Lorde, Jennie & the Best Sets From the Madrid Festival

Some acts are built for the sundown sets at festivals as their expansive sound benefits from dramatic colour changes in the sky and the heat starting to subside. The War on Drugs is one such act that bridges that gap between night and day perfectly: the haziness of “Harmonia’s Dream” and “Strangest Thing” were boosted by a crimson sky and, as the night drew in, the party-facing “Under the Pressure” felt like a step in the right direction. An unreleased song, “Who’s That”, brought a final treat for those that stuck around to the end.

The techno legend’s vibrant Coachella set provided a potent reminder of the breadth and power of his decade-spanning catalogue. Now hitting into the festival season, a renewed feel-good energy around the songwriter and producer is giving Europeans a chance to show their appreciation. From the blissed-out “Porcelain” and “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?” to the psych-rock banger “We Are All Made of Stars,” his set was a soothing tonic amidst the Foo Fighters’ heavy-rocking on the adjacent main stage.

During her set, Lorde waxed lyrical on the power and need for authentic human connection. She took aim at the AI-powered offerings of Meta and Ray-Ban – a sponsor of the festival – and implored people, “please, don’t get the glasses.” Virgin cuts “Man of the Year” and “Hammer” provoked carefree dancing and bouncing from the crowd, as did “Green Light” and “Supercut” from 2017 classic Melodrama, songs best enjoyed by staring at your friends directly in the face and singing (or screaming) back at each other. AI can’t do that, eh?

The BLACKPINK member’s solo set on Thursday was something of a rarity. Following shows in Poland, France and Denmark in the run-up, this marked JENNIE’s first-ever solo performance in Spain, as she promotes her 2025 solo album Ruby. While that album was nearly played in its entirety, her expansive show — backed by an array of dancers and dazzling production — featured some tasty extras in the shape of three unreleased songs, and renditions of The Weekend’s “One of the Girls” and Tame Impala’s “Dracula” remix both of which she appears on as a featured artist on. The latter’s candidacy as a song of the summer hopeful appears only to grow with every performance.

The Followill clan had an unenviable task on Friday when their set clashed with the second half of Spain’s quarterfinal match at the FIFA World Cup; they would have no doubt clocked a large outdoor screen showing the match to locals as they faced out from their stage. The brothers took it in their stride, celebrating the team’s win over Belgium midway through their set with a graphic showcasing the Spanish colours. The music won out, though: the band’s set was stuffed with the hits that are undroppable from the setlist these days (“Sex on Fire,” “Use Somebody”), but the quality of less-obvious cuts was just as engrossing. The eerie intensity of “Closer” landed superbly, as did the brooding “Pyro” from the underrated Come Around Sundown.

Madrid is a special place for Interpol’s Paul Banks, having lived and studied in the Spanish capital for several years prior to the band’s formation. After a secret show in the city under the pseudonym Iron City the night prior, the indie icons followed that up with a tight and impactful show that featured classics (“Obstacle 1” and “PDA”) and a pair of new songs from upcoming album This Mirror Weighs a Ton (“Wings on Fire” and “See Out Loud”), both of which look to become staples of the ‘Pol’s setlist well beyond this current tour.

Whether by design or pure coincidence, the Talking Heads legend gave the Orange Stage a fitting finale on Saturday as he and his 13-strong band stomped and wiggled around the stage in matching traffic color-hued orange get-ups. After a lengthy U.S. and European run, translating the choreographed show to festival stages appears to have been a relatively straight-forward task, with greatest hits (“Once in a Lifetime”) and underappreciated gems (“Independence Day”) seamlessly. 

After Kings of Leon, now it was Pulp’s turn: their set went head-to-head with England’s match against Norway, which wasn’t screened on-site. While some fans headed to local bars and pubs, the majority who stayed enjoyed the best of both worlds. Fans in Three Lions gear swayed and sang during the Sheffield band’s finest songs, such as “Babies” and late-career highlight “Spike Island,” with the match’s serendipitously timed final whistle giving even more reason to leap and scream during set closer “Common People.”