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Music Festivals in May [2026]: Outdoor Festivals and Events Summary
In this article, we’ll introduce a roundup of music festivals taking place in May.
With the refreshing early-summer breeze, this is the perfect season to soak up music outdoors, and there are plenty of events happening.
Golden Week in particular is packed with major festivals across the country.
Take a look through this article, check out the May festivals that catch your eye, and be sure to head out to your favorite events.
We hope this article inspires you to make the most of the spring festival season.
March
Kyoto Acoustic Touring FestivalKyoto Prefecture, Sat 3/14 – Sun 5/3
https://x.com/flat_kyotofes/status/2027670125047124395The Kyoto Circuit Acoustic Festival is an acoustic music festival co-hosted by Kyoto Station Building Development Co., Ltd., with support from JR West. The 2026 edition, titled “Sea of Kyoto,” will tour Maizuru Red Brick Park, Ine Town’s Urashima-kan, and Fukuchiyama Castle Park, culminating in a finale at the Kyoto Station Building’s first-floor Station Plaza. A diverse lineup including Shinji Harada, Kyogo Kawaguchi, Chicago Poodle, and →Pia-no-jaC← will perform, bringing musical experiences to various locations across Kyoto from March through May.
| Schedule | Saturday, March 14, 2026 – Sunday, May 3, 2026 |
| place | Kyoto Prefecture: Maizuru City, Ine Town, Fukuchiyama City, and Kyoto City Tour (Maizuru Red Brick Park / Urashima-kan in Ine Town / Fukuchiyama Castle Park / Kyoto Station Building 1st-floor Station Square in front of Hotel Granvia Kyoto) |
| Appearance | [3/14] Chicago Poodle / Tsubasa Mori / Flat♭ / Sakuto / Daisuke [3/15] Shogo Tomita / Ayawo / Kazusa / Flat♭ / Sakuto / Daisuke [3/22] Yugo Ogura / Flat♭ / Sakuto / Daisuke / DJ Hijiki / Taira Kita / The flat climbers / Masato Tada / Shigeru Kishida (Quruli) / Ayumi Yoshimura [4/12] Isao Chiwata / Yugo Ogura / Sakuto / Daisuke [5/2] Kyogo Kawaguchi / Osamu Sasaki from MOON CHILD / Isao Chiwata / Shinji Harada / →Pia-no-jaC← / Kengo Adachi / Utamaro / Hiromi Oshiba / Takashi Ohashi / Yugo Ogura / Omoware / Ryosuke Kadomatsu / Sakuto / Chicago Poodle / SIO / Masaaki Shimoji / ZILCONIA / Masayuki Takemori / TAROO / Daisuke / Hisae / Flat♭ / pod’z / Tsubasa Mori / Hiroaki Asai (FM802 DJ) [5/3] Kyogo Kawaguchi / Osamu Sasaki from MOON CHILD / Isao Chiwata / Shinji Harada / →Pia-no-jaC← / Kengo Adachi / Utamaro / Hiromi Oshiba / Takashi Ohashi / Yugo Ogura / Omoware / Ryosuke Kadomatsu / Sakuto / Chicago Poodle / SIO / Masaaki Shimoji / ZILCONIA / Masayuki Takemori / TAROO / Daisuke / Hisae / Flat♭ / pod’z / Tsubasa Mori / Chikayo Kawahara (α-Station DJ) |
| Website | https://musicofficecloud.com/kyoto-sea/ |
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April
KYOTOPHONIE Borderless Music FestivalSat, 4/18 – Sun, 5/17 Kyoto Prefecture
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXb2z9rD3hF/KYOTOPHONIE is an international music festival launched in 2023 by Lucille Reyboz and Yusuke Nakanishi, co-founders of KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival. Held twice a year at unique venues throughout Kyoto Prefecture, it has drawn a total audience of around 40,000 by spring 2025. Characterized by experimentation unconstrained by conventional genres, venues, or formats, and by cross-disciplinary collaborations, it presents a diverse lineup. In spring 2026, performers will include Msaki & Tubatsi and Dora Morelenbaum.
