Sónar 2027 brings back split day and night format with Bonobo and Carl Cox

A return to the split format

Sónar has announced that its 2027 edition will separate daytime and night-time programming again, reversing the single-venue setup used in 2026. The daytime programme, Sónar de Día, moves to the seafront of central Barcelona, and Sónar+D, the professional and innovation strand, returns to it. The night programme, Sónar de Noche, goes back to its traditional form of two nights and four stages at Fira Gran Via in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. In its statement the festival said the 2027 edition 'recovers its urban, festive and radical character' and reconnects with its founding DNA. The 2026 edition drew 150,000 people, according to the organisers, and was run by François Jozic, who leads the festival for a second year.

The first 30 artists

The first wave includes Bonobo, who will present his album Distance in Static, the Dominican artist Tokischa, the Swedish rapper Yung Lean, Jessie Ware and Cornelius, who will present Refractions. DJ sets come from Carl Cox, who returns to the festival more than two decades after his last appearance, along with Peggy Gou, KI/KI, Romy of The xx, Honey Dijon with her Sinister project and Collabs3000, the improvisation project of Chris Liebing and Speedy J. Goldie was due to play in 2026 but withdrew because of a shoulder injury, and he is among the 2027 names. Óscar Mulero and Job Jobse also feature in the announced lineup, which spans trance, house, trap and hybrid genres.

The 'Sónar is dead' campaign

Before the lineup was revealed, the festival ran a campaign declaring the event dead. A death notice circulated by email and on social media, a coffin graphic dated 1994-2026 appeared, and a condolence book sat on its website beside a fake 404 error page, according to El País. The new imagery includes a negative silhouette of a baby's face next to the 2027 logo, and the promotional video shows pregnant women undergoing ultrasounds in a hospital setting. Georgia Taglietti, who served as the festival's communications and public relations director from 1995 to 2021, called the strategy cheap and absurd on Instagram. She wrote that she understood people who did not want their past wounds turned into a marketing campaign.

Dates and side events

The festival is set for Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 June 2027 in Barcelona. Sónar de Noche will run on the Friday and Saturday, while Sónar de Día opens on the Thursday. Sonar Week will surround the festival, with OFF Sónar at Poble Espanyol from Thursday to Sunday, Sónar District on the Friday and Saturday, and Sónar Kids at Parc del Fòrum. The first tickets are on sale at a launch price, including SonarPass passes covering both day and night.