Festival Internacional de Benicàssim

Benicassim 2008 lineup

Leonard Cohen • Morrissey • My Bloody Valentine • Sigur Rós • Gnarls Barkley • Babyshambles

Benicassim 2008 lineup

The Benicassim 2008 lineup is remembered as a classic FIB year that mixed iconic legends, noisy indie, electronics and Spanish favourites. Over four nights from 17–20 July 2008, fans saw huge sets from Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Rós, Babyshambles, Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs and many more on Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim – often shortened to FIB – takes place between Valencia and Barcelona on Spain’s east coast. Unlike a UK weekender, the music in 2008 started late in the evening and ran through the night, leaving days free for the beach, hotel pools and relaxing in the shade.

Thursday 17 July 2008 – Opening night with Sigur Rós

Key artists:

• Sigur Rós
• Nada Surf
• Battles
• Aldo Linares
• Black Lips
• Facto Delafé y las Flores Azules
• Krakovia
• Lightspeed Champion
• Single
• DJ Supermarkt
• These New Puritans

Thursday delivered an atmospheric opening, with Sigur Rós setting a dreamlike tone against the warm Mediterranean night.

Friday 18 July 2008 – My Bloody Valentine & Babyshambles

Main names:

• My Bloody Valentine
• Mika
• Babyshambles
• Róisín Murphy
• Spiritualized
• La Casa Azul
• Chromatics
• Danton Eeprom
• El Guincho
• Erol Alkan
• Fujiya & Miyagi
• Gentle Music Men
• Josh Wink
• Metronomy
• Robert Babicz
• The New Pornographers
• The Rumble Strips
• Tobi Neumann
• Vincent Vincent & The Villains

A night that swung between shoegaze intensity from My Bloody Valentine, indie frenzy with Babyshambles, and deep-electronic late sets from Erol Alkan, Josh Wink and others.

Saturday 19 July 2008 – Gnarls Barkley & The Raconteurs

Key artists:

• Gnarls Barkley
• The Raconteurs
• The Kills
• My Morning Jacket
• Booka Shade
• American Music Club
• Ascii.Disko
• Bracken
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre
• Dapuntobeat
• Eef Barzelay
• Heavy Trash
• Ivan Smagghe
• John Acquaviva
• José González
• Kiki
• Lori Meyers
• Manos de Topo
• The Marzipan Man
• Metope
• The Ting Tings
• Tiefschwarz

A diverse Saturday featuring soul-pop from Gnarls Barkley, guitar heroics from The Raconteurs, Spanish indie from Lori Meyers and festival anthems from The Ting Tings.

Sunday 20 July 2008 – Leonard Cohen, Morrissey & Justice

Main names:

• Leonard Cohen
• Morrissey
• Justice (live)
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Calvin Harris
• Morente Omega con Lagartija Nick
• Siouxsie
• The Futureheads
• David Duriez
• El Hijo
• Ewan Pearson
• Radio Slave
• Joakim
• Vive La Fête

Sunday combined three unforgettable moments: the emotional power of Leonard Cohen, the theatrics and tension of Morrissey, and a huge electro finale from Justice and Calvin Harris.

Benicassim 2011 lineup

Benicassim 2011 lineup highlights included some of the biggest alternative and indie names of the time, with headliners such as Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and Portishead, supported by Beirut, Elbow, Friendly Fires, Tinie Tempah and Primal Scream.

Across four days on the Spanish coast, Benicàssim 2011 mixed big international guitar bands, cool indie outfits, top DJs and local Spanish talent under consistently hot skies. Reviews from the time talk about long, sunny beach days, then late-night headline sets and packed tents that ran on until the early hours, with camping and a nearby water park adding to the “holiday plus festival” feel for a big British crowd.

Benicassim 2011 lineup at a glance

• Festival: Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (FIB)
• Year: 2011
• Dates: 14–17 July 2011
• Headliners & key acts: Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Portishead, Beirut, Elbow, Friendly Fires, Tinie Tempah, Primal Scream
• Vibe: Four nights of late-running headliners, a mixed bill of indie, alt-rock and electronic, plus a big contingent of UK fans chasing guaranteed sun.

