Over 100 people lined the street outside the Modi Building in Shibuya on Friday, as artists¡¯ names appeared on the building¡¯s video screen.
¡°Yabai (This is crazy)!¡± one woman screamed when British dance duo Basement Jaxx popped up as part of the lineup announcement for Fuji Rock Festival 2026.
Minimalist rock trio The xx, eclectic psychedelic outfit Khruangbin and pioneering trip-hop group Massive Attack are set to headline this year¡¯s festival, which will be held, as usual, July 24-26 at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture.
Similar to last year¡¯s roll out, a total of 66 artists set to perform were revealed in the initial announcement by organizer Smash. The lineup showcases an wide range in genre, from folk singers to punk bands and electronic musicians.
Other notable international names scheduled to play in the mountains include hardcore band Turnstile, indie-rock performer Mitski, pop duo Tomora and post-rock outfit Mogwai.
The domestic side of the lineup includes a few big names bound to excite fans. Singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii and dance-pop septet XG represent the current wave of globally minded J-pop, while rockers Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Susume Hirasawa and Sunny Day Service are among the veteran acts playing this year.
Beloved Japanese punk band Hi-Standard is already generating significant buzz online, as the trio hasn¡¯t played Fuji Rock since 1999.
More names will be announced in the coming months.
Fuji Rock¡¯s first wave of performers comes a couple weeks after the lineup reveal for the 25th anniversary edition of Summer Sonic, a similarly international-focused music festival to be held Aug. 14-16 concurrently in Tokyo and Osaka. A day before Smash¡¯s announcement, Creativeman, the production company behind Summer Sonic, announced that pop-meets-metal act Babymetal would be curating its own metal stage in both cities, in addition to performing there themselves.
Stay tuned for more Summer Sonic acts to be announced in the coming weeks.
Fuji Rock Festival started in 1997, with the inaugural edition held near Mount Fuji. A typhoon hit the gathering, however, forcing Smash to cancel the festival¡¯s second day and find a new home. After one year in Tokyo¡¯s Toyosu neighborhood, , where it has been ever since. A total of 122,000 people attended last year¡¯s edition, the highest turnout since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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