Day 1 at Kalorama 2025: A Vibrant Solstice Soundscape (Review)
Madrid, Spain – What finer way to ring in the summer solstice than with a whole day of genre-melting, sun-kissed aural delights? Kalorama Madrid 2025 returned to Caja Mágica on 20 June, turning the year’s longest day into an aimless, cinematic meander through mood and music. With nary a stage clash and a full schedule, this second installment played to its strengths: atmosphere, rhythm, and sheer connection.
Kalorama placed an altogether different complexion on things from the beginning. No frenzied dashing about between stages, no desperate set-building—just a single, uninterrupted run of performances that left every performer the room to get their breath back and really own their space. And on a day which hung suspended in sunlight, the mood was everything.
Afternoon session was claimed by homegrown talent. Bloodstein and Irenegarry started the day off with easy but cutting performances, but Valencia’s La Plata amped up the passion with tight post-punk intensity, synths, and brutally honest lyrics that connected with the youth crowd.
As the heat receded into a foggy night, things became strange for the better with Canadian avant-garde group BADBADNOTGOOD. Their genre-mashing music—half jazz, half hip-hop, half atonal electronica—was mesmerizing, between being a jam session and a science fiction movie soundtrack. It was sloppy in the most wonderful ways, and completely engrossing.
Then came the time of expectation. Jorja Smith materialized right as the sky grew soft with sunset, assuming control of the stage with a relaxed authority. Attired in metallic lace and backed by a tight band, she shifted between sultry ballads and pugilistic, beat-infused singles. Teenage Fantasy and Blue Lights were handed off like anthems, but it was the latest tracks from Falling or Flying that really shone through—grown-up, undaunted, and soaked in genre-bending.
Enter Father John Misty, whose swooning, over-the-top performance transported us from club night and into candle-lit confession. Half provocateur, half-crooner, he warbled I Love You, Honeybear with such effortless panache that we might have accidentally stumbled into a lounge bar on another planet. His performance nailed the delicate balance between ironic detachment and plain old sincere—reaching both conclusions simultaneously.
But if the evening had been charged with electricity, The Flaming Lips flipped the switch. Headlining in their signature chaos-meets-cosmos style, the Oklahoma group turned Kalorama into a psychedelic playpen. Giant balloons, confetti bursts, neon rainbows—it was maximalist magic. Their ode to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is still a go-to fun weirdness 20 years on, and when Do You Realize?? wrapped up the show, strangers were hugging, singing along, perhaps even crying. It was that kind of moment.
L’Impératrice kept the energy going with an after-hours masterclass in groove. The French group performed sleek, retro-futuristic disco with a sci-fi glaze that transformed the venue into a surreal dancefloor. Daft Punk crossed paths with Sébastien Tellier, taking a tip from Nile Rodgers.
And then, just as the clock edged us into a new day, Alizzz arrived to put the seal on things. The genre-twisting producer put the evening into club-perfect, beat-propelled gear with a set that mixed reggaeton, pop, and electronic elements into something uniquely his. It was bold, glossy, and the perfect way to end a day that would not be delayed.
Kalorama’s opening night was more than a series of tough sets—it was a reminder of how great a festival can be when it’s well-timed, well-programmed, and grounded in experience. With headliners such as Pet Shop Boys, Azealia Banks, and Scissor Sisters poised to take over next, the solstice may be in our rearview—but the magic’s only just begun.