FIB 2011 lineup headliners & main stage moments

Line-up announcements billed 2011 as another landmark year for FIB, and the main stage delivered. Arcade Fire closed the festival with a cinematic, hit-packed set that many reviews singled out as a perfect finale. The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys brought sharp, festival-ready indie rock, while Portishead turned their slot into a darker, more atmospheric experience that still felt huge in front of a late-night crowd.

Elsewhere on the bill, UK favourites Elbow, Friendly Fires and Primal Scream added sing-along moments and dance-friendly sets, with Tinie Tempah bringing crossover chart energy. For many fans it felt like a sweet spot between the mid-2000s indie boom and the more electronic-leaning line-ups that followed in later years.

Key acts on the bill

• Arcade Fire
• The Strokes
• Arctic Monkeys
• Portishead
• Beirut
• Elbow
• Friendly Fires
• Tinie Tempah
• Primal Scream

Beyond the headliners there were deep undercard options across indie, alternative and electronic acts, with multiple stages running into the early morning and plenty of chances to discover smaller Spanish and European bands between the big UK and North American names.

What the 2011 weekend felt like

People who travelled out still talk about how balanced the weekend felt. Days were spent on the beach or in town hiding from the afternoon heat, then crowds drifted up to the site as the sun went down and the main stages lit up. With several headline sets starting around midnight and DJs continuing until dawn, it was very much a “sleep late, party late” schedule in classic Benicàssim style.

Photo galleries and fan reviews from the time show thousands of festival-goers scorched in the Valencia sun, bouncing between huge main stage moments from The Streets, Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes and Arcade Fire. Many still describe 2011 as one of the last truly “indie-heavy” FIB years before later editions leaned further into pop and EDM.

Further reading & archives

• Official Benicàssim site
• eFestivals FIB 2011 archive
• NME Benicàssim 2011 photos
• Festival Internacional de Benicàssim on Wikipedia

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Benicassim 2013 lineup

The Benicassim 2013 lineup delivered one of the most guitar-focused editions of FIB in the 2010s, mixing iconic headline acts with a strong undercard of indie, alternative, electronic and emerging artists. With Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Queens of the Stone Age and Beady Eye leading the bill, the weekend created a distinctly British-meets-American feel with heavy riffs, huge sing-alongs and late-night electronic sessions that ran into the early hours.

FIB 2013 at a glance

• Dates: Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 July 2013
• Location: Benicàssim, Costa del Azahar, Spain
• Main headliners: Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Queens of the Stone Age, Beady Eye
• Genres: Indie, rock, electronic, dance, alternative
• Atmosphere: Hot Mediterranean days, late-night arena sessions, thousands of UK fans attending

Headline moments

Thursday opened with Queens of the Stone Age, who kicked off the festival with a heavy, high-energy set built on thick riffs and late-night desert rock. Friday produced the most traditionally “FIB-style” evening: Beady Eye gave a tight performance, Primal Scream turned the main stage into a rave-rock carnival, and Dizzee Rascal delivered a chaotic crowd-pleasing set that kept the energy high.

Saturday belonged to Arctic Monkeys, whose set previewed the darker, more stylish sound that would define their AM era. Their performance mixed early indie hits with new material that would later become global festival staples. On Sunday, The Killers closed out the weekend with pure euphoria — fireworks, confetti and a packed arena singing along to every chorus.

Across the site, fans enjoyed strong performances from rising acts like Chvrches, AlunaGeorge, Bastille and Jake Bugg, all of whom were rapidly climbing the UK charts at the time. Electronic names such as Benny Benassi, Toddla T Sound and Knife Party kept the late-night slots busy, with the clashfinder showing many sets running well past 4am.

