Post-Malone: From Rap to Riches

May 15, 2018 ● Bands

WHAAAAT… Number 1 album debut on Billboard 200, three top ten tracks at the same minute, 400 million streams in a week, and oh snap, mega-hit “Psycho”, which is THE jam of the summer. Don’t believe me, check it here rocking Coachella and I bet you it’s blasting out of every Prius and Maybach cruising down the 405. Need another jam to add to the playlist? What bout this one: “Rockstar”.

New Release Round Up: A Preview of Upcoming Material by 2018 Acts

May 11, 2018 ● Bands

Vampire Weekend at Fuji Rock 2013

One of the big reasons that artists hit the summer festival circuit is to promote fresh new material they’ve just released.

With Fuji Rock 2018 only a few months away, we have proof of some new albums coming out between then and now, with a few others that fans expect to be released before the date of the festival comes rolling around.

Real Rising Suns: Some Of The Up-And-Coming Japanese Acts At Fuji Rock 2018

May 6, 2018 ● Bands

D.A.N.

Many people flock to Naeba every July because of the chance to see biggie-sized international acts take the stage at the Fuji Rock Festival, and the 2018 installment promises to deliver on that front. Yet it’s also a great chance to catch young domestic artists get a first crack at big-stage fair, and a great performance at Fuji Rock can win over new fans and potentially push themselves up a few rungs as a result. Plenty more names are sure to be announced in the months leading up to the gathering, but here are some early highlights from the pool of up-and-coming Japanese acts making the trip out to Niigata this summer.

Oldies And Goodies

March 23, 2018 ● Bands

If last week’s news of Nobel Prize-winning cultural icon Bob Dylan playing Fuji Rock surprised you, you weren’t the only ones. Making his 101st appearance in Japan 40 years after his first, his announcement preceded today’s further additions to the 2018 line-up.

First Line-up Announcement for 2018

February 9, 2018 ● Bands

This year’s first Fuji Rock announcement is out and it’s comfortingly familiar.

Fuji Rock Line-up Predictions

January 22, 2018 ● Bands

Arctic Monkeys at Fuji Rock, 2011

With the first Fuji Rock line-up announcement looming we thought we’d risk our non-existent musical reputations and take a punt at predicting which overseas acts will be on this year’s main stages. A few options have already been taken out of the running with early announcements from other Japanese festivals (My Bloody Valentine/ Nine Inch Nails), but there’s still plenty to choose from.

Curated Day: Long-Haul Friday

July 24, 2017 ● Bands, From Fujirockers.org

Only a couple weeks until the start of Fuji Rock, and if you’re like me, you’ve started trying to pencil in all your “must-see’s” in the overwhelming stage schedule. For me, the 2017 Fuji Rock outing has a particularly high number of “must-see’s”, none more than opening day. Previously, James laid out a very tempting and relaxing plan for us on the first day of the festival, but I’m going to put my money on using all my energy at the start, no matter how high the risk of spending Saturday and Sunday with tired legs might be.

If you’re up for running back and forth between each of the far corners of the festival grounds from morning to night, Friday is the day to do it. Riding high on the initial energy you’ll have at the start of the festival, put your walking shoes on because here’s one way to catch a great range of variety on opening day:

An Interview with the Diva of Ska, MIMI MAURA

July 19, 2017 ● Bands, Interviews

The award-winning latin ska singer Mimi Maura returns to Fuji Rock this year for the first time since 2012, and will perform in the Crystal Palace Tent and at Cafe de Paris. A native of Puerto Rico, her career has carried her through both North and South America, where she’s a legitimate star, playing on some of the biggest festival stages in Latin America. When not touring, she’s in Argentina, where she raises a family and makes music with her husband Sergio Rotman, guitarist and saxophonist in the Argentinian superstar band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (who will also be at Fuji Rock as part of her backing band, and also playing a DJ set). Mimi’s unique brand of ska vocals — sexy, upbeat, and highly danceable — will be perfect for Fuji Rock’s cabaret-style stages, so mark it on your schedule! She looks forward very much to coming, and took time to answer a few of our questions by email.

Smaller Stage Gems At Fuji Rock 2017

July 19, 2017 ● Bands

Rei is one of the acts to catch on a smaller stage at Fuji Rock

With about a week to go until Fuji Rock 2017 officially gets underway, soon-to-be punters are probably staring at the three-day schedule trying to figure out how they are going to approach this whole affair. While you debate the merits of seeing Aphex Twin vs. Quruli, you should also save some space to see some of the domestic gems playing smaller stages…like, off-the-beaten-path stages (with Rookie-A-Go-Go ignored, you should make time to swing by there anyway)…while you are out in Naeba. We are here to help, and here are five acts to pencil in to your itinerary this year.

Shinichi Osawa's Mondo Grosso is one of the projects making a comeback at Fuji Rock 2017

Throwback Fuji: A History Lesson Of Notable Acts Making A Return At This Year’s Festival

July 7, 2017 ● Bands, From Fujirockers.org

Shinichi Osawa’s Mondo Grosso is one of the projects making a comeback at Fuji Rock 2017

Yeah yeah, exciting new bands and genre-bending electronic acts, plenty of that at Naeba…sometimes, you <em>want</em> a throwback to a different time, and Fuji Rock Festival 2017 has a wide variety of performers who have been honing their craft over the last few decades. This year’s line-up, in particular, offers up a convenient timeline of Japanese music, featuring influential acts from the 1960s and breakthrough producers from the Aughts on the bill. It’s not quite a comprehensive history of Japanese music, but here are five acts from five different decades worth checking out in a few weeks.