One of our reporters travelled to Portugal for Primavera Sound Festival. In this article you can read the live, in-the-moment notes she typed on her phone during the performances of Big Thief, Slowdive, Ethel Cain, KNEECAP and more, accompanied by a number of murmuring audiorecordings and photographs that capture the spirit of the festival, giving you a real unfiltered taste of these wizards.

So,

two-and-a-half-hour flight, one hour difference, who knew.

Land. Thirty-six degrees excruciating sun, no clouds. Sunscreen on a white tank top, Birkenstocks burned in both feet.

Hotelbar breakfast. Beach day before music. Bus ride to the middle of nowhere, kind taxi drivers. Sounds of people everywhere, no familiar faces yet all strangely recognisable. Spending money and I earned it*. Blast.

Below you can find my full biased as fuck list of the greatest music acts of Primavera Sound Porto this year, in chronological order. I recorded some audio as well, so you can be there with me and thousands of people breathing down my neck and spilling their drinks all over the grass and concrete.

P.S. If anyone knows all the titles of these songs, do tell. Because I don’t.

1 Big Thief

Barely anyone ten minutes before but they're rolling in happily. Gay couples kissing, hearts full of joy. Crowd seems to know what they're doing, filling up their water bottles by the toilets and sweating through their Geese- and anti-fascist merch. White smoke enchanting the stage before Big Thief does.

Adrianne Lenker walking on stage in a flower-covered sundress with a pair of jeans underneath is the perfect metaphor for their music, playing an unreleased countrysong to start off and moving over to Born for Loving You, a more catchy one about love and life intertwined. They seem to be having a good time, James Krivchenia's signature leopardcap banging his drums mystically and Buck Meek's earring shining on the LCD-screen.

Hands of middle-aged men start to wave in the air as they play Vampire Empire, one of their true breakthrough (or rather: break-up) songs. Lenker smiling humbly, ‘Thank you for having me’.

Masterpiece, flavoured by heavy unbroken eye contact with a guy on molly trying his best to disguise it, failing miserably.

New semi-acoustic song with some incorporated breathing exercises that might be a cover-up for forgetting lyrics.

'Aw, so many people.' Setting sun, the band's name scribbled on the drums in black marker, Portuguese men in heavy voices discussing who knows what.

God, those beautiful Simulation Swarm lyrics.

I believe we can renew and you can be my brother once again, fall asleep with our backs against each other

Spoken-word new song. Guy next to me asking why I'm covering my ears, saying 'But that's rock and roll!'. Yes yes, big fan, but a bigger fan of my immaculate hearing.

Not. Shredding the fuck out.

Evol. True connoisseurs of Adrianne Lenker’s solowork sticking out like sore thumbs, slowing down their feet and listening closely while breaking their own hearts voluntarily.

Incomprehensible. Guy on molly in question turning around saying if I'd like to go piggybacking on him, I can.

I love being a woman.

'I like closing my eyes,’ Lenker says, ‘because it feels like there's no distance between us. Because there isn't’.

Spud Infinity – 'celestial body' and 'crust of garlic bread' within one verse. Imagine being able to pull that off.

Rock 'n roll guy asking me to hold his beer.

The end!

2 Ethel Cain

Now we know where everyone went. Full of people – most of them sitting down in the tall grass under the stars. Decor of bushes and artifacts too small to see from up the hill I'm standing, but enchanting nonetheless. Such tall legs in jeans shorts.

Missed half of it. Heard American Teenager and jumped through the nearest collection of bushes to find the right stage.

Heavy drone-sounds and the unquestionably distinctive sound of her voice flying above it all. First chord of Nettles, stunning, nothing else. Potent group of musicians.

Being able to craft such an intimate, slow-paste set at one of the biggest stages is a dream only she can let come true. It's weirdly fitting.

Makes me miss a house in Nebraska I’ve never been to. To love me is to suffer me.

People crying inconsolably on the big screen, understandably so. I’m thinking of those Waco, Texas lyrics. Close to it. Hope they won't put me on the big screen.

They don’t.

‘All of Alabama laid out in front of your eyes, but all you could see was me’

Incredible sound on Dust Bowl. Love that song.

I knew it was love when I rode home crying
Thinking of you fucking other girls

3 The XX

Worth the mention for nostalgic purposes. Didn't realise they would show up in a band set-up – thought they were an electronic DJ duo. Dumb assumption.

Nice surprise.

Percussionist slash DJ slash drumcomputer-wizard doing his thing and doing it damn well. Yeah. Pioneers of electronic guitar music, I guess you could call it that.

Still fresh, rhythmn section keeping people awake at a quarter before twelve – one cheap full-milk latte down. Sat down for this one.

