This year’s lineup packs an almighty arsenal of undeniable festival anthems.
Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Frances Beach.
The trick to a good festival is bangers. Sure, Mad Cool Festival’s AstroTurfed site is easy to navigate, with a plentiful supply of bars, toilets and food stalls, while the six stages are arranged in such a way that sound never bleeds from one to the other, meaning the whole weekend feels more relaxing than most. Located just a 25-minute drive from central Madrid and with plenty of transport options, getting on and offsite at Mad Cool is also a pretty painless experience. All of that makes for a glorious weekend in the Spanish sunshine, but what makes Mad Cool 2024 such a brilliant time is a lineup that packs an almighty arsenal of undeniable festival anthems.
“Are you ready for a party?” Dua Lipa asks the crowd with a knowing grin on the Wednesday night. Her music has always flirted with the world of giddy dance but since the release of ‘Future Nostalgia’, she’s chased euphoria at every turn. ‘Radical Optimism’ adds to the urgent excitement but cuts it with the fierce determination to make the most of every moment. It makes for the perfect festival soundtrack.
Fresh from her blistering set at Glastonbury and tapping into the constant rave at the festival’s Loop stage, she absolutely owns Mad Cool. With bursts of confetti, fluid dance breakdowns and a real sense of purpose, Dua Lipa’s set is a masterclass in pure pop spectacle, while mammoth anthems like ‘Physical’, ‘Levitating’ and ‘New Rules’ keep the crowd in the palm of her hand.
She isn’t afraid of taking risks though. The indie heartbreak of ‘These Walls’ and the reflective ‘Happy For You’ wrestle moments of calm from the ongoing rave, but their tender lessons in loss and love only make the euphoria that much more cathartic. Finding togetherness in big, dance-pop anthems, Dua Lipa’s headline set at Mad Cool is utterly glorious. Feel good, communal but ambitious; it’s an almighty flex from one of the brightest stars around.
She’s not the only one to deliver pop superstardom at Mad Cool, though. Jessie Ware transforms the Orange stage into her own nightclub and encourages the crowd to “dance like absolutely everyone is watching” as she delivers shimmering disco hits, while Janelle Monáe starts her sun-soaked afternoon set by toasting the audience. “To the lives we lead, the dreams we chase, and to the f*cked up sh*t we can’t erase.” Moments later, she’s throwing the contents of her glass over her shoulder as she kicks into a rowdy ‘Champagne sh*t’. It’s the perfect introduction to a gig that bounces between grand theatrical ambition and raucous, party-starting abandon.
Pulling from R&B, funk and pop, Janelle focuses on the more urgent, upbeat songs from across her back catalogue to create a set that’s all about letting loose. There’s the stuttering ‘Make Me Feel’, the playful ‘Pynk’ and the self-empowering groove of ‘Phenomenal’. As the video screen explains, the world could end outside our window, hurry up and live.
There’s more to the set than giddy dance, though. The dreamy ‘I Like That’ is dedicated to people like Janelle, “who were called weird and odd in High School”, while the fizzing ‘Tightrope’ comes with a speech about standing up against racism, hom*ophobia and fascism. “I won’t tell you who to vote for, but I’ll be voting for the person looking out for marginalised voices,” she says, with the future looking increasingly uncertain. Today’s set is all about people from all around the world coming together to experience joy and escapism, but Janelle Monáe’s phenomenal set is also a potent reminder that freedom needs constant protection. “We came to party. We came to celebrate us,” she explains, once again raising a glass to the people of Mad Cool.
Ashnikko has already cycled through a number of different eras. From snotty punk to bratty pop, via industrial day-glo rave, they’re an artist that isn’t afraid of changing things up. Debut album ‘Weedkiller’ managed to bring all those different styles together under one overarching dystopian narrative, while still pushing things forward.
She’s never been short of confidence, but there’s a real swagger to this evening’s set at Mad Cool. The songs are fiery but never rushed. The twisting choreography is deliberate and playful, while the moments of fantastical sci-fi escapism are given space to fully enchant the swelling crowd. There’s the industrial purge of ‘You Make Me Sick’, the chirpy rage of ‘Stupid’ and the sing-song flex ‘Working Bitch’, and that’s just for starters. “For those who don’t know, my name is Ashnikko, and we’re about to put on a show,” she grins, opening up the world of ‘Weedkiller’.
