The Cure return at Primavera with Eden Gallup and a deep-cut set
Barcelona gets the first Cure show in eighteen months, an expanded live line-up and a two-and-a-half-hour set that reaches well beyond the usual festival script.
The Cure began their 2026 Festival Summer at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound on 5 June, ending an eighteen-month absence from the stage. It was their first concert since Perry Bamonte’s death and opened a new chapter in the live line-up, with Eden Gallup joining Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Roger O’Donnell and Reeves Gabrels.
For a headline festival set, the song choices were unusually generous to listeners who keep track of the catalogue’s quieter corners. “2 Late” returned for the first time since 2019, “alt.end” since 2018 and “Mint Car” since 2016. “Wrong Number” also came back after a seven-year gap, while “Alone” and “Endsong” carried Songs of a Lost World into the new touring cycle.
A festival set without a reduced horizon
The performance ran for roughly two and a half hours. Its middle moved between atmospheric album pieces and bright singles before a long encore brought the crowd-facing side of the band into focus. It was broad rather than cautious: a set designed for a festival audience that still allowed old B-sides and neglected album tracks into the frame.
Amazon Music streamed the show, making the first night of the tour immediately available beyond Parc del Fòrum. The official site also launched a summer merchandise programme in which each date received its own limited artwork, beginning with Barcelona and continuing at Porto’s North Festival.
Most importantly, the performance answered the practical question hanging over a long break and a changed line-up. The Cure did not return tentatively. They sounded like a band prepared to let the summer keep altering the set around them.
Sources and further reading: The Cure: official livestream notice · Setlist.fm: Barcelona set list · Stereogum: live report