The experience of some artists and the repertoires performed have made the difference in the sixteenth edition of the Cruïlla festival. The nostalgia card has won because Suede, Pixies, The Black Crowes and David Byrne have offered good concerts, some even extraordinary, and because the public has responded positively to the proposal. In total, Cruïlla 2026 has gathered 73,000 attendees, 9,000 fewer than last year, when a record of 82,000 was reached. But the decline is not explained by the, let's say, nostalgic days of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but because Wednesday, the day intended for the younger audience, has been less successful: Halsey, the headliner for Wednesday, only attracted 9,000 people, half of the 18,000 that Gracie Abrams had in 2025.

David Byrne has reflected on music with great wisdom. For example, in the book How music works (2012), available in Spanish by Reservoir Books. And the staging of his concerts must necessarily be the result of very deep reflection on how to accompany live music. When he was part of Talking Heads, he already promoted scenic gestures that sought new ways of presenting himself, and in his solo career he has gone further. He already showed it at Cruïlla in 2018, and he returned on Friday with an evolution of the format seen eight years ago: an empty stage, without tool nor fixed instrumental elements; only giant screens that can project images or simply light up with colors, and a dozen musicians-dancers, or rather, choreographed musicians, each moving with their instrument, including the percussionists, the cellist, and the keyboardist. Everyone dressed in blue, like the specialized operators of a secret laboratory, or like the medical staff of a clinic run by a minimalism enthusiast.

The devil would have approved of what happened on Friday at Cruïlla. On the Estrella Damm stage, The Black Crowes delivered an hour and a half of rock'n'roll, the devil's music. Thousands of spectators accepted the deal, and past eight in the evening they welcomed the band of brothers Chris and Rich Robinson with the desire to have a good time. The devil, satisfied to see the lineup, was merciful and sent clouds and a breeze to quell the heatwave. It didn't end the sweltering heat, but even the devil has his limits. Since their performance at Sant Jordi Club in 2022, the Atlanta group has released the albums Happiness Bastards (2024) and A Pound of Feathers (2026), but on the tour that brought them to Barcelona, the repertoire focuses mainly on the first two albums: Shake Your Money Maker (1990) and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992). In other words, in line with Thursday's 90s nostalgia with Pixies, Suede, and Garbage. Of course, with fewer people on Friday.

Barcelona's major festivals are children of the nineties of the 20th century. So is Cruïlla, even though its first edition took place in the 21st century. Its director, Jordi Herreruela, lived the most impetuous period of his youth precisely in that era. Therefore, it is not surprising that Cruïlla's programming reserves space for the music of those years, as is the case with Primavera Sound and Sónar. Every generation has the right to build its own nostalgia, but in Barcelona's macro-festivals, the memory of the nineties seems to carry more weight than others. The programming for Cruïlla's second day, with Suede, Pixies, and Garbage on the main stages of the Parc del Fòrum, can be interpreted as a tribute to the generation that has already passed fifty.

May the sea breeze alleviate the heatwave. This must be the dream of the spectators who trust in the sixteenth edition of the Cruïlla Festival, which takes place from July 8 to 11 at the Parc del Fòrum. In general, the artistic DNA of recent years is maintained; in fact, there are groups that have already passed through the festival before, and salsa proposals like those in 2022, 2023, and 2024 are missed. The main change in this edition has to do with the arrangement of the stages, with a new one in the area closest to the port of the Fòrum where the comedy programming will unfold, which includes names like Oye Sherman, Manel Vidal, Marc Sarrats, Ignatius Farray, and Charlie Pee. Tickets for Cruïlla 2026 can still be purchased at different prices: 171.48 euros for the four-day pass; 160.934 euros for the three-day pass (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday); 150.29 euros for the Friday and Saturday pass, and 137.68 euros for the Thursday and Friday pass or for the Thursday and Saturday pass. Daily tickets cost 81.50 euros (Wednesday), 86.80 euros (Thursday), and 95.34 euros (Friday and Saturday). Below is a selection of ten recommended concerts.

Turisme de Barcelona and the Cruïlla Festival have teamed up to facilitate access and expand ticket and season ticket sales and distribution points for the festival to be held from July 8 to 11 at Parc del Fòrum. The Barcelona Tourist Office, located in Plaça Catalunya, thus becomes an official sales point for Cruïlla, and for this reason offers a 15% discount on day tickets and general season tickets, including management fees, until the last day of the festival.

The Cruïlla festival announced a few weeks ago the first big names for its 16th edition, which will take place from July 8 to 11 at the Parc del Fòrum: artists such as David Byrne, Pixies, Jovanotti, Renée Rapp, Bomba Estéreo, Two Door Cinema Club, and Mishima. This Wednesday, it unveiled the rest of the lineup, with the exception of five or six groups still to be confirmed. Among the new additions are the rock acts The Black Crowes and Garbage from the US and The Hives from the Swedish band, and the pop band Suede from the UK (who released a very good album in 2025). Antidepressantsand the danceable offering from fellow Brits Faithless. Younger is the American Halsey, who will headline the opening day with a concert celebrating the tenth anniversary of her album. Badlands (2015).