Summer Music Festivals Guide

Fuji Rock Festival 2011: the sprawling one

Posted: Tue Jun 21 2011

The undisputed daddy of Japan's summer music festivals is held in a verdant mountain valley in Niigata, though some international bands still seem convinced that it's near the mountain from which it takes its name. Prepare for sun, wind and thunderous downpours, often all within the space of a few hours.

The lineup

Amadou & Mariam, Arctic Monkeys, Asian Dub Foundation, Atari Teenage Riot, Battles, Best Coast, Beach House, Big Audio Dynamite, British Sea Power, The Chemical Brothers, Cake, Clammbon, Coldplay, Congotronics vs Rockers, CSS, Dark Star Orchestra, Deerhoof, Digitalism, 80kidz, Envy, The Faces, Feeder, Fountains of Wayne, Four Tet, Glasvegas, G. Love & Special Sauce, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, The Kills, Manu Chao, Mogwai, Mo'some Tonebender, The Music, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Quruli, Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos, The Naked and Famous, Ra Ra Riot, Todd Rundgren, Sakerock, Ron Sexsmith, Shonen Knife, The Sisters of Mercy, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, Tinariwen, Shugo Tokumaru, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, The Vaccines, Warpaint, Wilco, Yellow Magic Orchestra…

The verdict

This year's lineup is equal parts quixotic and conservative, combining bands who've appeared at Fuji a squillion times before (The Chemical Brothers, Asian Dub Foundation, Mogwai) with some bizarre choices (The Faces headlining on Saturday night? Really?). Variety is its main strength, although you'll have to do a lot of schlepping around if you want to get the most out of the event.

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