Benicassim 2013 lineup by day

Thursday 18 July

• Queens of the Stone Age
• Beach House
• La Roux
• Hurts
• Toundra
• Rudimental
• John Talabot
• Everything Everything
• Temples
• And So I Watch You From Afar
• Little Green Cars

Friday 19 July

• Beady Eye
• Primal Scream
• Dizzee Rascal
• Johnny Marr
• Echo Lake
• Guadalupe Plata
• Hanni El Khatib
• Swim Deep
• Zane Lowe
• Attic Lights
• Moomba & Cherry

Saturday 20 July

• Arctic Monkeys
• Bastille
• Benny Benassi
• Miles Kane
• Everything Everything
• Bigott
• The Courteeners
• The Coronas
• Le Carousel
• Childhood
• Spacin’
• Soledad Vélez

Sunday 21 July

• The Killers
• Chvrches
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• Deap Vally
• AlunaGeorge
• Azealia Banks
• Jake Bugg
• Palma Violets
• Woodkid
• Madeon
• Dorian
• Splashh
• Terrence Dixon
• The Child of Lov
• Grupo Salvaje

What FIB 2013 was like for fans

Reviews from the time describe FIB 2013 as one of the hottest editions in years, with many people escaping to the beach during the day before returning to the arena as the sun dropped. The atmosphere was described as friendly, chaotic in parts and full of energy — particularly during Dizzee Rascal’s set and during The Killers’ explosive finale.

Fans often mention how the schedule created a seamless flow from rock into electronic music: it wasn’t unusual to go from Arctic Monkeys straight into a DJ set finishing after dawn. Several blogs from the time highlight the size of the British crowd that year, giving Benicassim 2013 a feel somewhere between a Spanish holiday and a UK festival.

Further resources

• Benicassim 2013 clashfinder
• eFestivals 2013 archive
• Music Festival Wizard
• Complete FIB 2013 lineup
• Benicàssim on Wikipedia

If looking back at the Benicassim 2013 lineup has you thinking about returning, start here:

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Benicassim 2014 lineup

The Benicassim 2014 lineup delivered one of the most eclectic mixes of the decade, blending indie, rock, pop, dance and Spanish alternative. With Kasabian, The Libertines, Paolo Nutini, Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status and The 1975 all appearing, FIB 2014 felt like a year where festival trends were shifting — guitar bands still dominated the main stage, but EDM, electro-pop and rising Spanish indie artists also played a major role.

Reviews from the time highlight that FIB 2014 had one of the liveliest crowds the festival had seen in years. The return of The Libertines added a nostalgic buzz, Kasabian were called “unstoppable” in multiple write-ups, and Paolo Nutini’s huge Saturday performance reflected his rapid rise in popularity that year. Elsewhere on site, Spanish acts like Dorian, Kokoshca and The Parrots drew enthusiastic home support, while electronic sets kept the party going until dawn.

Benicassim 2014 lineup at a glance

• Dates: 17–20 July 2014
• Main headliners: Kasabian, The Libertines, Paolo Nutini
• Genres: Indie, Rock, Pop, EDM, Electro-Pop, Spanish Alternative
• Key talking points: The Libertines reunion energy, Kasabian’s huge Friday set, Paolo Nutini’s breakout moment, and a strong mix of Spanish artists

Benicassim 2014 lineup by day

Thursday 17 July 2014 – Benicassim 2014 lineup highlights

Key performances

• Tinie Tempah
• Chase & Status
• Ellie Goulding
• James
• Klaxons
• Mucho

Thursday opened with a strong dance-led feel. Chase & Status tore through one of the most high-energy sets of the weekend, while Tinie Tempah had the crowd bouncing from start to finish. Ellie Goulding brought the pop shine, and James delivered a crowd-pleasing performance just before sunset.

Friday 18 July 2014

Main acts

• Kasabian
• Above & Beyond
• Albert Hammond Jr
• Fat White Family
• Jake Bugg
• The 1975
• Paul Weller
• Tame Impala
• Kokoshca
• Razorlight
• Of Montreal
• Tom Odell

Friday belonged to Kasabian, whose headline set was described in reviews as “explosive”, “swagger-filled” and “tailor-made for a Spanish crowd”. Earlier in the day, The 1975 drew a huge mid-evening crowd, Jake Bugg played a confident set, and Tame Impala delivered one of the most psychedelic moments of the festival.

