It wasn’t just the UK that was treated to some stellar performances this festy season. Over on the continent, bands and artists from across the world convened on beaches, in cities, and in fields to help fans create a new trove of great memories. NME was among those that travelled in search of those unifying moments and found them in Spain, Norway, and beyond. Here are the seven best European sets we caught this summer.
Brockhampton
Where: Lowlands, Netherlands
What we said: “A fan on the front row is shown on the big screen bawling their eyes out, proving the emotional pull this group have on their crowds. Told you it was the summer of Brockhampton.”
Lykke Li
Where: Øya, Norway
What we said: “As she stalks the gangway and tends to the teary-eyed, hollering devotees that occupy the front rows, Lykke Li needs no high concept stage set or fireworks to show what a headliner can do.”
Lorde
Where: Primavera, Spain
What we said: “As she bounds about the stage, giving shoutouts to “the ocean” and gushing about how happy she is to be in Barcelona, she’s quickly proving to be the big-time pop star she always hinted at becoming.”
St Vincent
Where: Øya, Norway
What we said: “Few other artists can match the sheer scope of St Vincent’s ambition and vision. She’s taken a sci-fi fever dream and turned the stage into a world of her own.”
Nine Inch Nails
Where: Mad Cool, Spain
What we said: “Trent Reznor and co. brought a career-spanning set of their heavy-as-hell industrial rock and a stage set-up comprised of blinding white lights to the festival’s main stage, delivering one of its most punishing appearances in the process.”
Arctic Monkeys
Where: Mad Cool, Spain
What we said: “the Monkeys were on seductive form in the Spanish capital. Their frontman paired a wide-collared white shirt and dark suit jacket with a flamboyant pair of red trousers, and he seemed determined to woo the tens of thousands of people crammed into the arena.”
Florence + The Machine
Where: Melt, Germany
What we said: “Wildly theatrical, she’s a well-honed festival powerhouse, ricocheting around the stage like a shaken Coke can, and naturally the bangers incite the most delirium, with full safety-limits-removed Florence vocally turbine-ing through her euphoric cover of Candi Staton’s ‘’You’ve Got The Love’, rainbow LGBTQ flag billowing behind her.”
