| Summer Sonic Festival | |
|---|---|
 Summer Sonic Chiba in 2015 | |
| Genre | Rock,alternative,electronic,metal,hip hop andpop |
| Dates | August (2000–2019, 2022–) September (2021) |
| Location(s) |
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| Years active | 2000–2019, 2021–present |
| Website | www |
Summer Sonic (サマーソニック,Samā Sonikku) is an annualmusic festival held on one weekend in August simultaneously in bothChiba andOsaka, Japan. The festival features revolving lineups performing one day in Osaka then performing the next day in Chiba and vice-versa. The lineup often features major international acts in addition to Japanese artists from major and independent record companies.
The festival was first held in 2000 atFuji-Q Highland resort inYamanashi Prefecture. The festival moved to Chiba in 2001, just east ofTokyo, and has occurred in both Chiba and Osaka simultaneously since 2002. Since 2011 the festival has been preceded by the all-night eventSonicmania, a separately ticketed event held in only Chiba featuring anEDM-centric lineup. The 2009 and 2011 editions of the festival were held over three days while all other editions of the festival have been two days. International versions of the festival have occasionally been held outside Japan, includingShanghai in 2017 andBangkok in 2024.[1][2]
Summer Sonic Festival was founded in 2000 in Japan, by Naoki Shimizu, CEO of Tokyo promotions company Creativeman Productions Ltd.[3] Addressing the ever-growing demand for western music, the festival drew established and emerging musical acts of most genres to become, by 2010, Japan's biggest music event.
The Chiba event takes place every August at the massiveMakuhari Messe convention center, which overlooksTokyo Bay, with the main stage located in nearbyZozo Marine Stadium. In Osaka, the venue is Maishima Sonic Park. At all venues, there is always a large arena main stage and several other smaller stages.
In 2011, the festival established Sonicmania, whose focus is onelectronic dance music (EDM). It is held at Makuhari Messe the day before the festival.[4][5]
In 2012, Creativeman formed a joint venture withLive Nation Entertainment.[6] In 2014, Live Nation bought full control of the festival.[7]
In 2019,B'z was announced as the first, and so far only, Japanese headliner in the festival's twenty-year history.[8][9]
The 2020 festival was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, but a truncated version, branded as 'Supersonic', took place in September 2021 with restrictions in place and a typhoon affecting day one. Possibly because of the logistics of moving people around during a pandemic, the 2021 lineup was mainly electronic. Controversy arose when some international DJs were allowed into Japan without having to quarantine despite the quarantine requirement for most other foreign arrivals.[10][11]
Lineups for the festival in past years are as follows. The artists inbold are the headlining acts for that year.
| August 18 (Chiba)/August 19 (Osaka) | August 19 (Chiba)/August 18 (Osaka) |
|---|---|
| August 10 Chiba / August 11 Osaka | August 10 Osaka / August 11 Chiba |
|---|---|
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| August 15 Chiba / August 16 Osaka | August 15 Osaka / August 16 Chiba |
|---|---|
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| August 20 Chiba / August 21 Osaka | August 20 Osaka / August 21 Chiba |
|---|---|
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| August 16 Chiba / August 18 Osaka | August 17 Chiba / August 16 Osaka | August 18 Chiba / August 17 Osaka |
|---|---|---|
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Canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
| September 18 Chiba / Osaka Cancelled | September 19 Chiba / Osaka Cancelled |
|---|---|
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| August 20 Chiba / August 21 Osaka | August 21 Chiba / August 20 Osaka |
|---|---|
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| August 19 Chiba / August 20 Osaka | August 20 Chiba / August 19 Osaka |
|---|---|
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| August 17 Chiba / August 18 Osaka | August 18 Chiba / August 17 Osaka |
|---|---|
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Music festivals in Japan | |
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| Pop | |
| Rock | |
| Folk | |
| Classical | |
| Jazz | |
| Hip Hop | |
| Other | |
| Multi-genre | |
| Related events | |
