International Music Archives

You're spoiled for choice if you're looking for an international gig to head to in Japan over the next six months. From big-name stadium-level acts like Green Day and Iron Maiden to up-and-coming artists like New Dad, there's something for everyone right into spring time. On top of that, there's a bunch of awesome outdoor and indoor music festivals to head to over fall and winter. Check out some of our top picks below. Solo artists coming to Japan A few highlights include: Charlotte Day Wilson October 15, 2024 WWW X (Tokyo) Canadian artist Charlotte Day Wilson will follow up her Asagiri Jam festival appearance this October with her first Japanese headline show. Heading to Shibuya’s WWW X on October 15, the R&B singer-songwriter will perform tracks from her sophomore album Cyan Blue and familiar favorites from her critically acclaimed debut Alpha. Tickets Tickets are now on sale via Smash Japan for . All tickets are standing tickets; a special link is available for those purchasing from outside Japan. Rita Ora October 15 – 17, 2024 – Toyosu Pit (Tokyo) and Zepp Namba (Osaka) Multi-hyphenate artist Rita Ora is celebrating her new album with two performances in Japan. Heading to Tokyo and Osaka, the singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality will perform songs from You & I, her third full-length release, as well as familiar favorites like How We Do and Your Song. Tickets The Tokyo show is divided into standing areas A and B. Tickets for section A are , and for section B, . The Osaka show has first-floor standing tickets for and second-floor seated tickets for . Jorja Smith October 22 and 23, 2024 – Namba Hatch (Osaka) and Toyosu Pit (Tokyo) Grammy Award-nominated artist Jorja Smith continues her massive success with performances in Japan this autumn. The genre-defying artist has garnered critical acclaim in her short career, and her latest effort, Failing or Flying, released in September 2023, has continued to smash the UK album charts. Tickets Presales for both shows were still available via Ticket Pia, ePlus, and Lawson Ticket. Tickets for the Osaka show are priced at for first-floor standing and for second-floor seated tickets. All tickets for the Toyosu Pit performances are standing tickets priced at . The Kid Laroi October 28, 2024 – Pacifico Yokohama National Hall With his debut Summer Sonic performance still in recent memory and an intervening debut album release, Australian hip-hop artist The Kid Laroi will treat Japanese fans to a headline performance this October. The young artist has built a name for himself in the last few years, particularly with the track Stay, on which he collaborated with Justin Bieber. The one-off performance will take place at Pacifico Yokohama National Hall on October 28. Tickets General advance sales will be available from September 28. Three ticket tiers, including A reserved, S reserved, and gold reserved seating, will be available. Tickets are exclusively available through ePlus. Tate McRae October 29, 2024 – Toyosu Pit (Tokyo) With over 500 million streams worldwide and numerous chart records, breakout pop star Tate McRae will perform in Japan on her world tour on October 29. Her first show in the country, she’s pulling no punches with a performance at Tokyo’s Toyosu Pit supporting her sophomore album Think Later. Tickets At the time of writing, general release tickets are still available via Ticket Pia, Lawson Ticket, ePlus, and Rakuten Ticket. Standing tickets are , and VIP tickets will set you back . VIP tickets include priority entry, soundcheck and Q&A session access, VIP merchandise, and more. Thom Yorke November 12 – 26, 2024 – Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Aichi, and Kyoto Japan will see quite an extensive run of shows from Thom Yorke this November. The Radiohead frontman will appear solo, playing songs from across his career, including Radiohead, The Smile, Atoms for Peace, solo material, and more. Tickets With earlier shows in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka quickly selling out, promoters have announced two additional dates at Tachikawa Stage Garden and Line Cube Shibuya in Tokyo on November 15 and 16. Osaka, Hiroshima, and Aichi performances were still on sale at the time of writing. Kylie Minogue March 12, 2025 – Tokyo (venue tba) Princess of Pop Kylie Minogue will bring her "Magic" to "All the Lovers" in Tokyo on March 12, 2025. A rare appearance in Japan, the concert will form