| Schedule | Saturday, April 18, 2026 – Sunday, May 17, 2026 |
| place | Various locations in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture (CLUB METRO / Higashi Hongan-ji Audiovisual Hall / Cinematic Saloon / UrBANGUILD / Shosei-en, Rofu-tei / PIOPIKO) |
| Appearance | 【4/18】MSAKI / DANNY JIN / AICONGA / NiSSiE / RICHIE HAWTIN【4/19】Msaki x Tubatsi【4/25】Frédéric Soulard【4/26】Clément Petit & Yasutaka Okada【5/16】Dora Morelenbaum |
| Website | https://kyotophonie.jp/ |
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Hibiya Live FestivalSaturday, 4/25 – Sunday, 5/31, Tokyo
| Schedule | Saturday, April 25, 2026 – Sunday, May 31, 2026 |
| place | Tokyo Metropolis, Chiyoda City, Yurakucho, Tokyo Midtown Hibiya / Hibiya Park |
| Website | https://www.hibiya.tokyo-midtown.com/hibiya-live-festival/ |
EARLY SUMMER FESTAApr 25 (Sat) – May 17 (Sun), Kanagawa Prefecture
| Schedule | Sat, Apr 25, 2026 – Sun, May 17, 2026 |
| place | Umikaze Park, 3-23 Heisei-cho, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Website | https://esfes.jp/ |
Hayama Art FestivalApr 25 (Sat) – May 17 (Sun), Kanagawa Prefecture
| Schedule | Sat, Apr 25, 2026 – Sun, May 17, 2026 |
| place | Entire area of Hayama Town, Miura District, Kanagawa Prefecture (the whole town) |
| Website | https://hayama-artfes.com/ |
Gargantua Music FestivalIshikawa Prefecture, Tue 4/28–Tue 5/5
https://x.com/garganchan/status/2038484148516769950The Gargantua Music Festival is a celebration that fills all of Kanazawa with classical music during Golden Week. Centered on the Ishikawa Ongakudo (Ishikawa Prefectural Music Hall), performances unfold across a variety of venues from concert halls to open squares, featuring collaborations with traditional performing arts and initiatives for citizen participation. In addition to full-scale performances by top orchestras and soloists, the festival offers entertainment-rich programs that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. In 2026, under the theme “The Top 10 Composers You Choose: A Decade of Musical Journeys in Hokuriku–Kanazawa,” it will be held from April through May.
| Schedule | Tuesday, April 28, 2026 – Tuesday, May 5, 2026 |
| place | Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa City, 20-1 Showa-machi, Ishikawa Prefectural Music Hall and Kanazawa City Art Hall, around Kanazawa Station |
| Appearance | Yuko Amanuma / Arist Sham / Anke Schwabe / Shinichiro Ikebe / Kumi Ishikawa / Yuka Ishimaru / Kento Ito / Akio Ueki / Chie Ehara / Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa / Naoto Otomo / Yuka Ohno / Yasuji Ohagi / Kanna Ogawa / Mino Kabasawa / Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė / Erika Kiko / Naoki Kitajima / Karen Kitamura / Gidon Kremer / Yoshihisa Kihara / Ayako Kimura / Eiko Kumagai / Toshiki Kurihara / Megumi Kurose / K BALLET STUDIO / Georgijs Osokins / Eiko Koizumi / Cocomi / Hayato Kodama / Chosei Komatsu / Kornilios Mihalidis / Yohei Kondo / Masamasaru Sakaguchi / Tomoki Sakata / Taiku Mito / Shunpei Shirakawa / Manashi Shiratama / Sing Gospel Unity Choir / Dairo Suga / Jurika Takeda / Rikino Takeda / Mutsuko Tajima / Min Tanaka / Hirokazu Taniguchi / Mutsumi Taniguchi / Shogo Tsukada / Mai Tsugumi / Rieko Tsuno / DiVa / Naoko Terai / Takuma Terashima / Miyu Teramatsu / Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra / Mai Tosya / Sho Tomita / Akiko Tomihira / Takashi Niigaki / Niu Niu / Ryusuke Numajiri / Mona Hattori / Haruki / Yoshiko Hannya / Kana Hirano / Junichi Hirokami / Keita Matsui / Matija Meic / Michael Balke / Akira Miyagawa / Naoki Miyazato / Dai Miyata / Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Orchestra (Munich) / Yukari Yamada / Yukiko Yamamoto / Abigail Young / Lucian Kraznets / Réka Kristóf / LEO / Emi Wakui |
| Website | https://www.gargan.jp/ |
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Tottori JazzTottori Prefecture, Tue 4/28–Sat 5/2
https://x.com/tottorijazz/status/2006539958623056328Tottori JAZZ is a signature jazz festival of Tottori Prefecture that began in 2011 and will celebrate its 16th edition in 2026. With the concept of “Coloring the city with jazz and art,” it has been embraced as a citywide event that turns various locations around Tottori City into stages, blending live performances with open-call artworks. Run by an organizing committee led by local musicians and students, it has become established as a venue that nurtures the region’s musical culture. The 2026 festival will be held from late April to early May.
| Schedule | Tuesday, April 28, 2026 – Saturday, May 2, 2026 |
| place | 111 Higashishinajicho, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, around Tottori Station (multiple venues) |
| Appearance | 【4/30】Chris Collins & the Detroit Jazz Festival All-Stars Generations Band【5/1】Chris Collins & the Detroit Jazz Festival All-Stars Generations Band |
| Website | http://tottorijazz.jp/ |
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