Iconic bob-cut I've come to know as a teenager, like so many of us I imagine. Tweaking out in our bedrooms to Intro. If you don't know the bandname, you know the album cover. If you don't know the album cover, you definitely know Intro. Look it up baby.

Such a recognisable voice, again.

I am yours now. Now I don't ever have to leave

Iconic intro of a song I forgot the name of; ah, I remember now – it's Angels. Of course it is. What a banger. Can't believe they're still playing this more than a decade later. Phenomenal.

Black T-shirt. Black pants. Black and white visuals. Both of them. Heavy bassbeat.

Someone in front of me bored enough to start playing games on his giant iPhone.

The more I think of it, the XX really are iconic. Great great instrumental performance.

That's all.

4 KNEECAP

Fucking bomb. First time listen, believe it or not. Massive Attack spirit with an underground rap spirit, some Gorillaz. Some early Kid Kudi-style productions with Skepta sauce.

Shot of espresso in the line-up. 1am by now, no sleep in sight with this set, and I don't want to. Two people rapping simultanously is fucking impressive.

Best new-to-me act I've seen in a while. Rightfully hyped to the heavens. Full of activism and much needed radical energy. Impressively new and unique beats and productions and sample-use.

One minute I'm at a rapshow, the other at an underground techno-rave, then at some 2014 drum and bass gig. Keeps you on your feet and keeps them moving as well.

Surprisingly danceable. Charming. Very well crafted lyrics in both English and Irish Gaelic – precise estafette of line delivery. Badass teenage troublespirit. Want to run away from home, climb some fucking fence and do some graffiti on my principles house.

‘We don't give a fuck about the repercussions. We believe in the responsibilty of using our platform to speak up about Palestine. As Irish people we understand colonialism. Let's show some solidarity for our Palestinian brothers and sisters.’

The political vessel music has the power to be.

‘This is a security announcement. If anyone has any drugs, you simply must throw it on stage. This is for your own safety.’

Lurking moshpit feels like a storm hanging in a heavy, damp sky. And it's gonna pour any minute now.

5 Slowdive

Second day.

Left the beach too late to be on time – saw this waiting in line for the wristband-chaos and some pizza for dinner. Can't be arsed to write but I will scribble some notes down today too.

Slowdive is the soundtrack to nostalgia, always has been, loads of pedals making it hard to distinguish between songs. More like a feeling.

Feels like everyone’s here for When the Sun Hits. They played it last.

6 Black Country, New Road

All six of them equally as developed in their crafts; so many instruments on stage, such beautiful voices blending in with each other, singing slightly absurd lyrics about jeans with small pockets and salad days. Ethereal melodies, unpredictable like the sea; different every minute. Kind of band where every single member is highly skilled – most likely conservatory background musicians. Probably.

Keeps you confused and on your toes in a good way. Slow saxophone- and flutesounds, classical guitar on the lap for a 11pm set — brave. Bizarre mix of niche instruments, harpsichord, violin, mandolins, whatever it takes to sound this good. Whole orchestra here. Experimental freehand drawing, but within a clear border of control. Whimsical though. Missing Isaac Wood a little to take the edge back off with his voice.

Asking aloud: 'Do they all play four instruments or what?'

Answer is yes. Of course.

7 Water From Your Eyes

Honourable mention: they’re swaggy as hell. Scheduled synchronically with Gorillaz.

Die-hard fans only.

Gothish heavy rock with female vocals. Funky but tasty. Robotic voice with shredding guitars and loud ass drums. Bassist looks like Marceline Abadeer. Rebellious (probably emotionally unavailable) leadsinger I'd crush on in highschool yet would be too scared to approach at any given time. Performs like she's in a karaokebar slash comedyclub at an hour where no one gives a shit about how they look anymore.

'Thanks, sir,’ she says to the technician,

‘that was so distracting. Buy my products.'

Insane visuals in red and blue paint colours, dizzying, enlarging the metallicness of the extremely nonchalant vocal execution. Either drunk, high, or out of fucks.

'I believe in a world in which the billionaire class does not exist. I believe the United States of America should burn for what they have done. I believe in a free Palestine. And I believe we will get there. Fuck the fascists.'

Out of fucks it is.

Consider me won over completely – most absurd new thing I've witnessed in months.

Need to get her on my interviewlist.

8 Gorillaz

Literally – kid you not – the entire festival crowd was here.

So many people I got scared I wouldn't get out of here if I didnt leave now.

So I did. Unfortunately.

Peace out.

*when I’m lonely that’s when I’ll burn it

Aline J.M. Janssen (she/her) is a literary scholar, artist and cultural reporter. In recent years, she has been an active part of media organisations such as De Groene Amsterdammer, Dwars, Written in Music and OOR.

Live-Notes: the Best Music Acts at Primavera Sound 2026

So,