Sónar Lisboa 2025 celebrated electronic music, diversity and creativity

In its fourth edition, Sónar Lisboa has consolidated its position as a festival of and for the city, with stage takeovers by local labels and promoters that demonstrate the surprising richness of the Lisbon scene.

The line-up also highlighted the enduring and intergenerational appeal of electronic music, bringing together established and emerging international talents.

Sónar Lisboa will return for a fifth edition in 2026.

Sónar Lisboa 2025 featured 46 performances at Parque Eduardo VII, in the heart of the city, with artists from 14 countries, representing the best of electronic music from all styles and generations. This year, 21,000 festival-goers from over 59 countries took part, attracted by a lineup that featured incredible audiovisual shows from Richie Hawtin, Anetha and Max Cooper, innovators and creators such as Jeff Mills, Underworld and Modeselektor, and a host of international DJs who represent the enduring, intergenerational appeal of techno, including Nina Kraviz, Héctor Oaks and KI/KI.

The astonishing richness and diversity of the local scene was reflected in a trio of stage takeovers by local labels and promoters Príncipe x TraTraTrax, Dengo Club and Enchufada. These takeovers welcomed exciting artists like Lua de Santana and Rita Vian, local talents like DJ Lycox and Pedro da Linha, as well as DJs from across the southern hemisphere who have been making waves on dance floors around the world: Bitter Babe, San Farafina and MU540, and a unique back-to-back between DJ Firmeza and Nick León.

The festival also served as a warm-up for Sónar 2025, including several artists who will be present in Barcelona on June 12, 13 and 14 this year. Audiovisual artist Max Cooper debuted his new show “Lattice 3D/AV,” which incorporates lasers and projections with stunning effects, and Josh Caffé will use the energy of his live show at Sónar Lisboa to perform at a peak time at SonarVillage by Estrella Damm. Other headliners also set to be in Barcelona in June include Dee Diggs, the house music selector par excellence, who will play back-to-back with 90s legend Ultra Naté; and Juliana Huxtable, whose sublime narrative interpretation of techno reveals a singular artistic sensibility.

Sónar Lisboa will return in 2026 for a fifth edition. Dates and further details will be announced in due course.

Sónar Lisboa 2025 – Sonic innovation that spans countries, continents and generations

Over three days, the three stages of Sónar Lisboa hosted some of the biggest international stars in electronic music, as well as artists from Lisbon and around the world who are defining the course for the future.

The history of techno had a strong presence at Sónar Lisboa with a trio of headliners. Richie Hawtin with DEX EFX X0X on Friday, Underworld on Saturday, and Jeff Mills on Sunday. All of them showed that their mission to contribute significantly to electronic music culture is far from over.

In addition to these techno creators, Sónar Lisboa also featured contemporary stars who took techno to new and surprising heights, with sets from Nina Kraviz, Héctor Oaks, KI/KI and Anetha’s most recent AV show filling the peak timeslots. Together, they have demonstrated unequivocally that techno’s appeal is enduring and intergenerational.

Sónar Lisboa also managed to demonstrate how interconnected the worlds of DJing and production are. Renowned producers Modeselektor and The Blaze took to the stand, while legendary Berlin DJ Marcel Dettmann performed his latest live AV show, “My Own Shadow”, for the first time in Portugal.

The exciting and bold Lisbon scene was also highlighted, with three stage takeovers from local labels and collectives: Dengo Club, Enchufada, and Príncipe x TraTraTrax. Highlights included Rita Vian’s soulful blend of fado and R&B, a glimpse of rising star Lua de Santana, and a never-before-seen back-to-back between two incredibly talented DJs and producers: DJ Firmeza da Príncipe and Nick León of TraTraTrax (who had never met – or spoken face to face – before playing together this weekend).

Many more connections between the local and global underground are identifiable in the line-up. The brash Brazilian phenomenon turned up the heat on Sunday afternoon after Parisian duo Amor Satyr & Siu Mata and Porto DJ NOIA showed that UK hardcore and jungle can still sound fresh in 2025. On Saturday, Lisbon-based Brazilian artist King Kami took her new AV show (created with João Parente) to the main stage, before Gabber Eleganza and her troop of dancers showed Lisbon how to dance the hakke. On Sunday, just before Jeff Mills, Chilean selector Valesuchi and Brazilian bass ace RHR delivered a sensational back-to-back set that proved DJs are still driving electronic music forward in 2025.

