Summer Sonic is turning 25 ¡ª and to celebrate, the music festival is extending its usual two-day run to three.
Promoter Creativeman announced Monday the first round of artists for the 25th anniversary edition of one of Japan¡¯s biggest summer music festivals, featuring overseas acts such as American rockers The Strokes, British funk outfit Jamiroquai and K-pop performer Jennie, among many more.
The event, held concurrently at Chiba¡¯s Makuhari Messe and Osaka¡¯s Expo ¡¯70 Commemorative Park, will run from Aug. 14 to 16, echoing previous expansions for the festival¡¯s 10th and 20th anniversary editions.
Other notable acts set to perform include rising singer-songwriter Alex Warren, experimental pop creator FKA Twigs and Britpop outfit Suede. Talking Heads frontman and prolific solo artist David Byrne will also appear as a special guest.
The biggest Japanese name unveiled for Summer Sonic 2026 so far is rock band L¡¯Arc-en-Ciel, one of the bestselling musical acts in Japan and an outfit celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Other notable names on the roster include genre-blurring group Sakanaction, Shibuya-kei staple Cornelius and shoegaze-inspired duo Hitsujibungaku.
More performers will be announced in the near future.
A by festival founder Naoki Shimizu states Creativeman intends to hold a historic edition of the event centered on ¡°a challenge to welcome a record-breaking 330,000 attendees.¡±
Tickets for the 2026 event will go on sale with a Creativeman members¡¯ presale at noon Feb. 3, followed by an official presale at noon Feb. 10.
Summer Sonic launched in 2000 as the first major music festival to be staged simultaneously in the greater Tokyo area and Osaka. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the planned use of Makuhari Messe for the Tokyo Olympics, and the following year Creativeman mounted a scaled-down alternative, Supersonic, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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