Live Music Picks: January and February 2019

While the major summer festivals in Barcelona such as Sonar and Primavera Sound have consistently managed to attract some of the biggest names in music to their eclectic lineups each year, it has perhaps taken a little longer for the domino effect to be felt within the city’s gigs outside of festival season. Yet in the last few years it seems more and more international artists are choosing to make a stop in Barcelona as part of their European tour.

The last 18 months has even seen the creation of new live venues such as La Nau. That’s always a welcome sight considering the number of salas (venues or concert halls) that have had to close down in recent years, as well as the prohibitive city regulations that can make opening a new venue a difficult task.

Keeping all that in mind, here’s a selection of the top gigs you can expect to find in Barcelona over the coming months.

With artists’ itineraries often taking a break in and around the New Year, January is typically a quiet time for the live music circuit and this year is no exception. However, by the end of the month we will start to see see notable artists passing through our city once more.

Avant-garde hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces will appear at Fabra i Coats on January 30 to present their two recent albums Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines, two concept albums about an alien protagonist landing on Earth and navigating America for the first time. Wild, unpigeonholeable and guaranteed to be lots of fun.

The following evening, January 31, El Molino will host the more traditional sounds of Barcelona singer-songwriter PAVVLA, whose sound is more rooted in British and American songwriting traditions of years gone than by Catalan music. Yet she is a rising star of the Barcelona scene and her song “Planets and Stars” has racked up almost 500,000 streams on Spotify alone, with regular live slots like this one throughout the region ensuring her stock continues to rise.

Indie heavyweights Snow Patrol and Yo La Tengo will then both be rolling into town on February 13, playing Razzmatazz and Apolo respectively. Snow Patrol will mix old classics such as “Run” and “Chasing Cars” with material from their latest album “Wilderness,” whilst Yo La Tengo will be showcasing songs from 2018’s critically acclaimed “There’s A Riot Going On,” the New Jersey band’s 15th studio album.

There’s not long to wait until more indie royalty descends upon Barcelona, with Echo & the Bunnymen playing Razzmatazz on February 14. Originally formed in 1978, the Liverpool band released a string of critical and commercial hit records throughout the 1980s before splitting the following decade. They reformed shortly afterwards and nowadays are helmed by original vocalist Ian McCulloch and original guitarist Will Sergeant.

Then follows somewhat of a coup for Barcelona, with Massive Attack hitting the city on February 16 for a 21st anniversary tour to mark the release of their landmark album “Mezzanine.” The Bristol trip-hop heroes, who can boast hits such as “Unfinished Sympathy”, “Teardrop” and “Karmacoma” across their wide and varied discography, will be bringing their politically motivated live show to Sant Jordi Club in what promises to be an intense, dark and spectacular performance.

February is rounded off with a show by British indie quartet Bastille at Razzmatazz on the 27th as they gear up for the release of their hotly anticipated new album “Doom Days,” set for a spring 2019 release. The band rose to fame on the back of their 2013 album “Bad Blood”, which spawned the ubiquitous hit “Pompeii” and won them legions of fans all over the world. It’s not every day that a group with over 15 million singles and 6 million albums sold passes through Barcelona, so this is certainly not one to miss.