the influence they continue to have on countless contemporary artists. That meeting point between memory and discovery became one of the defining aspects of the performance, a reminder that some songs simply refuse to age because they continue to find new ears.

    Without relying on elaborate visuals or a grand stage production, the New York quartet allowed the music itself to take centre stage. Opening with “If It’s Here When We Get Back It’s Ours”, the band immediately stepped into the world of Do You Know Who You Are?, an album that remains remarkably vital almost three decades after its release. Over the course of roughly 55 minutes, they revisited the essential moments of their concise but influential catalogue, including songs such as “Johnny on the Spot”, “The Magic Bullet Theory”, “Blue Boy” and “Nickel Wound”, highlighting the unique balance between post-hardcore urgency and melodic sensitivity that shaped their identity.

    The closing stretch of the set brought “The Day’s Refrain” before “A Jack with One Eye” delivered the final statement of a performance built around a body of work that continues to inspire successive generations of musicians. The decision to follow an almost identical setlist to the other dates of their 2026 European tour revealed a clear intention: not to return to the past in search of reinvention, but to celebrate the songs that established Texas Is the Reason as one of the most influential names in 1990s American alternative music.

    At a time when many reunions attempt to justify their existence through new material or dramatic reinvention, Texas Is the Reason chose the opposite route, trusting the strength of a catalogue that, despite its limited size, has never lost its relevance. Perhaps that is because some bands never needed an extensive discography to leave a lasting mark. They needed only one album, a handful of songs, and the honesty with which they always delivered them.

    Within a festival defined by the meeting of different generations, Texas Is the Reason’s performance became a bridge between distinct eras of alternative music. Not because it attempted to turn the past into a simple exercise in nostalgia, but because it reminded us that some records reveal their true significance only with time. Do You Know Who You Are? is one of those records. And at Primavera Sound Porto, those songs once again found the place where they have always belonged: in front of an audience ready to listen, regardless of the decade in which they first discovered them.

    In an era where music is increasingly measured through algorithms, numbers and fleeting trends, one of the most compelling aspects of this festival was seeing different generations connected by a band with such a small yet influential body of work. Perhaps that is Texas Is the Reason’s greatest achievement: proving that relevance is not measured in statistics, but in the ability to continue reaching new listeners almost thirty years later.

Words by Sofia Reis

Photos by Hugo Lima

    That philosophy continues to define every corner of the event. It is visible in the absence of unnecessary distractions, in the way the programme is curated rather than simply assembled, and in an atmosphere that feels remarkably free from the performative culture that dominates so many modern festivals. Primavera welcomes everyone. Long-time record collectors, curious newcomers, groups of friends, solo travellers and families with young children all find their place here without ever feeling that the festival has compromised its identity to accommodate them.

    Inside Porto's vast City Park, music remains the main character, that simple idea shaped the opening day of Primavera Sound Porto 2026 just as it has every year since the festival first opened its gates.

    The first day arrived beneath an unforgiving summer sun. Temperatures climbed steadily throughout the afternoon and every patch of shade quickly became valuable real estate. Yet even here the festival's careful planning showed itself. The abundance of trees, resting areas and green spaces meant there was always somewhere to pause before setting off once more towards the next stage.

    As daylight slowly softened and the Atlantic breeze finally drifted inland, the entire site seemed to exhale. People settled onto the lawns, conversations became longer and the pathways gradually filled as thousands of festivalgoers made their way across the park without urgency. There was no frantic rush to tick artists off a schedule. Instead, the evening unfolded at its own pace, carried by the quiet excitement of people who knew the next few days would bring new discoveries, long-awaited reunions with favourite bands and performances that would stay with them long after the weekend had ended.

    It is impossible to talk about Primavera Sound Porto without talking about its setting. City Park is far more than a backdrop. It shapes the festival itself. Unlike many large-scale events where navigating the site can become an endurance test, Primavera remains refreshingly easy to explore. The distances between stages feel carefully judged, allowing audiences to move comfortably without missing entire performances simply because of geography. Wide open lawns offer room to breathe, whether stretched out beneath the trees between concerts, sharing food with friends or simply watching the constant movement of people flowing through the park. The food village once again reflected the festival's broad outlook, offering everything from local specialities to international cuisine alongside vegetarian and vegan options. Rather than overwhelming the musical programme, these spaces naturally became places to pause before returning to what had brought everyone there in the first place.

