This year’s edition of the Japan Nite event at the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) was going to be special. It would have marked the event’s 25th anniversary of showcasing Japanese artists to fans in Austin, Texas, with a North American tour to follow.
Co-founder Audrey Kimura, however, began having doubts about the situation in mid-February as the COVID-19 outbreak started spreading globally. While SXSW officials remained optimistic that the gathering would happen, Kimura worried about travel restrictions that could put the visiting performers in a bind.
“I contacted the representatives of each city’s venue on the Japan Nite tour in early March, but they were not worried at all,” Kimura tells The Japan Times.