Music and technology go hand in hand. What would live music be without amplifiers or recording studios without mixing boards? And at that intersection of technology and music also resides Sónar Festival. This global gathering of creatives wants to leverage technology – including AV – to change the world.

The three-day event, which takes place annually in Barcelona, was started by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero back in 1994. Now, Sónar 2023 will hold its upcoming festival on June 15-17, celebrating 30 years.

With Sónar’s 30-year anniversary around the corner, AVIXA sat down with three leaders of Sónar's parent company, Advanced Music, S.L., to talk about how they pull off one of Europe's biggest events year after year. You can find the video here. 

“[Sónar] brings together more than 125,000 people every year in June in Barcelona,” stated Ventura Barbara, CEO of Advanced Music, S.L., in the video.

Crowds flock to Sónar Festival to witness incredible concerts, but another event within the festival itself makes it stand out even more. It’s known as Sónar+D, an international meeting of art, science, and digital culture that has been going on during the festival since 2013. This gathering has been forward-thinking on topics like Artificial Intelligence, Web3, blockchain, and even climate change.

“In Sónar+D, you can have people telling you how that music show was made or what's the process behind creating a musical show,” said Andrea Farropa, Director of Strategic Projects & Institutional Relationships for Sónar+D.

“We kind of observe the dialogue between technology, creativity, and how they influence each other and how they push each other to go places that are different, disruptive, innovative, et cetera. So, it's a huge party for dancing, for listening, for thinking, for feeling. It's for the body and for the brain,” added Antonia Folguera, Curator of Sónar+D.

As Sónar is one of Europe's most well-known music festivals, how does Team Sónar even begin to plan for an event with this much AV technology? Of course, it doesn’t come without its challenges, as CEO Barbara noted in the video.

“It's a huge challenge for us because the artists that we are programming, the artists that we are working with, are pushing technology but also pushing us really, really high to make the most of their performance. We need to collaborate with technology companies, with AV companies, to have the best possible equipment,” said Barbara.

Sónar continues to redefine what a music festival experience can be – forging connections between various audiences and creative disciplines. From the AV side to the audience, many people are involved in making Sónar Festival a reality.

Watch the full video to see how it all comes together. This latest episode and more from the “How’d They Do That?” series can now be viewed on AVIXA TV. AVIXA TV aims to highlight incredible stories through social shorts, case studies, explainers, podcasts, and more. There will also be live stream shows during InfoComm this year, so make sure to keep your eyes out for them!

And if you know of an amazing AV experience we should feature in the next video, please email us at video@avixa.org.