Summer Music Festivals Guide

Rock in Japan Fes. 2011: the predictable one

Posted: Tue Jun 21 2011

The future of Japan's largest outdoor music event hung briefly in the balance after the March 11 quake and tsunami: the festival site is right on the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. Organised by the folks behind Rockin' On magazine, Rock in Japan features exclusively domestic artists – generally the same ones who played last year, and the year before that.

The lineup

Acidman, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Androp, The Back Horn, The Band Apart, The Bawdies, Brahman, Capsule, [Champagne], Chara, Cocco, Comeback My Daughters, Dragon Ash, Dustbox, 80kidz, Elephant Kashimashi, Fact, Fujifabric, Halcali, Hige, Isobe Masafumi Band, Kaela Kimura, Kinniku Shojo Tai, Kishidan, Ryujin Kiyoshi, Kreva, Locofrank, Miyavi, Mongol 800, Monobright, Negoto, Northern19, Nothing's Carved in Stone, Orange Range, Polysics, Puffy, Rhymester, Rip Slyme, Sakanaction, Sambomaster, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, Special Others, Straightener, Shikao Suga, Yu Takahashi, Te', The Telephones, 10-Feet, Totalfat, Triceratops, Unicorn, Kazuya Yoshii, Yui, Yuki, Zazen Boys

The verdict

More than half of the acts also appeared at 2010's event, making this the most predictable fest on the circuit by a long mile. Not that this stops it from selling out every year, of course. Fans of mainstream Japanese rock won't need any excuse to go, but it's also worth noting that the food is a cut above what you'd expect, and the event is both cleaner and more relaxed than Fuji Rock or Summer Sonic.

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