Khalid, HAIM, The Rapture and YUNGBLUD: New confirmations for Mad Cool 2020

21-11-2019

>> The festival keeps adding bands to its appointment on 8, 9, 10 and 11 july.

>> #MyMadCool2020, the game that is causing a revolution on social networks

KHALID, HAIM, The Rapture, YUNGBLUD and London Grammar are being included on the line-up of Mad Cool Festival, a line-up that is adding a new band every day for its upcoming appointment with the public in July 2020.

These names will be joining those of Marika Hackman, Sports Team, Natos y Waor and Tom Grennan, which were announced throughout this week, and Cage the Elephant, Tones and I, Refused, SFDK, Paul Weller and Red Blood Shoes, that joined the week before that. Mad Cool Festival hopes to surprise and satisfy its followers with this new wave of confirmations comprised of fifteen names.

Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Twenty One Pilots, amongst others, paved the way for the awaited Mad Cool 2020 artist confirmations this past 29 October. The surprise move has set the festival’s classic mechanism of announcing a top artist in today’s music scene on a daily basis in motion. What date?  On 8, 9, 10 and 11 July, at the Mad Cool space at the Valdebebas- Ifema site.

The official start date for the ticket sale will be the 1st of December, starting at 11:00 AM (GMT) through our official sales channels: madcoolfestival.es, ticketmaster.es and festicket.com. But also, in line with Mad Cool Festival’s Sponsorship Agreement with Banco Santander, there will be an exclusive Santander Smartbank pre-sale of 4 days, from the 27th to the 30th of November.

The dynamic of daily announcements

Announcing a band on a daily basis has become one of Mad Cool Festival’s identifying traits. A social network game in which Mad Cool’s very own followers are the ones that come up with a clue about an artist that will be added to the Festival’s line-up the following day. In 2018 and 2019, the festival focused on involving and entertaining the public, as they posted coordinates that would help determine the origin of a band, or a mathematical riddle that would unveil either a birth date or the release date of a band’s best-known album. In 2020 however, the “madcooler” involvement in the shaping of the line-up of for this 5th anniversary has been taken to another level.

After the 2019 edition, the festival posted a questionnaire on their website and social media that allowed users to share their tips for improvement and band requests for the next edition. In addition, all #MyMadCool2020 participants entered into the drawing of two 2-person tickets. But this wasn’t just any other contest. Mad Cool Festival was committed to making sure that those wishes would not be in vain, that those letters to Santa Claus would be made a reality as much as possible, and that the line-up would be moulded according to those wishes.

This will was what gave rise to this year’s clue dynamic. It would no longer just be the ideas of the festival’s communications team, but it would be the very own madcoolers that would be giving clues to other followers. The Festival belongs more to the public now than it has ever before.

Biographies

Singer and songwriter Khalid is a worldwide superstar. He has sold thousands of albums and he has been named one of the most influential people of 2019 by Time magazine. His second album “Free Spirit” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, which catapulted him into massive worldwide success before even finishing high school. He has received mass acclaim by the press as the new “pop prodigy”, and his reflections on modern youth culture and the limitations of love are just as perfect as they are touching.

Since the release of their debut “Days Are Gone” in 2013, HAIM has perfectly embodied what it means to let yourself go in the music. Set on a base of sophistication and kaleidoscopic sensibility, these three sisters raised in southern California have integrated elements of all types of music into their songs: from folk to hip hop to power pop. Based on what we’ve heard so far, their upcoming album is bound to be fitted with even more boldness, with some of their most revealing and adventurous songs to date. A high-spirited sensation of freedom that reveals their intent of infusing every aspect of the creative process with joy.

The Rapture is back! After having disappeared for almost a decade, they have magically made their way back without having lost any of their rhythm, and in their best shape yet. Sounding just as if they had been secretly practising during those seven years of absence, the band will arrive at Mad Cool Festival ready to work their way through their seminal repertoire of music, with songs such as “House of Jealous Lovers”, “How Deep is Your Love”, “Echoes” and “Pieces of the People We Love”. A show bursting with energy, from one of the bands that brought on the rebirth of rock in New York (together with The Strokes and Vampire Weekend) and that took punk to the dance floor.

All the way from Northern England, YUNGBLUD brings an explosion of raw energy and thought-provoking lyrics. He has created his own blend of alternative rock: poetry, guitar riffs and throbbing beats with the fierce determination of leaving a mark on pop culture. Dangerously sexy, surprisingly bold yet emotionally thrilling, YUNGBLUD will be dropping a grenade on Mad Cool Festival 2020’s audience that will be left imprinted onto their minds forever.

