Photo Credit: Laura Cooper

With nineteen days left before this year’s concerts, I welcome you to a whole new experience! My name is Laurier Tiernan, and – in addition to being a broad-spectrum artist – many years of music journalism have led me to leading the official English bloggers team this year.

The photo above shows our writers’ uniform from 2019 (well, the jacket and the t-shirt at least). I look forward to seeing this year’s shirts!

On a larger note, there are bigger changes coming to the fest this year. No alcohol will be allowed, various prophylactic measures are in place, and the lineup is almost all Japanese.

However, the points that remain the same still outnumber our challenges. As a community of music lovers, our obsession with melody, rhythm and words carries us through every single hour; day after day, year after year; not just an annual weekend of shows!

In the coming weeks, our writers will post articles and interviews, to get you psyched for all the good that lies ahead! No matter the hardships of any era, great music has carried us through!

This journey is all we have. Let’s keep the fires burning!

Godspeed,

Tiernan