part of the Asian leg of her Tension world tour promoting her 2023 album "Tension" and upcoming album "Tension II." The Australian artist is known for her elaborate stage performances and will be set to make an impression at her first major show in the country since 2011. A venue is yet to be officially announced. Tickets Ticket info will be available via the Live Nation website when announced. Other solo acts Don't worry, there are more: Julian Lage - October 30 at Umeda Club Quattro, Osaka Donavon Frankenreiter and Full Band - October 30 and 31 in Osaka, Tokyo, and Osaka JP Cooper - November 21 at WWW, Tokyo Jordan Rakei - November 25 at Yogibo Meta Valley, Osaka Frank Turner - December 10 at WWW X, Tokyo Charlie Puth - December 17 and 18 at Yokohama K Arena Porter Robinson - February 10 – 14 in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka Bands coming to Japan Some of the big-hitters include: Iron Maiden September 22 – 29, 2024 – Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, Tokyo, Metal veterans Iron Maiden are coming to Japan for The Future Past Tour. While they're here, they'll be putting on five shows across four venues, from September 22 – 29. Tickets You can grab tickets from the official tour page. The first Tokyo and first Kanagawa performances have already sold out, but tickets are available for Aichi, Osaka and the second night in Kanagawa. Tickets are for a reserved seat, or for stage-front standing. Kasabian October 7 – 10, 2024 – Zepp Haneda (Tokyo) and Zepp Osaka Bayside Indie rock mainstays Kasabian are heading to Tokyo and Osaka this October in support of their latest album, Happenings. This tour will mark their first run of headline shows in Japan in 12 years. Tickets First-floor standing tickets for both cities are . Second-floor seated tickets for both shows cost . Unique links for those purchasing tickets from overseas are available via the promoter's website. Imagine Dragons December 3, 2024 – Ariake Arena (Tokyo) Capitalizing on the success of their previous trips to Japan, Imagine Dragons are bringing their latest album, Loom, to Tokyo this December. With festival performances at Summer Sonic 2013 and 2015 and a headline show at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium already under their belts, the Las Vegas natives will look to make an impression at their biggest show yet in the country. Tickets Tickets for this show are staggered in several stages, with the final general release stage starting on September 21. Ticket categories include A, S, and SS seats ranging in price from – . Judas Priest December 5 – 12, 2024 – Aichi, Hyogo, Okayama, Kanagawa Metal Gods Judas Priest released their 19th studio album in March, and they’re heading to Japan to celebrate. Playing four massive shows nationwide, you can expect to hear all the hits from their back catalog and some new numbers from their latest effort, Invincible Shield. Tickets The Aichi and Hyogo shows were already sold out at the time of writing, but some tickets are still available for Okayama and Kanagawa. General reserved tickets will set you back , and gold tickets in front of the stage for all shows are Jimmy Eat World January 3, 2025 Yokohama Bay Hall As a sideshow to their Rockin’ on Sonic festival performance, emo and power pop legends Jimmy Eat World will play their own headline performance in Yokohama on January 3. Heading up Yokohama Bay Hall, the performance will come shortly after the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album Futures. Tickets General release tickets will be on sale from September 21. All tickets are standing tickets and cost . Primal Scream January 5 and 7, 2025 – Zepp Osaka Bayside and Nagoya Diamond Hall Scottish rockers Primal Scream are returning to Japan for a run of shows in January. In addition to their set at Rockin’ on Sonic festival in Chiba, they’ll be playing two headline shows in Osaka and Nagoya. The shows will promote their first album in eight years, Come Ahead, due for release in November. Tickets The Zepp Osaka Bayside show has standing tickets for and second-floor seated tickets for . Nagoya Diamond Hall has standing tickets only for . Pulp January 6, 2025 – Zepp Osaka Bayside After their festival headline performance on January 4, Pulp will play a one-off sideshow in Osaka on January 6. Having reformed in 2023, the upcoming performances in Japan come after an extended tour of North America, with many expecting new music from the indie pop legends in