Last weekend saw what was billed as a Special Fuji Rock under Special Circumstances, with those circumstances being the COVID-19 pandemic.
While a limited number of people made the trip to Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture, where the event is held annually, most music fans had to settle for following along on three YouTube channels that livestreamed different stages.
On a purely musical level, the online portion of the event went well, with Saturday headliners King Gnu bringing in hundreds of thousands of viewers during its set. It also allowed people to marvel at the long-running success of musician Susumu Hirasawa, who was compared to a “23rd century religious guru” by one Twitter user.