Summer Sonic and Sonic Mania
This year’s Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo and Osaka offers something for almost any taste.
Headliners include well known acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Queen (with Adam Lambert), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Avril Lavigne, Kraftwerk, Pixies and Phoenix. Fans of a upcoming bands and future stars will definitely find something interesting to see, too.
Metal fans might find themselves drawn to the festival by Avenged Sevefold, Megadeth and Chthonic (or possibly more so by the Japanese metal idol band Babymetal?).
JPop fans will surely be delighted to get a chance to see Dreams Come True, Sekai no Owari, Kimura Kaera and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu on the same day (Aug 17th in Tokyo). There is even going to be a whole stage (Island Stage) devoted to bands from other Asian countries, such as Liangbo and Xiang from China, One Back Shot from Malaysia, The Yers from Thailand or The Solutions from Korea.
The whole lineup is available on the official site.
Tickets for both festival days in Tokyo and Osaka are available through the English version of the official website, in addition to the regular Japanese ticket outlets. Should have trouble purchasing tickets, check out our Ticket Service.
If you preferred to see one or two of the bands at a normal concert, rather than visiting the festival, there might be good news for you. Some of the artists such as Avril Lavigne or Richie Sambora have announced additional side shows in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
Kraftwerk and Mogwai are also playing at Sonic Mania, which actually takes place one day before Summer Sonic.
Sonic Mania is sort of a stripped-down Summer Sonic day, before the actual festival starts.
It takes place one day before (August 15th) and at the same venue (Makuhari Messe) as the Summer Sonic festival (August 16th and 17th). The all-night event is headlined by Kasabian, Kraftwerk and Zedd this year, but the lineup also includes bands such as the post rock heroes Mogwai or the Japanese electro-boys Sakanaction. The full lineup can be found here.
Since this is an all-night event, the age limit is 20 years, and there will apparently be ID checks (ID with photo and date of birth will be necessary).
Ticket can be bought through the same site as for Summer Sonic. Should have trouble purchasing tickets, check out our Ticket Service.
Interested in upcoming concerts in a Japan: Event Calender
Extra Shows
So far, four Summer Sonic artists have announced extra shows in Japan. Avril Lavigne decided to bring her new Hello Kitty song to crowds in Northern and Southern Japan, and Kids in Glass Houses, Little Mix as well as Richie Sambora will play one extra show in Tokyo:
Avril Lavigne
2014/08/13 Zepp Nagoya
2014/08/14 Zepp Fukuoka (Kyushu)
2014/08/19 Zepp Sapporo (Hokkaido)
Kids in Glass Houses
2014/08/18 Shibuya Duo Music Exchange, Tokyo
Little Mix
2014/08/18 Ex Theater Roppongi, Tokyo
Richie Samboa
2014/08/13 Ex Theater Roppongi, Tokyo
For tickets, check out our guides on how to buy them yourself, or contact our Ticket Service for assistance.
