Since its first edition in 2014, Barcelona Rock Fest has quickly established itself as one of Europe’s top rock and metal music festivals. The lineup gets better each year and includes big-name acts like Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, ZZ Top, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Alice Cooper.
In addition to an extensive lineup of acts covering the entire spectrum of hard rock and heavy metal, Barcelona Rock Fest enjoys a privileged location that allows festival-goers to combine a four-day music festival with a visit to one of Europe’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities.
Barcelona Rock Fest: The festival site and stages
Barcelona Rock Fest is staged in Can Zam Park, an 11-hectare park in Santa Coloma de Gramenet on the outskirts of Barcelona.
The festival revolves around two identical main stages set up side by side (Stage Rock on the left and Stage Fest on the right).
The twin-stage format has two benefits:
- It eliminates the classic festival dilemma of having to choose between two bands that are playing at the same time.
- The bands play almost continuously, one after the other, throughout the day. Whilst one band plays on one stage, the crew prepares the other stage for the next act.
You can choose whether to move with the crowd from one stage to the other or bag yourself a prime spot right in front of one of the stages and accept a lesser view of the other stage.
Large screens on either side of the stages help people who are further away following the action. The sound system is powerful, and the sound engineers generally manage to ensure that everything sounds good no matter where you are standing.
There is also a third smaller stage at the back of the site called the Rock Tent Stage, where lesser-known and local bands play. When the bands finish in the Rock Tent stage (at about 3:30 am), DJs from local rock radio stations and nightclubs take over.
Most of the acts are on stage for 60 minutes; the headlining bands play for an hour and 45 minutes. Everything is very well organized to ensure each band starts on time. The exact schedule will be published on the Barcelona Rockfest website a few weeks before the event.
The best way to ensure that you don’t miss anything is to install the Rock Fest app on your phone*. At first glance, the app is just a mobile version of the website, but it has one very useful function: If you click on a group’s name in the running order, they are added to your calendar. You then receive a message reminding you that they are about to play 1 hour before the band goes on stage.
If you set an alarm for the first band you want to see each day, when the alarm sounds, you should have enough time to get from the city centre (or the beach) to Can Zam. Please check your calendar settings to make sure that the alarm is configured correctly.
*Unfortunately, the app hasn’t been available for the last few editions of Rock Fest. Hopefully, the organizers will reinstate it in 2025. If not, I recommend you manually set an alarm on your phone to go off an hour before the first band you want to see is scheduled to go on stage.
Barcelona Rock Fest dates and schedule 2025
Barcelona Rock Fest 2025 will take place on June 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th in Can Zam Park, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona.
Barcelona Rock Fest Lineup 2025
The only act confirmed so far is RUNNING WILD. When more bands are announced, I’ll update this post; I recommend you bookmark this page and check back soon.
Schedule Rock Fest 2025
The schedule for Barcelona Rock Fest 2025 hasn’t been announced yet. To give you an idea of what to expect, the schedule for 2024 was as follows:
Friday, July 5th; Gates open – 13:00. First band starts – 14:30, Headliners – 23:55 to 01:10, Rock DJs until 04:00
Saturday, July 6th; Gates open – 13:00. First band starts – 14:00, Headliners 00:15 to 01:45 Last band finishes – 03:00
Sunday, July 7th; Gates open – 13:00. First band starts – 13:30, Headliners – 23:00 to 01:30, Rock DJs until 04:30
Tickets to Barcelona Rock Fest 2025
Tickets are available on the Rock Fest website at the following prices:
| Ticket Type | Price |
|---|---|
| 3-day pass (adult) | TBA |
| 3-day pass (12 to 16 years) | TBA |
| VIP Pass | TBA |
| One-day ticket, Friday | TBA |
| One-day ticket, Friday | TBA |
| One-day ticket, Saturday | TBA |
When purchasing your ticket online, you will receive a voucher, which you can then exchange for the ticket at the box office near the entrance to the site. Don’t forget to bring your passport when picking up your tickets.
Wristbands
Before entering the festival site, one-day tickets and three-day passes are exchanged for wristbands at the entrance to the festival.