    Music remained the centre of gravity throughout the site.

    Walking through City Park also meant hearing Europe in miniature. Portuguese blended effortlessly with Spanish, English, French, German and Italian as visitors from across the continent once again made Primavera Sound Porto one of the Iberian Peninsula's most international festivals. Some had been returning for years. Others were experiencing the festival for the first time. Yet they all appeared to share the same instinct. There was no need to rush. Every performance deserved the time to reveal itself on its own terms. That same philosophy extends to families, something that continues to distinguish Primavera from many festivals of comparable scale.

    The children's area once again proved to be one of the site's most welcoming spaces, offering creative workshops, games, performances and activities throughout the day. At its heart sits Mini Primavera, a dedicated stage where younger audiences experience live music in an environment designed entirely for them.

    While parents move between stages, children are invited to discover artists, take part in creative activities and create some of their earliest memories of live performance. It is an initiative that says a great deal about the festival's ambitions. Rather than expanding at the expense of its character, Primavera Sound Porto continues to broaden its audience while remaining entirely faithful to what made it distinctive in the first place. The music itself began early.

    One of Primavera's greatest strengths has always been its ability to place different musical languages alongside one another without ever making the programme feel fragmented. The opening afternoon offered another example of that balance.

    Portuguese artists were given a prominent place from the outset. Emmy Curl opened proceedings on the Estrella Damm Stage with a performance that immediately settled the festival into its rhythm. Inês Marques Lucas followed on the Vodafone Stage, while PAUS and Vaiapraia both brought their very different approaches to the Primavera Stage, reaffirming the festival's continued commitment to Portugal's own musical landscape. As the audience steadily grew throughout the afternoon, the programme expanded naturally with it.

    Nation of Language delivered one of the day's most accomplished performances on the Estrella Damm Stage. The New York trio have built their reputation on immaculate songwriting shaped by shimmering synthesisers and melodies that feel simultaneously nostalgic and contemporary. Live, those qualities found even greater clarity. There was no excess in their presentation, no attempt to overwhelm through production. Instead, every song was allowed the space to breathe. The relationship between band and audience developed quietly across the set until the entire performance acquired an effortless momentum. Without demanding attention, Nation of Language gradually became one of the afternoon's defining highlights.

    Elsewhere, Oklou brought an altogether different atmosphere to the Primavera Stage. Her performance unfolded with remarkable restraint, allowing electronic textures and understated pop melodies to emerge gradually rather than announcing themselves immediately. The set rewarded patience, drawing listeners into its carefully constructed world without ever feeling distant or inaccessible.

    Soon afterwards, the mood shifted completely. Over on the ZYN Stage, rusowsky demonstrated exactly why he has become one of the most intriguing figures in the new wave of Spanish pop. His music comfortably ignored traditional genre boundaries, moving between pop, electronic music and urban influences with complete confidence. Relaxed, charismatic and entirely at ease, he connected particularly strongly with the younger audience gathered in front of the stage, delivering one of the day's most enjoyable performances.

    As evening settled across City Park, the festival entered another gear.

    Big Thief arrived on the Estrella Damm Stage carrying the weight of considerable expectation, and quietly exceeded it. Few contemporary bands understand the emotional power of restraint quite like Big Thief. Rather than filling every available space, they trust silence almost as much as sound. That instinct transformed their performance into one of the opening day's defining moments. Adrianne Lenker's voice carried effortlessly across the audience, intimate without ever feeling fragile. Around her, every member of the band seemed entirely committed to serving the songs rather than themselves. Nothing felt hurried. Nothing felt exaggerated. For long stretches, thousands of people stood almost completely still. In a festival environment where distraction often feels inevitable, Big Thief achieved something increasingly uncommon. They held an audience through nothing more complicated than exceptional songs performed with complete conviction. It was one of those rare festival performances where the scale of the event briefly disappeared, leaving only the music. The emotional intensity established by Big Thief gave way to an altogether different kind of immersion as Ethel Cain stepped onto the Vodafone Stage.

    Over the past few years, Hayden Anhedönia has become one of the most compelling voices in contemporary alternative music, not through grand gestures or carefully engineered spectacle, but through an ability to build entire worlds inside her songs. Live, that sense of scale becomes even more apparent. Her set unfolded patiently, almost cinematically. Each song emerged from the last with quiet confidence, allowing the audience time to settle into its atmosphere before gradually opening into moments of greater weight and intensity. Rather than chasing dramatic peaks, Ethel Cain allowed tension to accumulate naturally, creating a performance that demanded complete attention from beginning to end.

