Arriving from Bristol, United Kingdom, to attend the Primavera Sound festival for the first time, Harrison, 38, mentioned he traveled to Porto with four friends to see Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., and Deftones.
He commented that accessing the venue was swift and described it as a very green and calm space, quite different from those he knows in England.
Gonçalo Barros, 19, arrived today from Cascais, sharing that this too is his first visit to Primavera Sound, and he came to Porto specifically for the concert of the British artist Charli XCX.
Sara Pereira, also 19, traveled from Cascais with Gonçalo and is likewise experiencing Primavera for the first time. She noted waiting about an hour to enter the venue, but felt it was worth it to see her favorite artist.
Filipe, 24, hailing from Bologna, Italy, is studying in Lisbon through the Erasmus program, yet decided to attend the Primavera Sound festival to witness the debut in Portugal of British artist Charli XCX.
“I’m obviously here to see Charli XCX,” he admitted, adding that entering the venue was quick.
Aurelien, 43, traveled from Quimpers in the Brittany region of France with two friends to visit Porto for leisure and took the opportunity to attend the Primavera to see some of his favorite musicians and bands, including Jamie XX, Deftones, Charli XCX, and Beach House.
The group of French tourists reported they plan to stay in Porto for three days to enjoy the festival, describing the venue as “beautiful, calm, and green.”
Patrícia Lucas, 19, came with friends from Lisbon for her third Primavera Sound. She confessed that she only attended the festival to see Charli XCX due to her deep admiration for the artist and plans to leave directly afterward.
“I take the Flixbus [bus] back at 06:15. To afford the festival, I need to save on transport,” she admitted.
The 13th edition of Primavera Sound began under gray skies with some rain threats, but as the afternoon progressed, sunlight dissipated the overcast mood in sync with the music of Surma and Tulipa Ruiz, the festival’s initial performers.
Primavera Sound director José Barreiro revealed that the festival expects 140,000 attendees over its four days, with approximately 35,000 entries per day.
Most festival-goers are Portuguese (70%), also with a significant number of foreigners (30%), according to José Barreiro.
This Thursday’s lineup, in addition to British artist Charli XCX, includes bands like Fontaines D.C., Caribou, Anohni and the Johnsons, The Dare, The Jesus Lizard, Angélica Garcia, among others.
The festival promises a diverse program spanning pop, rock, metal, and electronic genres.
Throughout the remaining three days, Primavera will also feature performances by Beach House, Deftones, Michael Kiwanuka, Garota Não, Jamie XX, Turnstile, Wet Leg, Haim, Parcels, TV On The Radio, Kim Deal (Sonic Youth), Squid, Capitão Fausto, among many others.
