IDLES brought one of the night’s most intense performances to the Primavera Sound Porto stage. In front of a crowd that quickly became a sea of moving bodies, the British band tore through 17 songs across roughly 85 minutes, driven by heavy guitars, mosh pits and a relentless sense of momentum. “Levitator”, the opening track, set the tone for a show led by Joe Talbot’s commanding presence and his direct connection with the crowd.

    “Never Fight a Man With a Perm” and “Mother” immediately carried that intensity forward. The band’s sharp guitars and muscular rhythm section found a crowd ready to match every shift in pace. Across Parque da Cidade, the music took on a physical dimension: arms in the air, bodies jumping, crowdsurfers cutting through the audience and mosh pits turning the space in front of the stage into a constantly moving organism.

    The setlist travelled across several chapters of the IDLES catalogue, taking in Brutalism, Joy as an Act of Resistance., Ultra Mono, CRAWLER and TANGK. The 17-song selection created a dynamic arc, placing established favourites alongside newer material and shaping the performance through constantly shifting levels of intensity.

    “Gift Horse” and “When the Lights Come On”, both from TANGK, sat naturally alongside “Mr. Motivator”, “Divide and Conquer” and “The Wheel”. Bringing different eras of the band’s catalogue together highlighted the consistency of an identity that has developed over the years. On the Primavera Sound stage, those songs took on another dimension, each one receiving an immediate response from the crowd.

    Joe Talbot was the main catalyst for that exchange. The frontman commanded the stage with an intense presence, moving between screams, physical gestures and direct moments of communication with the audience. His performance balances confrontation with intimacy, turning the songs into meeting points for themes of identity, masculinity, solidarity and vulnerability.

    “I’m Scum” and “Gratitude” brought a more emotional layer to the set. Beneath the force of the guitars and drums, there was room for introspection, revealing the IDLES’ ability to turn personal experience into moments of collective recognition.

    The intensity surged again with “Car Crash”, “1049 Gotho” and “POP POP POP”. Between songs, a brief burst of Peaches’ “Fuck the Pain Away” added an unexpected twist before “War”. Later, “Danny Nedelko” became another celebratory high point, incorporating a passage from “I Will Survive” and reinforcing the theatrical, spontaneous character of the performance.

    The construction of the setlist proved crucial to the show’s momentum. Each song operated as part of a larger narrative, with moments of heightened tension giving way to passages of greater emotional weight. The result was a performance in constant motion, capable of holding the crowd’s attention from its opening notes to its final moments.

    “Dancer”, towards the end of the set, paved the way for “Rottweiler”. The final song brought the approximately 85-minute performance to a close, completing a journey that had begun with “Levitator”. Across 17 tracks, IDLES turned their catalogue into a collective experience in which music, movement and audience participation became part of the same language.

    The scale of Primavera Sound Porto amplified that effect. Parque da Cidade’s open setting allowed the band’s energy to spread through the crowd, creating a particularly strong connection between stage and audience. Every chorus seemed to return to the band with renewed force, establishing a continuous exchange between the two.

    IDLES delivered a physical, emotional and deeply communicative performance. Their music became a meeting point for anger, vulnerability, humour and celebration, while Joe Talbot emerged as the central figure in an experience built around constant interaction with the crowd.

    When “Rottweiler” came to an end, what remained was the image of an exhausted, exhilarated audience after 85 minutes of sustained intensity. At Primavera Sound Porto, IDLES turned Parque da Cidade into a space of collective catharsis, where every guitar, every beat and every voice contributed to the same sensation: the feeling of being part of something larger than the concert itself.

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Words by Sofia Reis

Photos by Hugo Lima

    By the third day of Primavera Sound Porto 2026, the festival had fully settled into its own rhythm. The early sense of exploration had given way to familiarity. The paths through City Park were no longer routes to be discovered, but places people instinctively understood. Favourite meeting points had emerged, the shade beneath the trees had become part of daily routines and the movement between stages carried the confidence of an audience that already knew the language of the festival. Yet the feeling was not one of repetition. If anything, the third day brought a stronger sense of anticipation. Primavera Sound Porto had reached a point where every performance felt connected to everything that had happened before, while still leaving room for unexpected encounters.

