It was the 22nd edition of the festival. On Wednesday, 29 May, Phoenix headlined the free "Jornada Inaugural" opening day concert on the Amazon Music stage at the Parc del Fòrum.[3] Parc del Fòrum also hosted a "Brunch on the Beach" event on Sunday, 2 June, featuring DJ sets from performers including ANOTR and The Blessed Madonna. Primavera a la Ciutat continued to be held in smaller local venues throughout the city of Barcelona, featuring exclusive performances from groups such as The Chameleons and The Mountain Goats, as well as an intimate performance by The National in the 2,000-capacity Razzmatazz club.[4]
Steve Albini, who performed at every Primavera Sound since 2008 with his band Shellac, died weeks before the festival. A stage was renamed after him in his honor.[5]
The festival sold 268,000 tickets, an improvement from 2023, with over 130,000 unique visitors from 134 different countries. 59% of attendees came from overseas, and the United States, United Kingdom and Italy were the most represented foreign countries.[6]Amazon Music livestreamed performances from six stages.[7]
The line-up for the 2024 edition of Primavera Sound was released on 21 November 2023.[8] It was advertised as showing "love for its own history", using a retro font that recalled a 1994 poster where the words "Primavera Sound" were first used to promote a series of concerts at the venue KGB in Barcelona.[9] The initial line-up featured 42% female artists, 42% male artists and 15% mixed-gender artists, continuing Primavera Sound's mission of being the first major festival in the world to achieve a gender-balanced lineup under their tagline "The New Normal".[10]
On 24 April 2024, Kim Petras cancelled her appearance at Primavera Sound, along with all other summer performances, due to a medical advisory.[11]
Steve Albini, who performed at 15 editions of the festival with his band Shellac, including every edition since 2006 except for 2007, died of a heart attack on 7 May 2024. Shellac were scheduled to perform for a 16th time in 2024. In a statement, the festival said: "What are we going to do without you, Steve? After having welcomed them at 15 editions of the festival, it is impossible for us to imagine a Primavera Sound without him, because no band explains us better than Shellac."[12]
On 14 May 2024, the festival announced that headliner FKA Twigs, who had previously cancelled her scheduled performance in 2023, cancelled again and would have her set postponed to 2025.[13] The seafront stage for heavy music where Shellac were scheduled to play was renamed the Steve Albini stage, and it was announced that a listening party for the band's new album To All Trains would be held during Shellac's scheduled time slot, which Stereogum noted will "function as a kind of wake for Albini's fans". Bands such as Scowl, Gel and Brutus were assigned to the newly christened Albini stage.[14]
On 29 May 2024, the festival held its "Jornada Inaugural" opening day event at the Amazon Music stage in Parc del Fòrum, which was headlined by Phoenix. The band brought Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend to perform the final three songs together, including their collaboration "Tonight", to culminate a performance that was attended by 29,000 people.[6][17]
Lana Del Rey's headlining set on 31 May began half an hour late. Far Out reported that Del Rey's fans began lining up at the festival entrance in the morning even though doors did not open until 3:45 p.m.[20] Her performance received negative reviews from publications including Rolling Stone, who called it "flat" and "disconnected", and NME, who noted she was "marked by an uneasiness in her energy, each move she makes seemingly apprehensive and uncertain."[21][22]Disclosure, who closed out the main stages on Friday, played their first live set since 2016.[23]
A heavy rainstorm began on 1 June during PJ Harvey's headlining slot, who dedicated "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" to Steve Albini (the producer behind her album Rid of Me) and performed "Black Hearted Love" from A Woman a Man Walked By, her collaborative album with John Parish, for the first time in 15 years and the second time ever.[24] The storm culminated in lightning during Mitski's set after.[25]070 Shake was cut off in the middle of performing for going over her scheduled set time with Harvey waiting to perform after her on the main stages.[26]Charli XCX headlined at the Amazon Music stage days before the release of her sixth album Brat, debuting the songs "Everything is Romantic" and "365" live.[27][28]
At the entrance to the festival grounds, an art installation titled the "Gaza Mirror" by Jofre Oliveras was displayed. It referenced the New York–Dublin Portal to connect Gaza and Barcelona, showing images of ruins in Gaza from the Israel–Hamas war and also mirroring the current destruction in Gaza onto iconic Barcelona landmarks.[26] During their festival performances, several artists including Ethel Cain,[29]Mannequin Pussy[30] and Lankum[26] expressed support for Palestine.