There’s an emotional heft behind all that playfulness, too. ‘Invitation’ has become a fierce ode to reclaiming their power, ‘Super Soaker’ embraces all-consuming desire while bristling rage is twisted into communal catharsis with ‘Chokehold Cherry Python’ and ‘Tantrum’. An updated take on ‘Manners’ leans fearlessly into euro-dance club euphoria, while the sprawling ‘Dasiy’ is theatrical, ambitious and devilishly good fun.
While previous shows have been an urgent dash through those different chapters of Ashnikko’s career, there’s a cool command to tonight’s set. It’s spikey, tender, high-octane but considered. Settling into the world of ‘Weedkiller’, this is Ashnikko’s most evolved form yet.
Mad Cool is not all about big-budget pop spectacle, though, with the smaller stages playing host to a buzzy crop of rising rock bands. The likes of Sea Girls, Black Honey, Swim School and Bar Italia all cause chaos in the intimate confines of two air-conditioned tents, while Picture Parlour bring a touch of fantastical swagger to the festival.
Crawlers first made a name for themselves as plucky emo underdogs, but they’re well on their way to breaking out thanks to 2024’s debut album ‘The Mess We Seem To Make’, which backed up all that early promise and then some.
Tonight at Mad Cool, Crawlers are a band reborn. All that scrappiness has become fierce determination, with the band delivering a co*cksure late-night set that’s nothing short of spectacular. From the opening hammer of ‘I Don’t Want It’ to the snarling ‘Hit It Again’, the band’s theatrical rock & roll has a real heft to it, with Crawlers leaning comfortable into the drama of it all. ‘Kiss Me’ is a soaring burst of hope and connection before a ferocious ‘f*ck Me (I Didn’t Know How To Say)’ finds community in pain. The sneering ‘Messiah’ is as explosive as they come. Tonight’s commanding show at Mad Cool is a heartfelt smirk from a band who’ve never looked more brilliant.
That snarling energy also gatecrashes the main stage. The Warning were originally booked to play one of the smaller stages, but have been bumped up to replace Tyla. There’s a hint of nerves as the trio launch into ‘S!CK’, but by the time the snotty fury of ‘Z’ comes around, The Warning look right at home on that big ol’ stage. The swelling crowd loves them as well, as the band deliver sugary, grunge-inspired bangers that were clearly made for mass gatherings like this. This won’t be the last time we see The Warning in a spotlight this bright.
Måneskin have always believed a great live show can make anything possible. Sure, winning Eurovision certainly helped their trajectory, but it’s been a long time since the four-piece were defined by the rowdy theatrics of ‘Zitte E Buoni’. Last year’s foray into arenas showcased a band living up to their newfound legacy, and tonight, headlining Mad Cool, they step things up once more.
While their show at London’s O2 Arena was defined by intimacy on a grand scale, tonight’s gig is a flamboyant display of rock and roll excess. There are guitar solos, drum and bass jams and a monstrous moving lighting rig that gives the tightly wound breakdowns a real sense of majesty. Vocalist Damiano David is a commanding force, asking for more and always getting it. He only needs to sing the first word of their take on The Four Seasons’ ‘Beggin” before the packed field takes over, while the likes of ‘Don’t Wanna Sleep’, ‘Gossip’ and ‘Honey (Are You Coming)’ run riot in a playground this big.
There’s a constant, excitable joy driving every moment of Måneskin’s set, threading together the political fury of ‘Gasoline’, the stadium-sized drama of ‘The Loneliest’ and the spiky ‘Bla Bla Bla’. Sure, tonight’s set leans heavily towards epic, but Måneskin are still the same scrappy, ambitious band they started out as. Vic, Damiano and Thomas can’t keep out of the audience, and they return the favour for the snarling ‘Kool Kids’ – inciting a stage invasion that turns Mad Cool’s main stage into a sweaty club show. It’s triumphant, communal and chaotic, all at the same time. Tonight is a fearsome reminder just how giddy and unifying rock’n’roll extravagance can be.