    As midnight slipped into the early hours, the festival's mood shifted once again.

    Where Ethel Cain had invited reflection, KNEECAP invited release. The Belfast trio took over the Vodafone Stage with the confidence of a band fully aware of the momentum surrounding them. Their rise over recent years has been fuelled as much by sharp political commentary as by an exhilarating blend of Irish-language rap, electronic music and club culture, and both elements were present in abundance throughout their set. From the opening moments, the connection with the audience was immediate.

    The crowd responded to every lyric, every beat and every provocation with an energy that rarely dipped across the entire performance. The mosh pits expanded, chants echoed far beyond the front barriers and the atmosphere became increasingly communal as the set gathered pace. Yet reducing KNEECAP to pure intensity would miss what makes them so compelling on stage. Beneath the humour, the provocation and the chaos lies a group with a remarkable instinct for controlling the rhythm of a live performance. They know precisely when to accelerate, when to pause and when to allow the audience to carry the momentum themselves.

    By the time they left the stage, the sense of collective release was unmistakable. If Big Thief had provided the evening's stillness, KNEECAP supplied its pulse.

    The honour of closing the opening day belonged to The xx. Few reunions on this year's line-up had generated quite the same anticipation. Years may have passed since the trio last toured extensively together, but the affection surrounding the band has remained remarkably intact. Their records continue to occupy a unique place within British alternative music, balancing intimacy and restraint in a way that has influenced an entire generation of artists.

    That distinctive identity translated seamlessly onto the Estrella Damm Stage, there was no attempt to reinvent themselves or inflate the scale of the performance. Instead, Romy, Oliver Sim and Jamie xx trusted the qualities that have always defined their music. The production remained understated throughout. Soft lighting moved carefully across the stage without overwhelming it, while the visual design echoed the band's characteristic minimalism. Every element appeared carefully considered, never distracting from the songs themselves.

    What emerged over the course of the set was a reminder of just how timeless their catalogue has become. Tracks that first appeared more than a decade ago still carried the same emotional clarity, finding new meaning within the open surroundings of City Park. Romy's crystalline guitar lines intertwined effortlessly with Oliver Sim's measured vocals, while Jamie xx continued to demonstrate why he remains one of the most inventive musicians of his generation, shaping each song with remarkable precision while never allowing technique to overshadow feeling.

    The audience responded in kind. There was little need for spectacle when thousands of voices quietly filled the spaces between the songs, creating moments that felt intimate despite the scale of the festival surrounding them.

    It was a closing performance built not around dramatic finales or oversized production, but around confidence in the material itself. It proved to be exactly the ending the opening day deserved.

    As the final applause faded into the night, people slowly began making their way through the illuminated pathways of City Park. Some lingered beneath the trees, reluctant to let the evening end. Others quietly discussed the performances they had just witnessed while already comparing notes for the days still to come.

    The atmosphere leaving the site spoke volumes, There was satisfaction rather than exhaustion. Excitement rather than spectacle.

    In an era when many festivals seem determined to become larger, louder and increasingly crowded with distractions, Primavera continues to move in the opposite direction. It has never relied on excess to define its reputation. Instead, it has built something far more enduring: a festival where careful curation matters more than algorithms, where audiences are encouraged to discover unfamiliar artists alongside established names, and where every concert is given the time and space to find its own audience.

    That philosophy has become increasingly valuable. The opening day of Primavera Sound Porto 2026 served as another reminder that some festivals are remembered for their headlines, while others are remembered for the music itself, like Primavera Sound Porto.

    Its first day offered everything that has come to define the festival over the years: thoughtful programming, an audience willing to embrace discovery, a setting unlike any other in Europe and a succession of performances that rewarded patience rather than demanding instant reaction. As the weekend continues, we will be publishing dedicated reviews of several of the festival's standout performances, taking a closer look at the artists who shaped this year's edition.

    In the meantime, follow us on Instagram, where we'll be sharing a gallery capturing the faces, moments and atmosphere of an opening day that once again demonstrated why Primavera Sound Porto remains one of Europe's most distinctive celebrations of live music.

    Because here, perhaps more than anywhere else, the music still comes first.

Words by Sofia Reis
Photography by Hugo Lima