The creative technology conference Sonar+D returns this June with its most ambitious and accessible edition yet, moving to the historic Llotja de Mar in central Barcelona for a two-day event on 18–19 June.
Now operating under non-profit Fundación Sónar, this year’s programme is built around three thematic pillars: AI & Music, Beyond the Screen, and Digital Gardens and Dark Forests — a framework that asks attendees to rethink their relationship with technology at a moment when that relationship has never felt more urgent.
AI & Music: Life After the Bubble
Returning for a third year in partnership with S+T+ARTS, the AI & Music strand shifts its focus from novelty to adaptation exploring how musicians and researchers are navigating a world where AI is already second nature. An Open Forum brings together multidisciplinary artist Rob Clouth, AI researcher François Pachet (formerly of Sony and Spotify), Neutone founder Nao Tokui, and Anna Xambó of Queen Mary University London’s Centre for Digital Music. Google DeepMind’s Jeff Chang joins Daito Manabe for a conversation about the AI tools powering his new live set.
For the first time, Sónar+D opens with a concert: Catalan jazz pianist Ignasi Terraza performing a duet with an AI system developed by UPC researcher Philippe Salembier. The event closes in similarly provocative fashion, with hacker duo dadabots inviting the audience to shape their generative audio show through live prompts.
Beyond the Screen and Into the Web’s Past
The Beyond the Screen strand spotlights artists injecting physicality back into digital culture, from Singapore-based designer niceaunties and speculative-futures collective Keiken, to live-coder Roxanne Harris and wearable-tech musician Eneritz Tejada.
The Digital Gardens and Dark Forests strand takes aim at the corporate internet. Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler delivers an interactive lecture on reclaiming the web; Filipino artist Chia Amisola leads a workshop on building personal corners of the internet inspired by the GeoCities era; and author Mindy Seu stages a participative reading of her latest work, The Sexual History of the Internet.
Tickets and Access
Standalone Day Tickets and 2-Day Tickets are on sale, offering access to Llotja de Mar independently of the main Sónar festival at Fira Gran Via.
Sonar+D 2026 runs 18–19 June, 10am–9pm, at Llotja de Mar, Barcelona.