    The park had become more than a festival venue. It had become a temporary city. Across the lawns, people rested between concerts, exchanged impressions of previous performances and planned the next few hours while surrounded by thousands of others following their own routes through the programme. Some arrived early for artists they already knew. Others wandered without a fixed destination, allowing the festival to decide where they would end up. That balance between intention and discovery has always been one of Primavera Sound Porto's greatest strengths. By the third day, the audience was more experienced, but no less curious. The atmosphere throughout City Park carried a different kind of energy. There was less urgency than on the opening day, but a greater sense of attention. Every stage represented a different possibility, and every concert contributed to the larger identity of a festival built around musical diversity rather than a single dominant sound.

    A day that began with different voices, the afternoon opened with a series of performances that immediately established the range of the day's programme. On the Estrella Damm Stage, NAPA began the day with a light and direct performance, offering a relaxed entry point into a programme that would gradually increase in intensity. Their approach created a welcoming atmosphere, allowing the audience to settle into the afternoon while the festival continued to fill around them. 

    Over on the ZYN Stage, The Sophs introduced a more restrained and introspective mood. Their performance relied on subtle details and careful construction, creating a quieter space within the movement of the wider festival.

    At the Primavera Stage, Aiko el grupo brought a different kind of immediacy. Their pop-driven approach connected quickly with the audience, delivering a performance based around energy, accessibility and direct communication.

    Then, on the Vodafone Stage, Triángulo de Amor Bizarro introduced the first major shift in intensity. The Spanish band have built their reputation around the tension between noise and melody, and their live performance reflected that constant balance. Dense guitars, sharp changes in dynamics and a feeling of controlled pressure gave their set a powerful presence. It was an early reminder that the third day would not follow a single emotional direction.

    The festival begins to deepen, as the afternoon progressed, Primavera Sound Porto moved into a more structured and confident phase.

    Yard Act, performing on the Estrella Damm Stage, brought one of the day's most distinctive approaches. The Leeds group have always treated songwriting as a form of observation, combining post-punk rhythms with sharp social commentary and a particular attention to language. Live, those qualities became even more apparent. James Smith delivered each lyric with precision, moving between spoken-word phrasing, irony and criticism while the band built a sound that felt both immediate and carefully arranged. Their performance transformed the stage into a space for collective reflection, where songs became conversations about the world outside the festival itself.

    On the Vodafone Stage, Mike D offered a completely different perspective, using his set as a journey through the history and evolution of hip hop. With a career spanning decades, his presence carried the weight of experience, but the performance was not simply a celebration of the past. Instead, it worked as a carefully curated exploration of sounds, influences and cultural moments that shaped the genre over time. The result was a reminder that musical history is never static. It continues to move through generations, constantly being reinterpreted by new audiences.

    At the Primavera Stage, Duquesa delivered one of the strongest Portuguese performances of the day. With confidence and a clear sense of identity, the artist demonstrated why national acts continue to occupy an increasingly important position within the Primavera Sound Porto landscape. The performance felt assured and direct, connecting naturally with an audience ready to embrace both established international names and emerging local voices.

    Meanwhile, at the ZYN Stage, Criolo, Amaro & Dino created one of the day's most fluid musical encounters. Their performance was built around exchange. Different backgrounds, influences and traditions met without losing their individuality, creating a set defined by movement and collaboration. Rather than presenting different styles as separate elements, they allowed them to exist together naturally. It was precisely the kind of meeting point that Primavera Sound Porto has become known for creating.

    By the end of the afternoon, the third day had already revealed its central idea, this was a festival at full capacity, not only in terms of audience numbers, but in terms of musical possibilities. The programme was not asking listeners to choose between different worlds, it was inviting them to move between all of them. As evening arrived at City Park, the third day of Primavera Sound Porto 2026 entered a more emotionally charged phase. The afternoon had been defined by ideas, textures and different approaches to songwriting. Now, as the light disappeared and the stages became the centre of attention, the festival began to move between celebration, experimentation and deeper moments of reflection.

    The night opened with a series of performances that once again demonstrated the breadth of Primavera's vision.

    On the Estrella Damm Stage, JADE brought a direct and energetic approach to pop, creating one of the evening's most immediate connections with the audience. Her performance was built around confidence, movement and a sense of shared celebration, with the crowd responding from the first moments. Rather than relying on distance or spectacle, the concert worked through proximity. Every song strengthened the connection between artist and audience, turning the stage into a meeting point between performer and those watching.

