The largest outdoor music event in Japan, Fuji Rock Festival is back in its 20th year for an annual three-day fiesta, and, as always, set to bring the best of rock music for ravellers from all over Asia.
This year Fuji Rock Festival will be held from July 22-24 at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture. The guys behind the festival, Smash Japan, have brought over an extensive lineup of 223 acts around the world so you’d better plan ahead unless you want to spend your precious time walking from stages to stages unnecessarily and miss the unmissable. Whoever is already on your itinerary, be you a Jake Bugg or Disclosure kinda gal, here are several acts you really should check out anyway if you’re lucky enough to be holding that festival pass.
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1. Sigur Rós
©Belgian Music Festivals
After playing festivals across Europe, Sigur Rós is set to headline the one Asian festival on their summer schedule this Friday night (July 22) on Green Stage. If that alone wasn’t enough, consider how they’re synonymous with fjords and Bjork when it comes to Iceland’s national treasures. Active since 1994, the post-rock band has released critically-acclaimed albums and, most recently, a single “Óveður” to accompany their “Route One” project in which they travel around their native country in a 24-hour period. Watch a creepy yet mesmerising video of the trip below.
2. Beck
Seriously, you wouldn’t want to be called un perdedor for missing this guy. Helming Fuji Rock 2016 on Saturday (July 23) is American singer-songwriter Beck. Known for his extraordinary musical composition, Beck combines sonically experimental and lofi-style tunes, creating musical collages of a wide variety of genres. With 12 albums spanning across his career, the music extraordinaire continues to challenge the music industry, winning Album of the Year at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Though Beck is still working on his thirteenth record, he has already released singles “Dreams” and “Wow”.
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers
This year’s favourite top-biller Red Hot Chili Peppers will wrap up the festival with a bang as on Green Stage Sunday night (July 24). Prepare for a blast, as the legendary rock band is known for incorporating elements of jam band and improvisation during their extremely-talked-about gigs. Red Hot Chili Peppers recently released their latest studio album The Getaway. Here’s “Dark Necessities”, a hit number from the eleventh studio album.
4. Explosions in the Sky
Who’d have thought ambiance guitar could say so much? Playing on Sunday night on White stage pre-headlining Battles is Texas post-rock band Explosions In The Sky. The essential instrumentalist band is known for their elaborately developed guitar work, also known as “cathartic mini-symphonies,” and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows. To give you a little taste of their magic, here’s a clip of their enchanting number “First Breath After Coma”.
5. Jack Garratt
British singer-songwriter Jack Garratt will make his Fuji Rock debut, playing on Red Marquee stage Sunday night. Having only made his music breakthrough in February this year with Phase, Garratt has already caught international attention, winning prestigious awards in his native country, including winning the Critics’ Choice category at the Brit Awards, Sound of 2016 at BBC Music, as well as earning a nomination from MTV for Brand New 2016. Here’s a live session of “Worry,” a hit from his first record.
6. Slot Machine
Coming all the way from Thailand is pop rock band Slot machine. The four-member band has accumulated numerous national awards, as well as having been nominated for Europe’s MTV Music Awards for two consecutive years in 2013 and 2014. Though originally known for their Thai songs, Slot Machine has released their sixth studio album but first one in English album, Spin The World earlier this year, making their mark internationally. Here’s “I Know, I Know”, the second single from the record.
Founded in 1997, Fuji Rock Festival was originally held at the base of Mount Fuji, hence the name. Today, the festival has been moved to Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa, Niigata, recruiting over 200 Japanese and international artists each year.