Once fitted with your wristband, you can re-enter the festival site as often as you like. Note: You should also keep your ticket with you in case you are asked to show it.
Three-day pass holders can also get their wristbands fitted at the festival site on Thursday evening.
Facilities at Barcelona Rock Fest
In addition to the three stages where bands perform throughout the day, there is also;
Photo opportunities: There are a giant-sized guitar and drums and a “guitar throne” where you can take a selfie with your friends to remember the event.
Food trucks and catering: There are two small areas with food trucks selling international food. By music festival standards, prices are quite reasonable (€10 for a bowl of noodles, burger, kebabs, falafel, bocadillos etc.) There is a covered area with tables where you can enjoy your food sitting in the shade.
Bars: There are two large bars in the middle of the arena where you can grab a cold beer, plus mobile beer sellers circulating among the crowd, so you don’t have to miss a song to go and get a beer.
There is also a beer tent with tables and chairs at the back of the site dubbed the Rock Fest Café.
You are not allowed to bring your own food and drink into the site, and all festival-goers are searched at the entrance. Luckily the drink prices aren’t too high. In 2024 a half-litre bottle of water cost €1, and beer cost €4 or €12. Alternatively, you can nip off-site, where you will find enterprising individuals with coolers selling cans of beer for €1.50!
Merchandising: There is an official Rock Fest merchandising stall on site selling the ubiquitous festival T-shirts and jackets. Outside the festival entrance, there’s a small market with about a dozen stalls selling a wide range of band T-shirts, jackets, jewellery etc. If you’re feeling sunburnt, you can pick up a hat here for about €10.
Medical facilities: There is a medical tent with a team of paramedics on site.
Toilets: They may not be the most pleasant of places, but at least there are plenty of them, and toilet queues aren’t usually long. Without going into details, you can expect the seats and floors to be wet. Don’t forget to bring your own toilet paper!
Top tip
There are taps with running water where you can wash your hands located next to the main food trucks area. There is also a water fountain (free drinking water) next to the Rock Fest Café.
Barcelona Rock Fest Location
Rock Fest Barcelona takes place in Can Zam Park in Santa Coloma de Gramenet on the outskirts of Barcelona. The festival site is easy to get to from Barcelona city centre and from nearby towns such as Badalona.
How to get to Barcelona Rock Fest
In addition to the fantastic line-ups, the great thing about Rock Fest is the location and how easy it is to get to. Can Zam has its own stop on Barcelona metro line L9 nord.
It takes about 45 minutes to get to the festival site from Barcelona city centre. The metro stop is directly in front of the entrance to the festival. You’ll see the stages and hear the music in the park below you as you leave the station.
L9 Nord connects to lines L1 and L5 at La Sagrera, and I recommend that you choose a hotel near one of the stops on these lines.
The metro runs until 2 am on Friday night, all night long on Saturday night and until midnight on Sundays and weekdays.
If you return to your hotel after these times, night buses N6 and N8 connect Can Zam to the city centre. Extra buses are laid on during the festival, including a special bus that runs from Can Zam to Plaça de les Glories, Plaça de Tetuan, and Plaça de Catalunya.
It takes 10 minutes to walk from the festival site to the bus stops. At peak times there are queues to get on the buses, but it’s well organized, and there are plenty of buses so you shouldn’t have to wait long.
Alternatively, there is a taxi rank near the N6 and N8 bus stops, but, at peak times, the queues for the taxis are even longer than the queues for the buses!
Which transport ticket should you buy for Rock Fest Barcelona?
For most visitors, it is best to purchase a 1 zone T-casual multi-trip ticket, which covers both the metro and the night bus. The T-casual costs €11.35, which works out at just under €1.14 per trip.
More information about Barcelona transport passes here >>
Tickets can be purchased at metro and train stations, tram stops and at some tobacconists. You can also use this ticket on the train to and from the airport.
More information about transport from and to the airport here >>
Where to Stay?
Although there are hotels in Santa Coloma de Gramenet and nearby towns such as Badalona, I think it makes more sense to stay in Barcelona. When choosing your hotel, try to pick one which is close to a metro stop on either the L1 or L5 metro lines, both of which connect with L9 nord at La Sagrera.
