Discover big new Spanish festivals in 2021

Photo: Nerea Coll

You probably know Primavera Sound, Mad Cool, BBK Bilbao Live or FIB. But could you name a different one? Definitely those are the most international, but you can discover some other big Spanish festivals that have a huge number of attendants.

Spain is such a great country if you want to enjoy the festival season. We celebrate around 850 festivals per year, and the number is increasing. Also, you can find a wide variety of genres, artists and locations. Even though Primavera Sound, Mad Cool and BBK Live are the most known internationally, they are a few more receiving even more attendants. Let’s discover new big Spanish festivals in the list below and watch their aftermovies.

Medusa Sunbeach

Celebrated in August in Cullera, Valencia, since 2014, It is an electronic music festival. Medusa Sunbeach is based on different themes each year, like Ocean (2015), Greek Mythology (2016), Jungle Carnival (2017), Invaders (2018) and The Secret of Wonderland (2019). In the past edition, the theme was Circus of Madness, but because of the cancellation, they keep the subject for 2021.

Some of the most relevant electronic artists such as Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki, Afrojack or David Guetta have been booked in the past editions. This year we will be enjoying the performances of Martin Garrix, Nicky Romero, Nervo and much more. A few years back, Medusa Sunbeach added an indie stage, and in 2021 they will include some Latin music leaded by Karol G and Anuel. In 2019, the Medusa Sunbeach festival was the Spanish festival with more attendants, reaching 315.000.

Arenal Sound

Arenal Sound is a mix of music genres (indie, electronic, latin, hip-hop). It takes place in Burriana, Valencia, in July. It has been celebrated since 2010, starting as an independent festival with mostly Spanish artists. They went through the roof, and nowadays Arenal Sound is one of the most known festival in the country and the most talked about by the media. Something that stands out about this festival is the pool area where you can swim while enjoying the performances.

Little by little, the festival has added some new sounds to the program, with acts like Martin Garrix, C.Tangana, Anitta, Bastille, Bad Bunny and much more. For the moment, Arenal Sound keeps the 2021 lineup secretabout the confirmations. The only one announced is Daddy Yankee, but we will have news soon. In 2019, Arenal Sound gathered 300.000 people together, being the second Spanish festival in the list.

Viña Rock

This festival takes place in Villarobledo, Castilla-La Mancha, every October. Viña Rock, as we can guess from the name, is a rock music festival celebrated since 1996. In 2007, the festival moved to Benicassim, but a year later they were back to Villarobledo. As It is focused on Spanish rock, you can find bands such as Los Zigarros, La Pegatina, Medina Azahara and Mago de Öz. They also have some hip-hop and reggae artists like Mala Rodriguez, Los Chikos del Maiz, Morodo, Totte King and more. Viña Rock has not announced any band yet for their next edition in 2021.

In 2019, the festival was established as the third Spanish festival with more attendants, grouping together 240.000 people.

Dreambeach

It is an electronic music festival celebrated in August in Palomares, Andalucia, since 2013. Dreambeach is the inheriting festival of Creamfields Andalucia, having its last editions the year before. Lately, they have added some rock and urban artists, but electronic keeps being the main genre.

Since Dreambeach was born, attendants have enjoyed performances from Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, The Zombie Kids, Yellow Claw, Snoop Dogg, Armin Van Buuren and more. Anuel AA was invited to close the edition in 2019. The confirmations for 2021 are Alesso, Noisia, Brian Cross and Amelie Lens among others. In 2019, the festival started a new edition in Chile. They will be soon in Portugal too. They are clearly finding success. Dreambeach won the Iberian Festival Awards in 2020 for “Best Communication and Marketing Strategy”.

Cabo de Plata

Cabo de Plata is celebrated in Barbate, Andalucia, in July since 2016. It is a festival that mixes hip-hop, trap and reggae, and some pop and flamenco. The artists are mainly national. Attendants could enjoy the performances of Hard Gz, Nach, Green Valley, La Raíz, Morodo and more in the past editions. In summer 2021, the confirmations are ready. Cabo de Plata kept the ones from last year since It could not happen.

Bad Bunny, Bad Gyal, Alberto Gambino, Delaossa, Funzo & Baby Loud and Green Valley are some of them. Even though Cabo de Plata has only had 4 editions, it received 132.000 people in 2019. That makes the festival the 9th one with more attendants in Spain.

These are some of the big Spanish festivals, all of them making up the top 10 of most attendants. Feel free to discover some other ones: the festivals that survived Covid and the most sustainable ones.