London Grammar broke into the UK music scene in 2013, selling over two million copies of their debut album “If You Wait”. Hannah Reid (voice), Dan Rothman (guitar) and Dot Major (drums, keyboard) were still studying at the University Of Nottingham when they discovered they had an innate talent for producing melodic and acoustic gold. An intoxicating mix of electro-soul, techno-folk and Reid’s touching voice- fascinating in their albums and surprising on stage-, often with a foot on the dance floor. Their second album, “The Truth Is A Beautiful Thing” (2017) made its way straight to #1 of the UK charts.

Originally from Nashville, United States, Cage The Elephant is a rock band made up of Matt Schultz (singer), Brad Schultz (guitar), Jared Champion (drums), Daniel Tichenor (bass), Nick Bockrath (guitar) and Matthan Minster (keyboards). Having been deeply inspired by punk music, they started playing when they were still in high school. They moved to London to start their career shortly after. Ever since, they have released four studio albums, including “Tell Me I’m Pretty”, winner of a Grammy award. Their latest release was their live album “Unpeeled”.

Paul Weller is an icon of British music with four decades behind him. From the rise of The Jam at the end of the 70’s to the touching experimentation of The Style Council in the 80’s, as well as, of course, his prolific solo years. His influence was essential during the Britpop generation and for the revival of mod culture (the press didn’t re-baptize him as "Modfather" for nothing), and his skills as a composer and performer are still in full shape. He has just released "Other Aspects Live At The Royal Festival Hall", a collection of 25 live songs that summarize his eclectic and impressive career.

An artist originally from Australia’s Mornington Peninsula, Tones And I is going through a fantastic year. Her first single “Johnny Run Away” was followed by what has become a huge global hit: “Dance Monkey”. The track has reached #1 on official singles charts in eleven countries. A massive achievement for someone who was living in a van just six months ago.

Formed in Umeå, Sweden in 1991, hardcore-punk legends Refused are one of the most influential rock bands of the early ‘00s. Their album, "The Shape Of Punk To Come" has become the cornerstone of the entire post-hardcore generation. A bold seminal album that combines electronica and jazz with politically radical lyrics. After a 14-year break, the band reunited in 2012 and released their fourth LP “Freedom” in 2015.

Zatu Rey and Acción Sánchez are SFDK (acronym for "Siempre Fuertes De Konciencia"), one of the oldest and most well-respected groups of Spanish rap. They were founded in the early 90’s in Seville and premiered in 1997 with the single “Llámalo como lo quieras”. Since then they have sold thousands of records and have extensively toured throughout Spain, Mexico, Chile and the US. Last year, they returned with “Redención/Redemption” (BOA, 2018), a handful of good songs that make us reminisce about their best times. Because there is always time for redemption.

Natos & Waor are a rap duo from Madrid characterized by their raw, insolent and outspoken lyrics. They have managed to make their way from the underground to the mainstream, with their own rules, maintaining the attitude that has always characterized them and that has always been so appealing to their fans. They have three demos and four albums (all self-released and distributed without the help of record labels) that have sold thousands of copies, while their music videos on YouTube already passed the 100 million views mark.

With a voice that is halfway between Paolo Nutini and Finley Quaye and with the boldness of Liam Gallagher, Tom Grennan is a star in the making. His deep troubadour voice is his identity hallmark. His debut album “Lighting Matches” combines Jamie T’s street style, Amy Winehouse’s grace and early Florence’s cinematic splendor. An artist to keep an eye on.

Blood Red Shoes are an alternative rock duo in Brighton, England, made up of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. This brilliant, yet underrated band has refined their style throughout their decade-and-a-half-long career. Mortality, psychosis, neurosis, sex, dreams, the future, alienation, failure, escape, mass celebration, hope, regret… and Fleetwood Mac. Following the success of their fifth studio album, “Get Tragic” released in early 2019, they will be performing at Mad Cool 2020 in a state of grace.

Marika Hackman is a rock provocateur. Her music is as introspective as it is blunt, and with her always explicit and honest lyrics, she talks about her sex life and love affairs. Hackman is the PJ Harvey of the inclusive generation. With no boundaries between musical genres, her songs are packed with unexpected twists. An icon of the LGTBIQ+ community and an alternative artist from head to toe.

The stratospheric ascent of Sports Team began just eighteen months ago through word-of-mouth. The sextet (consisting of vocalist Alex Rice, guitarists Rob Knaggs and Henry Young, bassist Oli Dewdney, drummer Al Greenwood and enigmatic multi-instrumentalist Ben Mack) launched its first EP in January 2018, which got them the attention of the musical press. One of the big hopes of British guitar music and one of London’s most exciting bands.

But the confirmations just keep coming… This is only the beginning!

More on its way!

#MadCool2020

#MyMadCool2020