Shellac’s Primavera Sound Presence to Be Immortalized With Stage Named After Steve Albini

Larisha Paul
·2 min read
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Steve Albini of Shellac in concert at Primavera Sound Madrid on June 10, 2023. - Credit: Mariano Regidor/Redferns
Steve Albini of Shellac in concert at Primavera Sound Madrid on June 10, 2023. - Credit: Mariano Regidor/Redferns

For nearly two decades, Shellac have made an annual appearance at a least one iteration of Primavera Sound. The rock band fronted by Steve Albini were scheduled to appear at the music festival when it returns to Barcelona next week, but their performance tradition came to a sudden end when the rock pioneer and engineer died earlier this month at the age of 61. Committed to immortalizing their legacy, Primavera Sound has renamed the stage Shellac were going to appear on in honor of the late musician.

The Steve Albini stage will be positioned on the festival grounds right across from the Plenitude stage. “Farewell, Steve. Although it will be the first year since 2007 in which he will not command the inimitable Shellac at his annual date with his favourite festival, the figure of the late Steve Albini will be more present than ever at Primavera Sound,” a statement from the festival reads. “The Steve Albini stage, situated opposite the Plenitude stage, will be a tribute to an irreplaceable member of the Primavera family, although he will, in fact, be honoured in every inch of the Parc del Fòrum, during every second of the festival.”

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Following Albini’s death, Primavera Sound shared a tribute to the musician on social media. “We are gutted to learn about Steve Albini’s death at 61. We have lost a legend, a friend, a member of our family. What are we going to do without you, Steve?” the post read. “After having welcomed them at 15 editions of the festival, it is impossible for us to imagine a Primavera Sound without him, because no band explains us better than Shellac.”

Shellac last appeared at Primavera Sound in 2023, performing at Spain’s Barcelona and Madrid iterations of the festival, along with its installment in Porto, Portugal. Their performance at this year’s event would have been just a couple of weeks after their latest album, To All Trains, arrived last Friday. The festival will play the album as a means of allowing attending fans to pay tribute and build community together.

“On Thursday at 18:55, when Shellac’s free rock was scheduled to storm back into the festival like a ritual: at that time their stage will become the meeting point for fans who want to say goodbye to Albini while their new album, To All Trains, is playing,” the fest’s statement continued. “Inevitably Primavera Sound has lost a compass, but fortunately Steve Albini has marked the way forward forever.”

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