Mad Cool also plays hosts to a number of older rock acts that comfortably fall into the “legacy” category of things. However, perhaps spurred on by how exciting rock feels at the moment or safe in the knowledge that Gen-Z isn’t fussed by release dates, the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, and The Breeders sound as powerful as ever at Mad Cool, delivering timeless rock classics that feel revitalised.
Likewise, Sum 41 may be on their farewell lap, but the group are clearly determined to go out on a high. The biggest crowd of the weekend laps up iconic pop-punk anthems like ‘In Too Deep’ and ‘Fat Lip’, but there’s just as much excitement for their forays into heavy metal and their giddy covers of AC/DC and Queen. It’s a similar story for Avril Lavigne. Fresh from that absolutely massive appearance at Glastonbury, she pulls an equally huge crowd today at Mad Cool. A celebration of “never growing up”, her set leans heavily into the sort of teenage melodrama that made her the anti-pop princess of the 00s, but there’s power in that playful rebellion. Today feels like an overdue victory lap, with Avril celebrating everything from breakout hit ‘Complicated’ to the fresh snarl of ‘Bite Me’.
By all accounts, Tom Morello should be settled into his position of rock icon, but there’s a restless hunger to today’s set at Mad Cool. Starting with recent single ‘Soldier In The Army Of Love’, he’s joined onstage by his guitar-wielding 13-year-old son Roman while Maneskin’s Thomas Raggi joins him for a cover of MC5’s’Kick Out The Jams’. Add in the giddy riff-karaoke that comes with a number of Rage Against The Machine medleys, and there’s a sense that Morello has no interest in basking in legacy just yet.
“Have you guys never heard of a mosh pit,” asks Oli Sykes before breaking into a smirking grin. “I thought you were Mad Cool.” Yup, if there’s any band that can cause giddy pandemonium at a festival, it’s Bring Me The Horizon.
Today though, due to technical issues, the band are forced to abandon the evolving conceptual narrative about artificial intelligence, self-expression, belief and play an abridged set. You can tell they’re gutted, with Oli apologising for “letting you down”. As brilliant and ambitious as that production can be, it’s not the reason Bring Me have earned their place at the top of the bill. Even without that celebrated dystopian throughline, the band remains simply unstoppable. The opening one-two of ‘DArkSide’ and ‘MANTRA’ is a ferocious introduction to their pop-infused metal, while the glitching electronics of ‘Teardrops’ adds a playful wink to their hulking rage.
Bring Me The Horizon’s power comes from their trust in extremes. Whether it’s vengeful breakdowns, communal singalongs or ecstatic party-starting, the band refuses to shy away from taking those bold swings. Oli isn’t afraid of saying exactly how he feels, either. His heart-on-sleeve lyrics inspire an intimate sense of catharsis and understanding amidst the theatrics of streamers, confetti and fireworks, with fans sobbing to the fragile hope of ‘Drown’ and finding strength in the raw confession of ‘LosT’. Likewise, his onstage banter is designed to get the absolute most out of the crowd. The whole thing is melodramatic, over the top, steeped in pain, but defiantly glorious. After triumphs at Download, Reading & Leeds, countless arenas and now this, it feels like the golden age of Bring Me The Horizon is only just beginning.
From the sun-soaked catharsis of Arlo Parks’ defiantly hopeful music, to indie disco staples from The Kooks and Keane, Mad Cool is a celebration of crossover anthems. Genre doesn’t really matter when a field full of strangers knows every word now, does it? It’s a brave attitude to take when so many festivals are losing their identity by trying to appeal to as many people as possible, but Mad Cool’s determination to throw the biggest, most boisterous party pays off. And what better band to top the whole thing than The Killers.
A one-off festival show to close out their 20-year anniversary Rebel Diamonds tour, The Killers are clearly in a playful mood today. From a setlist that dances across their back catalogue, to grabbing a local to play drums on ‘For Reasons Unknown’ after a cover of Erasure’s ‘A Little Respect’, it’s a joyfully unpredictable showing from the most reliable festival band around. A closing trio of ‘The Man’, ‘Human’ and ‘Mr. Brightside’ is about as big as encores get, before a quick megamix of ‘When You Were Young’ and ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ squeezes the last, rowdy singalongs out of the crowd. It’s a big swing to round out a festival that’s all about those heavy hitters.
