Primavera 2026: Massive Attack “devastated” after cancelled headline set
Massive Attack have released a statement admitting their devastation and “frustration” as weather chaos saw their headline set at Barcelona’s Primavera festival cancelled.
The opening day of the Barcelona festival, taking place on June 4th, was all but rained off after severe downpours and strong winds in the city led to the majority of the night’s headline performances being cancelled.
First signs came as sets from Alex G on the Revolut Stage and Mac DeMarco on the Occident Stage were cancelled; however, the festival had shared a message with fans that Massive Attack’s headline set would still go ahead.
Many of the fans who had left the grounds on the recommendation of staff then returned to the area for the Massive Attack show. Nonetheless, the festival then shared that the set was cancelled, despite previous messaging to the contrary.
Massive Attack have now addressed the chaos in a statement shared on their social media, which began, “We’re devastated that our Primavera show was cancelled last night. After previous disappointments, we were really excited to play this festival.”
The band made it clear that the Spanish festival was an extremely important part of their summer: “From the diversity of the bill, the spirit of the region and the breadth of public solidarity with the Palestinian cause, this one was special for us and had been the pinnacle of our summer preparation.”
The Bristolians revealed that they accepted the offer to headline the evening last September, and have since “created a new iteration of the show, prepared bespoke content, and invited special guests to make the occasion as memorable as possible”.
As a nod toward the seemingly impossible situation, the band added, “No one can control severe weather, and we understand that, and the safety of the audience, show staff, the crews, and the artists must be paramount”.
However, the band refused to give up hope until the last minute: “We waited for hours, for as long as we possibly could, for any possibility that the performance could go ahead safely.”
Though the whole situation was nightmarish, Massive Attack revealed that the “deep frustration for us as artists is that in the midst of the chaos, we are unable to communicate directly with fans who we know are as upset as we are.”
The ‘Teardrop’ performers finished with a final apology and a hope “to come back in the future”.
Since the unfortunate start, festival organisers shared a statement which read, in part, “We understand and share the frustration and disappointment of the audience regarding this situation, which is not what we had hoped for on the first day of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2026.
The festival will soon share details of refunds for attendees with day tickets for the Thursday; however, much to the frustration of the fans in attendance, currently are not offering partial refunds for fans with weekend passes.
Primavera is set to continue this evening (June 5th), when performers like PinkPantheress, Addison Rae, The Cure, and Skrillex are set to perform. On the closing night, Gorillaz and My Bloody Valentine will headline a jam-packed lineup.
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