    Over on the Primavera Stage, Sudan Archives delivered one of the most distinctive performances of the day. The Los Angeles artist has always existed somewhere between tradition and experimentation, combining violin, electronic production and physical performance into a language entirely her own. Live, those elements became even more powerful. The violin was not simply an instrument within the arrangement. It became part of the movement, the rhythm and the visual identity of the performance. Sudan Archives created a set that felt constantly in motion, where sound and body worked together as part of the same expression. It was one of the moments that best represented Primavera's willingness to give space to artists who refuse simple categories.

    At the ZYN Stage, Smerz offered a completely different experience, the Norwegian duo created a more controlled and minimalist atmosphere, using space and restraint as essential parts of their performance. In the middle of a festival day increasingly defined by intensity, their set provided a moment of concentration. Rather than filling every second with sound, Smerz allowed silence and detail to become part of the music. It was a quieter but equally important moment, proving once again that intensity does not always come from volume.

    On the Vodafone Stage, Amaarae shifted the atmosphere once again. Her performance transformed the space into a celebration of rhythm, movement and connection. Blending pop, R&B and contemporary influences, she created an environment where the audience became part of the performance itself. The energy was immediate and constant, with the crowd responding to every change in pace. It was another example of the festival's ability to move effortlessly between introspection and collective celebration.

    Massive Attack and the weight of the night. As the night progressed, Primavera Sound Porto reached one of its most significant moments of the entire 2026 edition. Massive Attack arrived on the Estrella Damm Stage with a performance that went far beyond a traditional concert. Few bands have developed such a strong relationship between sound, image and social commentary. Since the beginning of their career, Massive Attack have created music that reflects the tensions of the world around them, and their live performances continue that tradition. From the opening moments, the stage became a carefully constructed audiovisual experience. Images, messages and music existed together, creating a performance where every element carried purpose. The songs did not simply follow one another. They built a larger narrative, one that explored politics, society and the emotions that exist beneath both. The weight of the performance came not only from the band's catalogue, but from the way those songs felt connected to the present moment. Tracks that have travelled across decades still carried urgency, proving that some music does not age because the questions behind it remain unresolved. The audience watched with complete attention.

    But Primavera's third day was never built around a single emotional register. After the intensity and atmosphere of Massive Attack, the festival moved towards a different kind of release.

    On the Vodafone Stage, IDLES brought their unmistakable physical energy to the crowd. The British band's live reputation has always been built around connection, and that relationship was immediately visible. The performance was direct, loud and built around movement, with the audience responding as an active part of the show rather than distant observers. Every song created a reaction. The space in front of the stage became a constant exchange of energy between band and crowd, reflecting the sense of community that has become central to IDLES' identity.

    At the ZYN Stage, fakemink explored a different territory entirely. Their performance embraced fragmentation and experimentation, creating a sound world that challenged traditional structures and demanded attention in a different way. It was another example of Primavera's willingness to place artists with contrasting approaches side by side without forcing them into the same conversation.

    The night ended at the Primavera Stage with Model/Actriz, who delivered one of the most physically intense performances of the festival so far. Their music has always been built around tension, repetition and increasing pressure, and the live show amplified those qualities. Each song seemed to push forward without release, creating a performance that grew more intense with every moment. It was a fitting conclusion to a day defined by movement between extremes.

    From the precision of Yard Act to the force of IDLES, from the cultural dialogue of Criolo, Amaro & Dino to the energy of Amaarae, from Sudan Archives' unique combination of sound and performance to Massive Attack's audiovisual scale, the third day revealed a festival comfortable with complexity. Primavera Sound Porto does not need every stage to tell the same story, its strength comes from allowing different narratives to exist at the same time. The third day confirmed that identity once again. It was a day where intensity took many forms, where quiet moments carried as much importance as louder ones and where every audience member could create their own path through the programme.

    And with the fourth day still ahead, the festival had one more transformation waiting. After three days built around guitars, voices, experimentation and unexpected connections, Primavera Sound Porto was ready to enter another dimension entirely: the world of electronic music.

