Cabaret Voltaire returns to Sónar 2026 as duo after Richard H. Kirk's death

Cabaret Voltaire, now a duo following the death of Richard H. Kirk, will perform at the Sónar festival in Barcelona on June 18, 2026. The influential electronic and industrial music band, originally formed in Sheffield in 1975 by Stephen Mallinder, Chris Watson, and Kirk, had a notoriously difficult first live performance at the Sheffield Student Union, where an audience of drunk engineering students reacted hostilely. Mallinder recalls the incident with humor, noting that the academic equivalent of football hooligans made the show impossible to enjoy. Sónar 2026 will also feature The Prodigy and Speedy J as main attractions. Cabaret Voltaire's early work presciently addressed themes of hypervigilance, control, and technological manipulation.