M. Ward : I arrived at the festival in a rush, running straight to the tiny space known as Ray-Bay Unplugged in order to catch the small show and interview of Avi Buffalo. Being new to Parc del Fòrum, this petit arear was not easy to find for me. Finally oriented, I was disappointed to see an abandoned venue full of new shining Ray-Bans. Lame. No Avi. No Buffalo. In all of this beginning chaos I found my ears pleased by a sound coming from the San Miguel stage, so I grabbed a beer and headed over to feed my curiosity. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by M. Ward and his groovy country rock. Within seconds, this California native got people moving. Popping up and down, strumming and singing his heart out he got some bodies a-movin’. And to add to his coolness, amongst all the artists I caught this weekend in Barcelona, M. Ward was one of the few to perform an encore. No doubt, he knew how to please the crowd of Primavera.

James Blake : Singing “Limit to Your Love,” this 21-year-old British groove-master soothed the audience with his strong, low and slow vocals. The timing and sounds of the beats he dropped created a simple yet addicting rhythm. Known as being associated with the R&B and Dubstep genres, Blake produced an irresistible melange of the two. Playing more peaceful R&B than high-energy bass dubstep, permitted me as well as the rest of his fans to swagger left to right in a serene outer space, eyes closed with visions of smooth blue, pink and red flashes of light.

Battles: You’d think that after almost 12 hours of standing with knees locked, tapping toes in crappy sandals, swinging 2 foot long hair, you would not be up for getting down. But with Battles’ new tunes from their upcoming album Gloss Drop (June 7^th), waving and popping every part of your body was inescapable. Drummer, John Stainer, was swift, flawless and unstoppable creating beats in your heart until the night sky became day. The New Yorkers performances of “Ice Cream” and “Sundome” from their new album were electrifying, not to mention the light and video show.

Also Friday: Belle & Sebastian, The Fiery Furnaces, The National, Explosions in the Sky, Low, Sufjan Stevens, Twin Shadow, Field Music