Saturday 19 July 2014

Featured artists

• The Libertines
• Manic Street Preachers
• Example
• Katy B
• Lily Allen
• Francois & The Atlas Mountains
• Cat Power
• Tachenko
• Telegram
• Triángulo de Amor Bizarro

The Saturday crowd was electric, with many festival-goers calling The Libertines the highlight of the entire weekend. Their performance was emotional and chaotic in the best way — classic sing-alongs, big choruses and a sense of reunion energy that carried across the site. Manic Street Preachers put in a polished set, while Example and Katy B took over the late-night electronic atmosphere.

Sunday 20 July 2014 – Benicassim 2014 lineup finale

Sunday lineup highlights

• Paolo Nutini
• Alesso
• Courteeners
• Drenge
• Hozier
• Kodaline
• La Femme
• M.I.A.
• Nina Nesbitt
• Presidents of the United States of America
• Sub Focus
• Slow Magic
• The Academic
• The Charlatans
• Travis

Sunday showcased one of the most diverse days of the festival. Paolo Nutini drew a massive audience for a passionate, soulful performance that many critics described as “career-defining”. Hozier impressed with early material shortly before breaking worldwide. Alesso and Sub Focus closed out the weekend with EDM fireworks stretching into the early hours.

What the Benicassim 2014 lineup weekend felt like

Fans who were there describe Benicassim 2014 as a summer of big contrasts — relaxed daytime beach sessions followed by adrenaline-filled nights. Temperatures soared well above 30°C in the afternoons, and crowds didn’t return to the arena until sunset, creating a unique rhythm where the bulk of the action took place between 9pm and sunrise.

Reviews from NME, DIY Mag and fan blogs praised the atmosphere: friendly, international and buzzing with anticipation before each headline set. Kasabian and The Libertines received particularly strong reactions, and many festival-goers still cite 2014 as one of the last “classic indie years” before the lineup began leaning more heavily into electronic and pop acts.

Spanish bands played a bigger role than usual, adding local identity and giving the festival a broader cultural feel — something that has continued into more recent editions of FIB.

Further reading & archives

• eFestivals FIB 2014 archive
• 2014 festival overview
• Benicassim UK fan archive
• Festival history

Planning a return to Benicassim? Start with updated guides:

• Benicassim 2026 lineup
• Tickets
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• Flights to the festival
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Benicassim 2015 lineup

The Benicassim 2015 lineup is widely considered one of the strongest lineups of the mid-2010s, bringing together huge British headliners, global electronic stars and a strong selection of Spanish rock and indie acts. With Blur, The Prodigy, Portishead and Florence + The Machine leading the bill, FIB 2015 delivered four massive headline moments across four nights in the Mediterranean heat.

Reviews from the time consistently praised the atmosphere, the crowds and the variety of genres. Florence’s emotional opening-night headline showed her at her peak, The Prodigy turned Friday into a full-scale rave, Blur performed a powerhouse Saturday set that many fans still call one of FIB’s best ever, and Portishead’s haunting visuals and sound design created an unforgettable, cinematic closer to the festival.

FIB 2015 at a glance

• Dates: 16–19 July 2015
• Headliners: Florence + The Machine, The Prodigy, Blur, Portishead
• Genres: Indie, Rock, Electronic, Pop, Spanish Alternative
• Other major artists: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Jamie T, Mark Ronson (DJ), Kaiser Chiefs, Public Enemy, Crystal Fighters

Benicassim 2015 lineup by day

Stage times by day

If you want to dive into the detail, we’ve kept the original stage-time pages from 2015. They show who played when on each stage, right through to sunrise:

Thursday stage times /
Friday stage times /
Saturday stage times /
Sunday stage times

Thursday 16 July 2015 – Opening Night

Main performances

• Florence + The Machine
• Crystal Fighters
• Clean Bandit
• L.A.
• Swim Deep
• Elyella DJs
• Trajano!
• The Last Dandies
• Mox Nox
• Luis Le Nuit

Thursday had a celebratory feel. Florence + The Machine, stepping up after dropping out of Glastonbury the year before, delivered a euphoric headlining set. Emotional vocals, barefoot dancing and huge crowd participation made this a perfect beginning to the festival.

