Barcelona will once again become a global epicenter of music, technology, and creativity this June, but before the big stages of the Sónar festival kick off, its more reflective and experimental space takes center stage. Sónar+D returns in 2026 with an edition that marks a turning point: a conceptual reboot that moves its activity to the heart of the city and rethinks the role of technology in contemporary culture.
The event, which will celebrate its 14th edition on June 18 and 19, will be held for the first time at the Llotja de Mar, a historic building that will function as a new axis of connection between digital thought and the city. From there, Sónar+D proposes a paradigm shift: moving from a passive relationship with technology to active participation, reclaiming the human factor in an increasingly automated environment.
Three axes to understand the present (and the future)
The 2026 programming is structured around three major lines of reflection. On the one hand, the relationship between artificial intelligence and music, already approached from a stage post-AI, in which this technology has ceased to be a novelty to fully integrate into creative processes. On the other hand, Beyond the Screen, which explores how to bring physicality and sensory experience back to digital creations. And, finally, Digital Gardens and Dark Forests, which proposes alternative futures for an internet dominated by commercial interests.This approach will translate into a multidisciplinary program combining conferences, workshops, performances, and interactive exhibitions. Featured names include profiles operating at the intersection of art, technology, and critical thinking, such as digital artist niceaunties, researcher Joana Moll, and Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler, alongside creators and technologists working with new forms of artificial intelligence applied to music.
A festival experienced as an experience
Beyond the traditional congress format, Sónar+D reinforces its hybrid nature. The conferences will combine debate spaces with live performances that question the limits between the digital and the physical. From experimental live shows to projects that integrate AI in real time, the program seeks to convert reflection into experience.The new design of spaces in the Llotja de Mar —with stages like Stage+D or Àgora+D— responds precisely to this logic: blurring the boundaries between listening, thinking, and participating. The intention is that attending a talk or a performance forms part of the same journey.
Sónar+D will once again act as the conceptual core of Sónar Week, connecting Sónar’s musical program at Fira Gran Via with the rest of the activities that will unfold throughout the city. The music festival will bring together more than 100 performances and maintain its commitment to mixing disciplines, generations, and languages. Not only do they expand the festival's reach, but they redefine its role: from a complement to a central space where questions are rehearsed that are then transferred to the rest of the programming.
As a novelty, the 2026 edition introduces independent tickets at more affordable prices, with the aim of bringing the event closer to new audiences and strengthening its connection with local creative communities. A move that reinforces the festival's desire to open up beyond the professional circuit and consolidate itself as a meeting point between disciplines.
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