The Appeal of the Summer Music/Rock Festival “SUMMER SONIC (Summersonic)”

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• Music Festival Master / Editor-in-ChiefHane Keisukebeenhere
  Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC and in charge of music festivals. When I attended my first music festival as a freshman in college, I was captivated by its charm—“I can’t believe there’s a place this free and this fun.” I share information about wonderful music festivals every day to help grow the community of festival fans.

What is SUMMER SONIC?

http://www.summersonic.com/09/guidelines/about.html

SUMMER SONIC was first held in 2000.

In the first year, the event was held at two venues: Fuji-Q Highland in Yamanashi and the WTC Open-Air Stadium in Osaka, serving as the Tokyo and Osaka venues respectively.

After that, in an effort to scale up, from the second year onward the Tokyo venues expanded to include Chiba Marine Stadium and Makuhari Messe, while the Osaka venues added INTEX Osaka to the WTC Open-Air Stadium, and in 2007 a special Summer Sonic venue was established on Maishima.

At a large-scale venue like this, at Summer Sonic,A massive summer festival that draws over 200,000 attendees across both days and both venues...and has become one of Japan’s flagship events.

Now, let’s take a look at the characteristics of Summer Sonic from here.

Accessible “urban-type festival”

http://www.summersonic.com/09/access/access_osaka.html

At SUMMER SONIC, it is officially declared to be an 'urban-type festival.'

What is an “urban-style” festival?You can reach the venue in about one hour from the central areas of Tokyo and Osaka.That seems to be the case, and it appears they are promoting good accessibility as one of their selling points.

This way, it’s easier to find a place to stay and getting around is simple, so it’s convenient, isn’t it?

Isn't the fact that it's an urban-style festival one reason why Summer Sonic draws such large crowds?

A “touring festival” that travels between Tokyo and Osaka, headlined by the main act

In addition to the “urban” format, SUMMER SONIC also takes the form of a “touring festival.”

A “touring festival” is a festival event that travels to multiple locations. In the case of Summer Sonic, the system has the acts move back and forth between the Tokyo and Osaka venues.

At Summer Sonic, with the headliners as the main attraction each day, the lineup operates so that on Day 1 the artists perform in Tokyo and on Day 2 in Osaka—and conversely, the artists who performed in Osaka on Day 1 perform at the Tokyo venue on Day 2. In other words, the performers at the Tokyo and Osaka venues swap between Day 1 and Day 2.

Therefore,Whether you go to the Tokyo venue or the Osaka venue, if you attend both days you can see almost all of the artists’ stages.Some artists will only perform on one of the two days.

Wouldn't this be a welcome arrangement for the participants?

Luxurious and extensive lineup

http://iflyer.tv/ja/maishima-summer-sonic-tokusetsu-kaijyou/#lang

And the biggest appeal of SUMMER SONIC is, above all, the star-studded and diverse lineup of performers.

First of all, when it comes to Summer Sonic,There are many international artists.is impressive.

In the past, the lineup was incredibly star-studded and diverse, featuring punk acts like GREEN DAY and The Offspring, crossover bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and LINKIN PARK, metal artists such as METALLICA and Marilyn Manson, HIP HOP and R&B stars like JAY-Z and Rihanna, plus legendary heavyweights including DEEP PURPLE, OASIS, and even Stevie Wonder.

Isn’t it rare to be able to see so many such high-profile overseas artists here in Japan?

In addition, the lineup is extremely diverse, ranging from Japanese bands to J-pop artists and even idols.

Therefore, it has become an event that people from various backgrounds can enjoy, and I believe this is Summer Sonic’s greatest appeal, as it truly pursues the essence of a music festival.

Event Overview

Aug 14 (Fri)–16 (Sun) SUMMER SONIC (Summer Sonic / Summersoni)

www.summersonic.com

A flagship Japanese music festival that has been held since 2000. It features many renowned artists from both Japan and overseas and is an event that draws attention from around the world. A distinctive feature of Summer Sonic is that it’s an urban, touring-style festival. In addition to easy access, the lineups for the Tokyo and Osaka venues swap over the two days. So whichever venue you attend, if you go both days, you can see all the headliners.

Aug 14 (Fri)–16 (Sun) SUMMER SONIC (Summer Sonic / Summersoni)

Lastly

How was it?

Did the appeal of SUMMER SONIC come across?

Every year, a diverse array of artists gather from both Japan and abroad, resulting in a lineup that music lovers can confidently say, “You can’t go wrong with Summer Sonic,” don’t you think?

Also, at Summer Sonic in the past, there have been many artists who broke through after performing there, so discovering new, talented artists like that is one of the joys as well.

SUMMER SONIC has a variety of distinctive features, and because you can enjoy so many different kinds of music, I felt it might be the most quintessential music festival.

If you simply want to enjoy lots of music, why not join us at least once?