Sónar + D returned to Lisbon this year, looking beyond music and exploring the shared spaces between creative industries, innovation and technology, with three masterclasses – led by digital artists Boldtron, visual artist duo Hamill Industries, and curator Kaitlyn Davies alongside creative technologist Brian Wong – as part of Voices of Sónar + D by Me by Meliá at Casa do Lago.

After the Portuguese capital, Sónar also returns to Istanbul and Zorlu PSM on the 9th and 10th of May, for the ninth consecutive year. All information and tickets are available at sonaristanbul.com. To date, Sónar has organized over 100 festivals in 35 cities around the world.

On June 12th, 13th and 14th, the Sónar 2025 world tour will come to an end in his hometown of Barcelona. The 32nd edition of the festival offers the variety that audiences have come to expect from the festival for the past three decades: a musical universe like no other, where mainstream and underground collide, where radical performances merge with cutting-edge technology and where the local crosses paths with the global. Lineup highlights include performances from Arca, Actress & Suzanne Ciani, Alva Noto & Fennesz, BICEP, Daito Manabe, Eric Prydz, Nathy Peluso, Overmono, Pa Salieu, Rone with (LA)HORDE & Ballet National de Marseille and Sega Bodega, plus a dizzying lineup of DJs including Armin van Buuren b2b Indira Paganotto, Barry Can’t Swim, Dee Diggs b2b Ultra Naté, Dixon, Helena Hauff, Honey Dijon, Four Tet, MOCHAKK, Sama’ Abdulhadi, Skrillex b2b Blawan, and many more.

Partners, sponsors and institutions

Sónar Lisboa 2025 is a joint initiative between Advanced Music and Pixel Harmony, sponsored by Heineken, Johnnie Walker and ME by Meliá. Institutional support is provided by Lisbon City Council and Lisbon Tourism. Tickets were sold by DICE. Antena 3 is the Official Portuguese Radio of the festival.

ME by Meliá sponsored the entire Sónar+D Lisboa 2025 programme, Voices of Sónar+D, on Friday 11 April, a prelude to the upcoming opening of the brand new ME Lisbon hotel in central Lisbon.

Sónar Lisbon has once again had Repsol as its Energy partner to reduce its carbon footprint, with the supply of 100% renewable fuel to help the generators placed at the festival site.

About Sónar

Sónar is a pioneering festival that has been championing electronic music and digital culture since its first edition in 1994. Every year in June, audiences flock to Barcelona for Sónar, attracted by the festival’s visionary programming, innovative format and unique atmosphere. Year after year, Sónar brings together emerging artists and showcases new trends in music and beyond.

In addition to hosting the world’s most influential artists, it also acts as a testing ground for new projects, collaborations and creations that build bridges between music, performance and technology. Since 2013, much of this content has been under the purview of Sónar+D; an “anti-disciplinary” programme of performances, installations and conferences taking place as part of Sónar by Day that explores how emerging technologies and digital creativity are shaping the world.

After three decades and more than 100 editions around the world, Sónar continues to redefine what a festival can be, breaking down barriers and forging connections between audiences, genres and creative disciplines.

About Sónar Lisbon

Since its first edition in 2022, Sónar Lisboa has been a meeting point for the city’s diverse electronic music and cultural communities, expanding its mission each year to bring the best of Lisbon to the world and vice versa. Bringing together local and international acts in a green oasis in the heart of the city, the multi-day festival attracts a diverse and open-minded audience in a celebration of the best of electronic music and culture.

Sonar around the world

Over three decades, Sónar has held more than 100 festivals in 35 cities in 23 countries, spread across four continents.

London (2002-2005/2009-2011) / Neuchatel (2002) / Hamburg (2002-2006) / Tokyo (2002, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2011-2013) / Rome (2003) / Sao Paulo (2004, 2012 and 2015) / Lyon (2004) / Guadalajara (2004) / Buenos Aires (2006, 2015-2018) / Seoul (2006) / Frankfurt (2007) / Washington (2009) / New York (2009) / La Coruña (2010-2011) / Chicago (2010 and 2012) / Cape Town (2012 and 2014) / Toronto (2012) / Denver (2012) / Oakland (2012) / Boston (2012) / Montreal (2012) / Los Angeles (2012) / Osaka (2013) / Johannesburg (2014) / Reykjavik (2013-2018) / Copenhagen (2015) / Stockholm (2014-2016) / Santiago, Chile (2015) / Bogotá (2015-2018) / Hong Kong (2017-2019) / Mexico City (2018 and 2019) / Athens (2019) / Istanbul (2017-2025) / Lisbon (2022-2025).

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