My personal closing act at happened even if I was not very aware of it. Completely tired, with a smile on my face, while walking away on the third day of the festival, crossing a gloriously illuminated forest, I saw a large amount of people picking up the pieces of which was, from my perspective, a fantastic festival with a well-rounded lineup: Bartenders cleaning what was left at the bars, constructors disarming the main stage, cleaning persons picking up the recycle bins. Faraway, the sound of John Talabot’s last time closing Basoa (basque for forest) after five years in a row, the beloved stage that for 3 days each year transports us to a dreamy rave in the middle of the forest.

The amount of effort put on a festival is no minor. Throughout a year, there are hundreds of persons involved in the noble and titanic task of giving us a chance to forget about the weight of the world for a couple of hours. I insist, this is not minor, and in the state the world is in lately, it is absolutely necessary. So I would like to start this piece by expressing my gratefulness to every person involved in making this happen and the amazing persons I had the pleasure to share BBK 2024 with.

The experience of this festival goes beyond the music. There is something very special to it; not only that it sits in a very privileged natural site in the middle of the forest in the Basque country, in a city where you can grab a pincho or go take a look at a Rothko or a Basquiat in the Guggenheim when it’s all over, but the lighthearted disposition of everyone at Kobetamendi: 110,0000 persons from 50 countries to be precise.

I would like to dedicate the following lines to the acts I connected with the most. The more I work covering festivals, the most I understand it is impossible to transmit the experience felt, smelt, seen during three days in seven stages playing paralelly in a couple of paragraphs, and I am sure that if you ask 10 different random persons in the festival, they would all probably come up with a different answer. But still, please allow this humble reporter try her best.

One very cool thing about BBK Live is the opportunity to listen to local acts, such as the newcomers Ezezez or DJ Neska, both during the festival and on live stages located through the city and offered for free. The linup this year was very strong: it was hard to chose a band to watch. Slowdive, Noname, Los Planetas, Floating Points, Mezerg, Jungle, Overmono, Albert Pla, DJ Tennis, Kiasmos (who recently released a beautiful album with Olafur Arnalds), Ezra Collective, Nicola Cruz, and legends such as Underworld and Cymande, who unfortunately canceled.

I would like to start the list with one of the most surprisingly beautiful acts I’ve heard in the past few years: Alba Morena. She is a singer and violin player from Catalonia trained in jazz and flamenco, who offers a mix of pop, dark beats and a very powerful voice. I am sure this is not the only time you will read her name.

German producer Marcel Heym, aka Orbit, played in Spain for the first time. His velvety, melancholic, soft and dreamy electropop won our hearts over, but also his humble attitude towards having the chance to stand on a stage and do what he loves.

A big white rectangle onstage. Excitement in the air. Some of us dont know yet in a couple of minutes we’re being transported to another galaxy in a box designed by Antoine Jorel and Pierre Claude -let’s not forget Nicolas Godin is not only Air’s keyboard and guitar player, but an architect. Air’s elegance is difficult to top, and if listening to the Moon Safari live for the first time was not heartful enough, the whole production put together for this moment created an unforgettable experience that transforms throughout the show. I would not want to spoil this to anyone. This is one of the best shows you’ll be able to watch this year, so if you have the chance, do not miss it.

We already talked about our need to scape the world, but to be honest, today more than ever we need the voices of those who are brave enough to place a political stance and stand up for the most vulnerable people on the planet. Massive Attack’s show was equally beautiful and hard to watch: their visuals, perfectly syncrhonized to the beats from the legends from Bristol, displayed heavy, necessary, raw, real topics of the political agenda of 2024. Let’s put it this way: Listenning to Elizabeth Fraser’s incomparable voice with a bombed Gaza on a the back gave more than one both teardrops and goosebumps.

Grace Jones at BBK Bilbao 2024 photo by David Recio

Following the flow of this short and subjective account of BBK Live 2024 is Khruangbin, a 3 person band that never, ever disappoints. These three must be the coolest cats in the biz, playing their modern disco beats on a sober stage, trying to make the music the focal point of their show, that included Pelota and Maria tambien. Although it is hard not getting distracted by Laura Lizzy’s eternally fashionable outfits, the wigs and a sonic landscape that falls like a drizzle.

The Prodigy’s energy onstage is very hard to describe. It might be a melancholic side of me longing for the years when heavier beats were “cool”, but to be fair I am not alone: throughout their carrer, The Prodigy has sold over 25 million albums. And it shows when you see their fans on the dancefloor, jumping around energetically, giving everything to electropunk reverie headed by Maxim, a force of nature. The only time I saw so many happy people dancing around was during a Fred Again act. How can you not get shivers and an adrenaline rush while listening to Firestarter? Initially polemic for its content, it became a hymn after Keith Flint, former lead of the band, took his life, thanks to the efforts of their fans on raising awareness around suicide.

Speaking about legendary acts, the one and only Grace Jones stole the festival, by far. Not only because at 76 the Jamaican model and signer still has the energy, the voice and the figure of a 25 year old (you should have seen the flabberghasted faces of young and older generations among the public, all dancing to her funky beats). You just cannot believe it. Halfway in the 2020s, we’re seeing little by little strong frontwoman heading the festival posters. It’s starting to become the norm, but guess what? This wouldn’t be possible without the ones who came before, and one of them undoubtedly is Grace Jones. Her strong, charismatic and unruly self to this day is a testament of a quintessentially androginous trendsetter (if you don’t believe me take a look at her outfits during the show), who has always shaken the establishment to the core, and who wont stop doing so till the day she leaves this planet. I guess we’ve seen that face before.

Following the line of strong women, El Columpio Asesino got Kobetamendi shaking to the core from the beginning to the end of their show. The rock band from Pamplona, very well known for the voice of their female lead Cristina Martinez, their unique, dark use synthethizers, and their suggestive lyrics is leaving the stages after almost two decades stealing our hearts. This is their farewell tour, which they close with Toro, an undeniable anthem of my generation, and that was one of my favorite moments of the festival, since it might be the last time some of us see it live. It was our last dance.

Another star of the 3-day onirical fiesta was the one and only Regine Chassagne, heart and soul of Arcade Fire, who appeared like a fairy out of the forest dressed in sequins delivering with her band, hit after hit (three Neighborhoods, Reflektor, No Cars Go, two Suburbs, Wake Up…), funeral vibes, happy memories, flowers, and first Summer kisses to an excited audience.

The cherry on the pie came directly from Berlin. Parcels is not a band, they are a vibe. The intimacy and closeness between the five Aussies is very special. Anyone who has seen them playing live might understand what I’m saying. In a mix of hits and jamming, including the Daft Punk-produced Overnight, there are fullhearted, memorable moments in their shows. My favorite at BBK was when they appeared in front of a sweaty, euphoric audience from a foggy illuminated stage arm on arm, two guitars, four voices and trascendental moment in between euphoric rhythms. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Eskerrik asko BBK Live! Until we meet again.

Words and thoughts of Daniela Valdez

More info on BBK Bilbao 2024 HERE