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A classic song themed around a summer festival. A song of summer memories (2026).

When you think of summer, it’s the season of summer festivals and fireworks.

Hearing the festival music brings back happy memories, and those who love festivals might feel their excitement bubbling up.

In this article, we’ll introduce songs themed around summer festivals and fireworks, as well as tunes that capture summer memories.

From lively, boisterous tracks that embody the fun of festivals to beautiful, fleeting songs about a bittersweet summer romance, these recommendations are full of summer vibes.

If you’re looking for festival songs or summer-themed tracks, or want to listen to songs about summer festivals, be sure to check them out!

[2026] Masterpieces themed around summer festivals: Songs of summer memories (41–50)

festivalKitajima Saburō

After all, when you think of festivals, this is the song, right? That powerful vocal that conjures an image of carrying the mikoshi with the sound of taiko drums echoing—if you’re Japanese, it’s hard not to feel your blood start to boil.

When it comes to summer festival songs, there are plenty of bittersweet tracks that signal the end of summer or tell sweet-and-sour love stories, but you can’t talk about them without this one that radiates almost sweltering masculinity! Many young people might not usually listen to enka, but take this opportunity to feel the spirit of Japan.

A Solo Summer FestivalKouzai Kaori

Kaori Kozai – Lonely Summer Festival
A Solo Summer FestivalKouzai Kaori

When fireworks season and festival season come around, I bet some people can’t help remembering someone they used to love.

This song, Hitori Natsu Matsuri, sung by Kaori Kozai, an enka singer from Osaka Prefecture, is included on her 1998 album Best Selection.

As the woman wanders alone through a summer festival, recalling the past, the song makes you feel like you’re watching a drama or a movie.

It makes you wonder where the person she longs for has gone…

sparklermoon drop

moon drop [Sparkler] Music Video
sparklermoon drop

A moon drop song that etches the memories of a summer festival into your heart.

The night I spent with you in a yukata, the footprints left on the beach, the flashes of fireworks…

all of it colors a fleeting yet beautiful page of youth.

Released in June 2024, this track splendidly captures the ache of unrequited love and the pull of nostalgia.

It’s a deeply evocative song you’ll want to listen to while gazing up at the summer night sky.

I highly recommend it to those who cherish their summer memories or carry a bittersweet love in their hearts.

It’s sure to become the song of summer that lingers in your soul!

Matsuriteranishi yuma feat. izumi pinko

Yuma Teranishi feat. Pinko Izumi - Matsuri [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]
Matsuriteranishi yuma feat. izumi pinko

This work, featuring an impressive fusion of traditional Japanese elements and EDM, is a wildly upbeat celebratory number created under the theme of “connecting the world through laughter.” Released in August 2025, it drew major attention for its cross-generational collaboration between singer-songwriter Yuma Teranishi and actor Pinko Izumi.

The structure, where Teranishi’s high-tone vocals intersect with Izumi’s punchy, declamatory singing, delivers a truly festival-like exhilaration.

It might be just the thing to listen to when you want to blow your worries away!

Gion Festival OndoShimakura Chiyoko

Gion Festival Ondo — Chiyoko Shimakura / Hideo Yamagata
Gion Festival OndoShimakura Chiyoko

An indispensable song for Kyoto’s Bon Odori is Gion Festival Ondo.

It’s also used during the Gion Festival, Kyoto’s major summer event, and incorporates the festival’s distinctive chant, “Konkonchikichin.” Released in 1957 as a locally sold record available only in Kyoto, it’s a duet by Chiyoko Shimakura and Hideo Yamagata.

For those living in Kyoto, it’s a familiar tune; for those who once lived there, it’s a nostalgic sound.

Be sure to visit the Gion Festival and listen to Gion Festival Ondo!

HANABIAI

“HANABI” by AI, a singer known for her powerful vocals, is a perfect track for summer festivals and fireworks displays.

The lyrics carry a strong message: launch your hardships and worries like fireworks and let them disappear.

Its EDM-flavored, upbeat rhythm feels great and will have you grooving just by listening!

Fireworks, manga, chocolate, and rainhachimitsu roketto

Honeyt Rocket “Fireworks, Manga, Chocolate, and Rain” MV Full Ver. (3rd Single)
Fireworks, manga, chocolate, and rainhachimitsu roketto

This is a cute-sounding song by Hachimitsu Rocket that seems to portray the longing to meet someone important and the frustration when things don’t go well.

The title, “Fireworks, Manga, Chocolate, and Rain,” lists the excuses used as reasons to meet, and you can picture the narrator pondering how to get just a little closer from there.

The buoyant, powerful rhythm of the sound is striking, conveying a determination to keep moving forward.

Through feelings of regret, the lyrics depict emotions gradually growing stronger and the singer wholeheartedly encouraging themselves, leaving a memorable impression.