From Weezer to PVRIS to Refused and beyond... here are our picks of the bands you need to see at Mad Cool this year. It's gonna be a hot one!
Festival season is fast approaching and we cannot wait to be back out in various fields and farms, watching some of our favourite bands, and living our best lives while the world falls apart around us. And Madrid's megafest Mad Cool is packing an absolutely stunning line-up this year, bringing the biggest names in pop like Olivia Rodrigo alongside veritable rock icons like Iggy Pop and titans of heavy music like Nine Inch Nails for a four-day blow-out.
We're already packing our bags with anticipation (thankfully they give out free suncream at the festival, which is a lovely little touch), and making a list of all the acts we want to cram in across the July weekend. Below are just some of the bands we insist you make time for. See you down front!
Do you really need us to explain why seeing Weezer in the glorious Madrid sunshine is a bloody brilliant idea? There are few bands so perfectly suited to a greatest hits summer set, but the Californian alt.rock legends are surely one of them. Surf Wax America. Beverly Hills. Island In The Sun. What will no doubt be an off-kilter cover of a gargantuan rock hit. It’s guaranteed to be an hour of deafening singalongs with your mates and a couple of cervezas in hand. Say it is so.
If belting out the best cuts from the Blue album doesn’t do it for you, how about waiting til the sun goes down for the inimitable Trent Reznor to turn the sun-drenched haven of Mad Cool into a pitch-black industrial rave. Having not played in Spain at all since their last Mad Cool appearance in 2018, the NIN faithful have been waiting patiently in the shadows for the return of their gothic lord and saviour. Armed with what will undoubtedly be a light-show capable of communicating with interstellar life, and the destructive bangers of Head Like A Hole and The Hand That Feeds – strap yourself in for a mesmerising cacophony.
From a welcome return to a fond farewell. After reforming in 2012, Refused are fucking dead, with the Swedish post-hardcore icons hanging up their boots at the end of this year. The scene as we know it today owes Dennis Lyxzén and co. a great debt, so what better way to show these punk pioneers the respect they deserve than flailing around like a mad idiot in the pit, striking fear into the souls of those gathered to watch Kings Of Leon and The Wombats. All together now… ‘Can I scream?!'
“Jagged Little Pill soundtracked many, many years of my life. You can look up the lyrics to any of her songs and get lost in them,” Pale Waves vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie told us last year, explaining why Alanis Morissette is one of her heroes. And she’s not alone, countless people across the world found solace and salvation in Jagged Little Pill, which celebrates its 30th anniversary one month before Mad Cool. So expect a healthy dose of that incredible landmark record from the Canadian superstar in the setting Spanish sun, as we all come together to belt out You Oughta Know in our best Kevin from The Office impression.
If you’re yet to experience St. Vincent live, make sure that is remedied at Mad Cool this year. A true artist with countless strings to their bow, the Dallas art-rocker hit a high watermark with last year’s All Born Screaming, following what’s already been an incredible run of releases, and is able to effortlessly transpose that incredibly energy and innovation from the studio onto the stage. From the swaggering Big Time Nothing from her latest LP to the pulsating Sugarboy from her 2017 breakthrough Masseduction, make sure to pack your dancing shoes!
Despite being at it for over 15 years now, LA noisemakers FIDLAR are still hugely underrated. Dealing in nothing but having a good time all the time, their sunburnt, booze-soaked brand of garage-punk is guaranteed to hit the spot in the afternoon Madrid heat. Amongst all the high-production big-hitters strewn across the weekend, there'll be something oddly charming about the Cali underdogs barking about the price of beer and living life to its fullest.
Alanis Morrissette isn’t the only artist celebrating a milestone album anniversary this year, as PVRIS are currently toasting ten years of their sensational debut LP White Noise. Currently in the midst of a tour that includes two sets – one playing the record in full, and another of other selected hits – we don’t know if Lynn Gunn is planning a similar outing at Mad Cool, but we do know that My House is going to absolutely slap when we’re all a few sangrias deep on Saturday afternoon.
Although this year’s Mad Cool line-up does feature some of the biggest artists on the planet right now – from Olivia Rodrigo to Benson Boone to Gracie Adams – they’re also about supporting newer acts and exposing them to tens of thousands of new fans. Fast-rising Los Angeleno Blondshell is just one of these, having just released her second album If You Asked For A Picture, now’s the time to get on board with their infectious, ‘90s-inflected alt.rock, that’s as cathartic as it is vulnerable, and the ideal soundtrack to a laid-back afternoon on the astroturf.
Mad Cool isn’t just about bringing in the hottest names from overseas, the festival also supports homegrown artists and the Spanish scene in general. Madrid’s own Alcalá Norte are just one example, who have been making waves across the country since their first EP in 2020, and a sound that straddles the worlds of jangly post-punk, pounding indie-rock and anthemic Britpop. It’s surely just a matter of time before they break out into the rest of Europe and beyond, but seeing one of their biggest-ever shows on home soil will be simply joyous.
Mad Cool takes place in Madrid, Spain, on July 10 – 13. Get your tickets now.
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