Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits
As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival ...
Chemical Brothers, The Cure and Sia among first batch of acts for Fuji Rock Festival '19
Also appearing on the bill are Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, James Blake, Mitski and Janelle Monae, with many more still to be announced.
Western acts take note: Joy and enthusiasm are the key to winning over Summer Sonic crowds
British rocker Noel Gallagher has developed a reputation in recent years for delivering biting, hilarious one-liners, both in interviews and at concerts. In front of the crowd as the Saturday night headliner for Tokyo's leg of Summer Sonic, however, the former Oasis brain trust ...
Sunset and a glimpse of Mount Fuji add to Tom Misch's Tokyo debut
As the sun began to set on this year's Summer Sonic, London-born singer Tom Misch took to the Beach Stage for his first live appearance in Tokyo. Misch, who released his debut album "Geography" in April, performs an upbeat mix of lo-fi funk and soul. ...
Summer Sonic's helter-skelter lineup provides a lot of chances for younger Japanese acts
When it comes to music festivals in Japan, Fuji Rock is the pretty one, Rock in Japan is the domestic one and Summer Sonic is the crowd pleaser. Past headliners have included acts as diverse as Metallica, Beyonce, Green Day and Stevie Wonder. In 2018, ...
Beck, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds to headline Summer Sonic
American singer-songwriter Beck and British rock outfit Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have been named as headliners at this year's Summer Sonic music festival in August. Among other acts that have also been named on the bill are Chance the Rapper, pop star Shawn Mendes ...
Babymetal, Foo Fighters and Rick Astley make Summer Sonic a fun weekend
This year's Summer Sonic had its craziest moment on Sunday night when 1980s singer Rick Astley joined the Foo Fighters for the latter's headlining performance. "Come on you motherf———!" Astley bellowed at the thousands of fans gathered in Chiba's Zozo Marine Stadium, with the U.S. ...
Phoenix readies for 'unique' Summer Sonic and some sweet sake sessions
In an age where almost every piece of historical information is available at our fingertips, Thomas Mars and Laurent Brancowitz of the French band Phoenix surprise me with a fact that doesn't seem to exist anywhere on the internet. "One of our first shows was ...
Tilt toward domestic acts risks watering down uniqueness of Japan's big music fests
Japan's 2017 summer music festival landscape has mostly settled into place. The Fuji Rock Festival, after an upbeat 20th anniversary last year, kicked up excitement thanks to a top-heavy bill headlined by Gorillaz, Aphex Twin and Bjork, along with the promise of more left-field ...
Underworld: 'We've become inseparable now, and it's really great'
Two years ago, Underworld duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith had an epiphany. After more than three decades of working together — through some unremittingly lean early years; an epoch-defining, mega-selling turn in the 1990s; soundtracking the London Olympics opening ceremony, and a fractured ...
From Hiromi Uehara to Radiohead and Sakanaction, here's how to plan your weekend at Summer Sonic
Summer Sonic offers something for fans of every music genre — it's practically the festival's calling card. Fans of a specific style still have it easy, though — just hang around the stage catering to your preferred sound, whether that be EDM blasting from ...
Summer Sonic founder Naoki Shimizu explains the search for the perfect music festival lineup
Creativeman President Naoki Shimizu says he had the perfect idea for this year's Sonicmania. The event, an all-night party that comes ahead of Creativeman's Summer Sonic music festival, would feature EDM heavyweight Skrillex and long-running synthpop outfit New Order as the headliners, bringing out ...
