Barcelona has always been a cross-cultural meeting point, and it shows in the musical style native to the city: the Catalonian rumba, a music born in the street, a fusion between Cuban and gypsy music, according to the great Gato Pérez.

As the Catalonian capital, Barcelona also maintains the great Sardana tradition, and all are welcome to watch or participate in the Sardana dances organized every weekend by local associations and traditional folk ensembles.

But, being the big city that it is, Barcelona also has large concert halls, from the Liceu, home to some of the world’s greatest operas and opera stars, to the gorgeous Palau de la Música Catalana, a world heritage site, or the Palau Sant Jordi Stadium, the performance space of choice for pop singers and rock stars who visit our city. Few cities in the world can call themselves key stopping points on worldwide tours made by international stars like Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.
For jazz and blues lovers, Barcelona also has a vast array of small music venues that host local and visiting groups who play small concerts and jam sessions.

Annual festivals:
Overlapping with the city-wide festival in September is BAM (Barcelona Acció Musical), a large music festival open to all styles from folk to electronic, hip-hop, rumba and rock.

The Sònar Festival gathers millions of concert-goers every summer to enjoy advanced music and multimedia presentations, with DJs and groups like Jeff Mills, Miss Kittin, Goldfrapp, Mandes and the Pinkertones, just to name a few.

Towards the end of may, Primavera Sound marks the beginning of summer in the city. This urban festival features popular performers like Portishead, Public Enemy…

Summercase, a young festival that simultaneously hosts 2 programs in both of Spain’s largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, has become the main event of July, with concerts by Blondie, Primal Scream, the Chemical Brothers,  Astrud, Hidrogenesse, and the return of the Sex Pistols.