Primavera Sound has named Robert Smith, Damon Albarn, The xx, Bad Gyal, Slowdive and Santiago Motorizado as recipients of its Can't Do Without You Award, which the Barcelona festival describes as its highest recognition.
The immediate consequence for festivalgoers is symbolic rather than operational: the official notice does not announce added concerts, timetable changes, access changes or ticketing changes. For Barcelona audiences and international followers, it places six artists and groups on the festival's official roll of honour.
Primavera Sound describes the Can't Do Without You Award as "the festival's highest recognition" in its official announcement.
Six recipients named by the festival
The official notice identifies the new recipients by name. They are:
- Robert Smith
- Damon Albarn
- The xx
- Bad Gyal
- Slowdive
- Santiago Motorizado
Bad Gyal is listed under her stage name, while The xx and Slowdive are named as groups. The announcement does not give a ceremony time, performance date or separate public attendance procedure for the award.
The award sits in Primavera Sound's own archive
Primavera Sound's official 2017 English dossier and its award-recipient list file place the Can't Do Without You Award within the festival's institutional archive. In practical terms, readers should treat this notice as an official recognition of artists linked to Primavera Sound's history, not as a new lineup poster or ticketing update.
The distinction matters for people planning around the Barcelona festival: the award announcement does not change entry arrangements, venue access or published programme information. Anyone checking attendance details should use the festival's own official site, Primavera Sound, for programme and ticket updates.
The award also comes in a wider period of institutional recognition for the festival. Fundació Primavera Sound, the foundation linked to the festival, announced that Primavera Sound was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts 2025, a separate honour for the festival as an institution.
The latest official award notice names only the six recipients listed above and gives no further public instructions beyond the recognition itself.
Reported by Source Text Link, Primavera Sound, PJ Harvey (Official Artist Account), Catalan News (Reporting on Spanish Ministry of Culture), Spanish Ministry of Culture, Fundació Primavera Sound, Primavera Sound, Official News.