Words By Sofia Reis

Photos by Hugo Lima

    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

    Unlike concerts that begin when the stage lights come on, Viagra Boys start the moment Sebastian Murphy walks onto the stage. Shirtless, drenched in sweat, with a physical presence that seems to occupy more space than his own body. The figure is instantly recognisable: a frontman who turns every movement into an extension of the music, dancing, provoking and tearing across the stage with an almost animal energy. Behind him, the band sets up a machine of bass, drums, guitars and saxophone that has already seized the crowd before the first note is played.

    Man Made of Meat opens the set and immediately establishes the temperature. Then come Slow Learner, Waterboy and Punk Rock Loser, and the crowd begins to respond as if it has received a signal. Viagra Boys' sound has weight, groove and a kind of deliberate dirtiness, blending punk, post-punk, rock and funk into a language entirely their own. The drums drive everything forward, the bass keeps it firmly grounded and the guitars create that abrasive layer that gives the songs an almost physical dimension.

    Oskar Carls adds another dimension to the show through his extraordinary musical versatility. His presence goes far beyond the saxophone: several instruments fall within his territory, helping to build the richness of the Viagra Boys' sound. At one point, he creates one of the most memorable images of the night: he throws himself into the crowd with his saxophone in his hands and keeps playing as the audience carries him from one person to another. His body disappears among hundreds of spectators, while the saxophone continues to cut through the air above the crowd. Crowd surfing becomes a musical performance — a perfect image of the freewheeling, unpredictable energy that Viagra Boys bring to the stage.

    From that moment on, the boundary between band and audience becomes almost invisible. Uno II, Ain't No Thief and Pyramid of Health find a completely surrendered crowd, with people jumping, shouting and mosh pits opening up in the middle of the audience. Parque da Cidade becomes a gigantic dancefloor, combining the intensity of a punk gig with the groove of a collective party. There is movement everywhere, and a constant feeling that the music is physically pushing people around.

    Sebastian Murphy conducts this storm like a master of ceremonies. Shirtless, sometimes drinking beer, sometimes something else, he moves across the stage with unpredictable gestures and an expressiveness that turns every song into a small piece of theatre. There is humour, provocation and a huge dose of absurdity in his presence, always tied to the music. Murphy knows how to command the space, provoke a reaction and hand the spotlight back to the band at exactly the right moment.

    Troglodyte, Down in the Basement and Cold Play push the concert into an even more intense territory. The band operates like a perfectly tuned machine, while the audience responds with exactly the same energy. The image takes on an almost cinematic quality: lights pouring over the stage, Murphy crossing it with his body covered in sweat, Oskar Carls commanding his instruments, and thousands of people jumping at the same time. For those few minutes, Parque da Cidade feels like a scene from a film about a city overtaken by music.

    Then comes Sports, perhaps the moment when the connection between band and audience becomes most obvious. The song turns into a collective ritual, with every word seeming to belong simultaneously to the stage and the crowd. Viagra Boys' groove takes on enormous power live, transforming the venue into a single mass, everyone dancing, jumping and singing to the same rhythm.

    Research Chemicals extends the release and carries the concert towards its final stretch. The energy remains at full throttle, with the band operating like a perfectly tuned machine and Murphy continuing to dominate the stage. The crowd follows until the very last surge, completely immersed in that strange universe where punk, humour, dancing and chaos coexist naturally.

    And then comes Up Where We Belong, by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, playing as a recording that feels like the closing credits of a film. After all that intensity, the ballad creates one final, unexpected and almost surreal image. The choice adds a layer of humour and romance to the end of a night dominated by sweat, energy and the spirit of celebration.

    Viagra Boys turned Primavera Sound Porto into a show that was felt in both body and soul. The strength of the performance lay in its ability to turn music into movement, and movement into a collective experience. The stage became an extension of the crowd, the crowd became part of the band, and moments such as Oskar Carls' crowd surfing gave the performance a dimension that could never be reproduced on a recording.

    Sebastian Murphy was the face of the storm, Oskar Carls one of its most surprising figures, while the rest of the musicians built the structure that kept everything in motion. Together, they transformed Parque da Cidade into a living organism, powered by bass, drums, guitars, saxophone, sweat, humour and laughter.

    Viagra Boys came through Primavera Sound Porto like an electric storm: they arrived, made everything vibrate, and left behind a crowd exhausted, sweaty and happy.

words: Sofia Reis

photos: 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