Mad Cool 2024 headliners: what to expect

Mad Cool is back for 2024, and it’s arriving with another glittering line-up. From rising stars to rock legends – via all your favourite electronic party starters and bonafide pop stars – the Spanish festival will provide a stellar four nights of live music.

Some of the most exciting artists in the world will be topping the bill for Mad Cool’s seventh instalment. Here’s the lowdown on each Mad Cool 2024 headliner.

Dua Lipa

Who: Pop hero bringing the disco-flecked megahits

When: Wednesday 10 July

What to expect: After first appearing performing at the festival in 2018, Dua Lipa is making a triumphant return to Mad Cool this summer, but this time she’s topping the bill. And we can expect big things: here at NME, we gave the recent tour for her smash-hit second album ‘Future Nostalgia’ the full five-star treatment back in 2022. Since then, the pop hero has been busy working away on album three ‘Radical Optimism’ (due out later this year), already ushering in the era with the slinky disco-laced ‘Houdini’ and ‘Training Season’ – so her Mad Cool performance is sure to be stuffed with old favourites and future festival bangers.

Festival anthem: ‘Houdini’

The Smashing Pumpkins

Who: Rock legends ready to make their Mad Cool debut

When: Wednesday 10 July

What to expect: After a joint tour with Weezer in the UK in June, The Smashing Pumpkins will play a string of European festivals, including a headline slot at Mad Cool. These are some of their first shows on the continent since releasing the epic, three-part rock opera ‘ATUM’ in 2022 and 2023, but if their US shows last year are anything to go by, fans can anticipate a stellar, career-spanning performance from the band.

Festival anthem: ‘1979′

Janelle Monáe

Who: The impossibly talented multi-hyphenate and live powerhouse

When: Wednesday 10 July

What to expect: Janelle Monáe is set to welcome Mad Cool to ‘The Age Of Pleasure’. Their fourth album, released last year, is – as NME put it in a four-star review – “an unabashedly sexy sonic voyage”, one that’s sure to sound incredible on the Mad Cool mainstage. With a reputation for being a powerhouse live performer and a back catalogue that includes endless earworms (2010’s funk-fuelled ‘Tightrope’, 2013’s Erykah Badu collaboration ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’, 2018’s ‘Make Me Feel’, to name but three), prepare yourself for a phenomenon.

Festival anthem: ‘Float’

Pearl Jam

Who: Returning rock giants who arrive with a new album in tow

When: Thursday 11 July

What to expect: When Pearl Jam last headlined Mad Cool in 2018, it was a triumphant performance, one that garnered a hero’s welcome from thousands of punters. Six years on, they’re returning, and this time with a new album to share with fans – the band are releasing their 12th record, ‘Dark Matter’ in April, and it’s set to be “heavier than you’d expect”. So come to catch the new tunes live for one of the first times, and stay for the stone-cold smashers.

Festival anthem: ‘Even Flow’

Motxila 21

Who: The rock group bringing their genre-spanning sound to the festival stage

When: Thursday 11 July

What to expect: Formed in 2005 out of a love of music, Motxila 21 are made up of 15 members with Down Syndrome alongside seven volunteers. Bringing their genre-spanning rock to the festival, Mad Cool has said Motxila 21 are: “an example of talent, creativity, and overcoming obstacles, proving that music is a powerful means to break stereotypes and promote inclusion.” Mad Cool has placed them in the line-up as headliners in a bid to bring visibility to the project.

Festival anthem: ‘No somos distintos’

Måneskin

Who: Endlessly charismatic glam-rockers who bring the fun factor

When: Friday 12 July

What to expect: Eurovision winners Måneskin are known for their fantastically fun and high-octane performances. After their mega gig at London’s O2 arena last year (a live show that saw “no gimmicks and nothing but good times”), this Mad Cool performance is the latest in a series of raucous, rock’n’roll celebrations.

Festival anthem: ‘SUPERMODEL’

Rema

Who: Afrobeats superstar ascending to the top of festival bills

When: Friday 12 July

What to expect: The past few years have seen Nigerian singer and rapper Rema go from rising star to festival headliner. After releasing his debut EP ‘Rema’ in 2019 – which has been followed by a handful of other releases, including his acclaimed first album ‘Rave & Roses’ in 2022 – last year saw the Afrorave trailblazer headline London’s O2 arena. A global superstar, this Mad Cool headline performance is the latest triumph from an artist whose star continues to soar.

Festival anthem: ‘Calm Down’

Sum 41

Who: Iconic pop-punk band ready to celebrate their legacy

When: Friday 12 July

What to expect: Sum 41‘s performance at Mad Cool is a bittersweet one, with their headline slot part of the band’s final ever tour. Part of the group’s ‘The Tour of the Setting Sum’, fans will be able to both enjoy the group’s upcoming album ‘Heaven :x: Hell’ (slated for release in Spring), while saluting the band’s legacy.

Festival anthem: ‘In Too Deep’

The Killers

Who: Las Vegas legends renowned for their euphoric live performances

When: Saturday 13 July

What to expect: The Killers are a perfect festival band. Effortlessly tight live performers? Check! A back catalogue of wall-to-wall hits? Check! And plenty of opportunities for mass sing-a-longs to indie belters? Check! Returning to Mad Cool after last headlining in 2022 – and in the year they’re honouring the 20th anniversary of ‘Hot Fuss’, no less – you can expect another rip-roaring festival outing from the band.

Festival anthem: ‘The Man’

Bring Me The Horizon

Who: Brit rockers with a flare for live drama

When: Saturday 13 July

What to expect: It’s a big summer for Bring Me The Horizon, who’ll be able to celebrate the release of their anticipated new album, ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn,’ with their headline moment at Mad Cool. The band is currently in fine live form, and the latest taste of the new record, ‘Kool-Aid’, is a smasher. It’s going to be massive.

Festival anthem: ‘Throne’

Avril Lavigne

Who: The people’s princess of pop-punk

When: Saturday 13 July

What to expect: Later this year, Avril Lavigne will embark on a Greatest Hits tour across the US. While these shows won’t make it to Europe, her Mad Cool performance is an opportunity to look back on the pop-punk icon’s 20 years in the game. And let’s be honest, who’s going to be able to resist belting back the words when ‘Complicated’ is played?

Festival anthem: ‘Sk8er Boi’

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