Friday 17 July 2015 – A Night of Anthems & Mayhem

Main sets

• The Prodigy
• Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
• Jamie T
• Stromae
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• Palma Violets
• Brodinski
• Public Access TV
• Moodoïd
• Nunatak

Day two of the festival put the spotlight firmly on the Essex dance legends The Prodigy, with Oasis megastar Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds also high on the bill. It was one of the most talked-about nights of the whole weekend.

Friday belonged to The Prodigy, whose set felt like a flashback to the heyday of late-90s rave culture — lasers, strobe blasts and a crowd that never stopped moving. Noel Gallagher brought stadium-sized singalongs earlier in the night, and Jamie T drew huge support after making a comeback that year.

Stage times snapshot – Friday 17 July 2015

On the ground, Friday’s timetable was packed across the different stages:

• Las Palmas stage: Nunatak opened around 19:15, followed by Moodoïd and Jamie T, before Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at roughly 23:30–00:40 and The Prodigy closing from about 01:10–02:30, with Brodinski taking things into the early hours.
• Radio 3 / FIBERFIB stage: acts like Holögrama, Hamsandwich, La Bien Querida and Palma Violets kept the guitars going, with Godspeed You! Black Emperor playing a long late-night set before DJs carried on until after 06:00.
• Red Bull FIB Club & South Beach: more club-focused sets from bands and DJs such as Public Access T.V., Vessels and Polock indoors, plus Miss_Tra, Pablo Radiola and others soundtracking the beach-club area.
• Trenchtown areas: Kingston12 and Treasure Beach hosted reggae, dub and soundsystem sessions from midday, with selectors like Glenn Brown, Aunty Shimmy and Outlaw Sound, running all the way through to sunrise with silent cinema and soundclash slots.

For the full hour-by-hour timetable, including every stage and DJ slot, see the dedicated
Friday stage times page and the other daily listings linked above.

Saturday 18 July 2015 – Blur’s Big Return

Notable artists

• Blur
• Kaiser Chiefs
• Mark Ronson (DJ)
• Tiga (DJ)
• Los Planetas
• La M.O.D.A
• Reverend & The Makers
• Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
• Hinds
• Beach Beach
• Edu Imbernon
• Papaya
• Opatov

Blur delivered one of the defining performances of the whole festival. Opening with “Go Out” and closing with “The Universal”, their FIB 2015 set is still regarded as one of their best Spanish festival appearances. The crowd stretched back as far as the eye could see, singing every word.

Sunday 19 July 2015 – Closing with Portishead

Main acts

• Portishead
• Bastille
• Vetusta Morla
• FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks)
• Public Enemy
• The Cribs
• MØ
• A-Trak
• Madeon
• Hudson Taylor
• Novedades Carminha
• Joe Crepúsculo

Portishead brought a very different energy: noir visuals, glitching projections and Beth Gibbons’ spine-tingling vocals. Critics at the time described it as “art-house cinema on a grand stage”. Earlier, Bastille and FFS pulled big indie crowds, and Public Enemy delivered a politically charged performance.

What Benicassim 2015 felt like

Festival-goers describe FIB 2015 as a perfect balance of nostalgia and new energy. The weather was scorching — daytime highs over 30°C — so most people stayed at the beach until late afternoon before returning to the arena. Nights were long, stretching to nearly sunrise, especially during the DJ-led late stages.

Blur and The Prodigy were widely considered the best of the headliners, while Florence’s opener set the emotional tone for the weekend. Many Spanish fans still call 2015 one of their favourite editions thanks to big national acts like Los Planetas, La M.O.D.A and Novedades Carminha.

Reviews from NME, Gigwise and MusicFestivalWizard all highlight the same thing:
FIB 2015 felt like one of the festival’s last truly “classic indie years” before the lineup shifted more toward pop and electronic names in later editions.

Further reading & archives

• eFestivals FIB 2015 archive
• MusicFestivalWizard 2015 recap
• Benicassim UK fan archive
• Festival history

Planning to go again instead of revisiting the past?

• Benicassim 2026 lineup
• Tickets
• Hotels
• Flights
• Trains & onward travel