I recommend that you choose a hotel near Plaça de Catalunya. This central location will allow you to spend your mornings visiting Barcelona’s most emblematic attractions and is just 45 minutes from the festival site.
For example, the Hotel Jazz is a very good three-star hotel right next to Plaça de Catalunya with a rooftop pool and terrace. Other good choices would be to stay near the Sagrada Familia (L5) or in Poblenou near the Glories metro station (L1).
If you want to stay as close as possible to the Rock Fest then there’s an Ibis Hotel located right next to Can Zam Park. This gives you the advantage of being just a 10-minute walk from the festival site. Allowing you to maximise your time at the festival and have the opportunity to quickly return to your hotel whenever you feel like it.
For more information, check out my in-depth guide to where to stay in Barcelona >>
Camping at Barcelona Rock Fest
For the first few editions of Barcelona Rock Fest, a campsite was laid on at Montmeló with shuttle buses to and from the festival site. Unfortunately, this ended in 2018, and since then, there isn’t any camping at the festival.
The nearest campsite that I know of is Càmping Masnou, which is approximately 10 km from Can Zam.
Map of the festival site
Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona, Spain
Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona, Spain
Can Zam Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Have I missed anything? If you’ve something to add or if there’s anything else you need to know about Barcelona Rock Fest, please let me know in the comments section below.
Is it possible to go to front line without VIP pass
Hi Hidenore,
Yes, it’s possible, anyone can get to the front row, you don’t need a VIP pass.
Tickets are on sale now. Taking place 5th – 7th July.
Hi Vincent,
Thanks for the heads up, as you say dates and early bird ticket prices were announced last Friday.
The organizers have said that they will announce the first headliners tommorow, November 22nd, and I was planning to wait until then before updating the post, but have now updated with current prices and dates.
I’m looking foward to seeing who will be on the lineup this year.
As i have been there a couple of time for this great even, now you are saying that this will be published A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE EVENT!! Errrr, how about publishing this a few Months before hand insted, so at least i can book Flights, Hotels…………time off from work, as i live in the UK.
This is just stupid!! At least give us enogh time to sort stuff out………….NOT a few weeks!! All Flights & Hotels will be booked up Solid. this is STUPID!!!
Hi Barry,
Thanks for your comment.
I feel your frustration, and totally agree with you, however, since I’m not involved with the organisation of the festival, I’m unable to do anything about it.
All that I can say is that, to date, there’s been no announcement made about Barcelona Rock Fest 2024.
Rest assured, as soon as I hear anything, I’ll update this page.
I hope we will come back to Barcelona rock in 2024.
Hi Martin,
I agree. Hopefully the organizers will get their act together, and Rock Fest will take place next year.
Hi
What’s happening with Rock fest this year ??
No updates on FB and official site whatsoever.
Hi Daniela,
I know; it’s really not looking good at this point.
The only thing I can say which might be encouraging is that last year the final festival lineup wasn’t announced until late April, and everyone was getting pretty frustrated then too.
So you never know; Barcelona Rock Fest 2023 may yet go ahead, although, to be frank, it’s starting to look pretty unlikely.
Rest assured, as soon as I hear anything; I will update this post.
Ridiculous way to run a festival, we were looking to make out first visit after many awesome yeas at Hellfest. I can’t believe there has been no communication either way, it not too difficult to say yes or no and either reassure or let people make other plans.
There are 10 of us coming from the UK, we are hoping to enjoy the city and festival.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment.
I agree it’s frustrating, especially for people who need to book flights, reserve hotels, etc.
I think that the festival organisers must realize that, and am surprised they keep silent. At the end of the day, people will just lose confidence and go elsewhere.
In the meantime, if you’re still interested in Rock Fest, I suggest you periodically check the official Website and Facebook page (links in the article).
Rest assured that as soon as I hear anything, I’ll post an update here.
Hi Richard. What is going on with Barcelona Rock? It seems we have to visit another festival.
Hi Martin,
I agree; it’s not looking good.
July is now only six months away, and there’s still no news on either the Rock Fest website or Facebook page.
I’m trying to remain optimistic, but it seems unlikely that the festival will take place this year.
