Event organizer Smash announced Friday morning that pioneering German electronic group Kraftwerk would be one of the three headlining acts at the 2024 edition of the Fuji Rock Festival. The event is a premier summer music festival for showcasing international acts in Japan.
This marks the first time Kraftwerk will appear at the gathering, set to run from July 26 to 28 at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture.
Smash revealed the news just before noon on a digital billboard in Shibuya Ward. Dozens of people cheered when the German quartet’s name came up first.
Other artists announced for this year’s Fuji Rock include rising Norwegian singer-songwriter girl in red (who was an opener for select dates on pop superstar Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in the United States), American hardcore band Turnstile, influential British shoegaze group Ride and British electronic artist Floating Points.
More acts, including two more headliners, will be announced in the coming months. Tickets are now on sale.
This year’s festival marks the 25th anniversary of Fuji Rock Festival being held in Naeba. The event’s inaugural edition was held near Mount Fuji, but a typhoon hit the gathering, forcing Smash to cancel the festival’s second day and find a new home. After one year in Tokyo’s Toyosu neighborhood, Fuji Rock settled down in the Niigata Prefecture ski resort town.
To celebrate the close connection the festival has with the surrounding area, Smash announced Friday that tickets for this year’s event could be purchased through furusato nōzei, a tax program that allows individuals to support a municipality of their choice by "donating" some of their tax payments in return for gifts or services.