Kendrick Lamar’s Triumphant Return
Kendrick Lamar hadn’t played in Barcelona since 2014, an absence that could be felt in the buzzing anticipation in the crowd before the Compton rapper took the stage to headline Friday night. Kendrick put on a thundering performance, backed by a fleet of backup dancers and a set of elaborate, painted murals of Black families that shifted between songs. The crowd, the most animated that I saw during the entire festival, was more than ready to sing his biggest hits back to him, rising to deafening heights during “Humble” and “Backseat Freestyle.” He also delivered a few surprises, including the live debuts of his verses from Pusha T’s “Nosetalgia” and the Weeknd’s “Sidewalks,” and closing out his set by bringing out Baby Keem, who had performed his own energizing set earlier in the night. It may have taken almost a decade for Kendrick to return to Barcelona, but he made sure to deliver tenfold to make up for the time away. –Eric Torres
Skrillex Sets the Stage on Fire (Literally)
As Friday night wound to a close, dubstep titan Skrillex took to the Estrella Damm main stage for another of the most hyped performances of the day. Concertgoers waved inflatable aliens and palm trees in the air while the DJ opened with a screwed-down version of the Spanish classic “Gracias a La Vida” before quickly shifting into thudding tracks from his recent pair of albums, with the most dramatic drops punctuated by fireworks-level pyrotechnics. Within 10 minutes, however, Skrillex ground the set to a halt: “Wait, is that a fire?!” he asked, pointing to the lighting rig above his setup that was now ablaze with thick flames. While Skrillex was commendably quick to calm everyone down and get emergency crew on the scene (thankfully, no one was hurt), it was a brief, hectic moment of chaos in an otherwise smooth-sailing festival. The DJ returned after half an hour to raucous applause and dove right back into his set of rapid tempos and heart-pounding remixes (his version of Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana” was an especially surprising treat). –Eric Torres