I’ve been searching online for more information. The only thing I’ve found is an article on the Santa Coloma city council website, which says that Can Zam Park is currently undergoing building works.
I don’t know if this might be related.
bonjour, aprés avoir assister a 9 hellfests pas pu avoir de pass 2023,je souhaiterai assister au rock fest 2023 si le festival devait avoir lieu, quand la billeterie sera en vente (jour et heure) si possible.et le lien.J’habite en france département maine et loire.Cordialement.
Hi Bernaud,
Unfortunately, nothing has been announced yet. As soon as I have more information I’ll update the post.
Is there definitely going to be a rock Fest in 2023?
Hi Vincent,
There’s not been anything officially announced so far, but a couple of weeks ago, the festival organizers published a post on their Facebook page which reflected on the 2022 edition and finished with the following quote:
So it certainly looks like they intend to organize a 2023 edition.
You can see the full post and accompanying video here.
Hi all,
I’m still waiting for my refund for the show that was cancelled last year; they advised at the time it would be received at the latest 1 month before the commencement of the new gig. Of course I’ve contacted them with whatever address I could find but still no response. I’ve also messaged them through Facebook and still nothing. Ticketmaster give me the same spiel each time ‘we are unable to process refunds until the organisers authorise this’.
It’s beyond ridiculous at this point and I know that some others are also waiting on refunds; wondering if anyone has received or heard of an actual update or some progression on this?
It’s such a shame, with amazing acts and line-ups, it’s put me off ever going to this festival just because the organisers are so incompetent.
Hi Stephan,
Unfortunately, I think you’re not the only person in this situation. As far as I can make out, Rock Fest was taken over and re-branded after the original organisers went bust during the pandemic. I know that the new organizers did honour tickets for the 2020 edition for people who attended this year, but I don’t know whether they will issue refunds to the people who didn’t/couldn’t attend.
I have had the same issue. Not sure what to do about it at this point.
Hello I am currently at the festival, but last night I had no idea where I could take a taxi from.
I am currently staying in Montacada i Reixac
Last night we had no idea where the taxi rank was, your website refers to the rank being between the n6 and n8 bus stops. But we have no idea where this is.
Can you please help, it was a dangerous journey walking home last night.
Hi Mark,
There’s a map on the Barcelona municipal transport authority website (click here) which shows two taxi ranks near the festival site.
The first is on Av. de l’Anselm de Riu, then there’s another near the Ibis hotel on Av. Pallaresa.
The second taxi rank is the one which I mentioned near (not between) the night bus stops.
At peak times, after the headliners finish etc, you can expect there to be queues. If there are no cabs available, I’ve listed the phone numbers and websites of some Barcelona cab firms in this post.
Alternatively, you could install the Cabify app. Cabify allows you to book a cab up until one hour before you want to make the journey.
If you don’t know when you’ll be leaving the festival, you’ll have to wing it and compare the waiting time for Cabify with the length of the queue at the taxi rank.
Hope this helps.
By the way, good effort on walking all the way to Montcada i Reixac, that’s quite a treck, especially after a day at Rock Fest!
Hello
is it allowed to bring a small foldable chair into the festival area?
Hi René,
I don’t think so, certainly, in previous editions, I’ve never noticed anyone sitting on folding chairs. There is normally a small area of seating set up near the back of the festival site.
Hi Richard,
Thanks so much for putting up all this info ( I owe you a beer at least).
So I read about your answer regarding the VIP area at the festival. In your opinion, is it worth the upgrade? I believe this year is like 140 € per day.
Hi Cesar,
I know that some people like VIP packages and keep the merch and special tickets as a souvenir and all that, but I’m not one of those people. In my opinion, your money would be better spent staying in a better hotel or, if you have time, staying an extra day in Barcelona.
Having said that, I’ve always just purchased the standard three-day pass and haven’t experienced the VIP package for myself. Maybe if I’d tried it my opinion would be different.
If you’re interested, I’ve got some promo photos of the VIP area which were sent to me by the festival organizers in 2019. Let me know if you want me to send them to you.
Hi Richard, yes please. I’m very interested. I appreciate the info.
Hi Cesar,
I just sent you the photos, if they’re not in your inbox you may have to check your spam folder.