the near future. Tickets Standing tickets for this show are , and seated tickets are . Tickets are on sale from September 21 via the usual outlets. Weezer January 7 and 8, 2025 – Zepp Osaka Bayside, Aichi Arts Center Large Hall (Nagoya) Weezer returns to Tokyo this January in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their debut album. As part of their extended 30th anniversary tour in which they’ve been performing the self-titled album in full, they’ll play headline shows at Zepp Osaka Bayside on January 7, and Aichi Arts Center on January 8. Tickets Standing tickets at Zepp Osaka are , and seated tickets are . Stage-front SS seats in Aichi are , and S seats further back are . General release tickets are on sale starting September 21. One Republic January 20 - 22, 2025 – Grand Cube (Osaka) and Ariake Arena (Tokyo) Quickly following up on their appearance at Summer Sonic in 2024, American pop-rock giants One Republic will play two shows in Japan in January 2025. The group, known for their track I Ain’t Worried from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack, will perform at Grand Cube Osaka and Ariake Arena Tokyo. Tickets The final round of advance sales for both shows is set to run until early October, with general release tickets on sale starting on October 5. Seating at the Osaka venue is broken into A, S, and gold seats, with tickets ranging in price from – . The Ariake Arena show has A, S, SS, and gold seat tickets also ranging from – . Maroon 5 February 6 – 9, 2025 – Tokyo Dome After three sold-out performances in December 2022, Maroon 5 is returning to do it again in February. This time, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their album V, we’re anticipating a repeat of their last trip when the whole tour sold out in hours. Tickets All three shows will be at Tokyo Dome, with various ticketing options. Basic reserved seats range in price from to . If you’re bringing a crew, you can opt for silver or gold box seats for and , respectively. If you’re a mega fan, VIP packages start at and go as high as . Green Day February 21 – 26, 2025 or Osaka, Nagoya, Kanagawa One year after the release of their 14th album, US pop-punk titans Green Day will be heading on a tour of Japan. The new album Saviors has been met with universal acclaim, and their global Hella Mega Tour has been selling out stadiums worldwide. Their Japan tour will include performances at Osaka-Jo Hall, Port Messe Nagoya, and two shows at K-Arena Yokohama. General admission tickets are available starting September 14; supporting artists are TBA. Tickets Tickets for the Osaka performance range from A and S Stand seated tickets ( and ) to standing () and gold standing (). Nagoya’s tickets are divided into A standing (), S standing (), and gold standing (¥30,000). Kanagawa tickets include three tiers of seated tickets at , , and , standing tickets for , and gold standing tickets for . American Football March 26 – 28, 2025 Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka Emo kids around Japan are uncharacteristically beaming with excitement after the announcement that emo and math rock pioneers American Football will tour Japan in spring. The group, which reformed in 2014 after a short-lived initial tenure, will play shows in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut eponymous album. Tickets Play guide advance sales for all shows are available from September 17 – 23. General advance sales will be available from October 5 via ePlus, Ticket Pia, and Lawson Tickets. Other bands coming to Japan Honorable mentions include: New Dad - October 22 – 24 at Duo Music Exchange Tokyo and Club Quattro Osaka Busted - October 23 – 25 in Osaka, Tokyo, and Aichi Hiatus Kaiyote - October 30 and November 1 at Toyosu Pit Tokyo and Osaka Castle Music Hall Take That - November 18 at Tokyo Garden Theater Mother Mother - November 27 at WWW X Shibuya, Tokyo Fat Dog - December 2 – 4 in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo Pale Waves - December 9 and 10 at Bicat, Osaka and Toyosu Pit, Tokyo The Lemon Twigs - January 6 and 7 at Duo Music Exchange, Tokyo and Umeda Club Quattro, Osaka Ginger Root - January 10 - 17 in Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo IDLES - January 25 and 27 at Osaka Yogibo Meta Valley and Zepp DiverCity Tokyo Music Festivals in Japan 2024 – 2025 A few big ones to add to your calendar: Asagiri Jam October 12 – 13, 2024 – Asagiri Arena (Shizuoka) Set near the base of Mt. Fuji, Asagiri Jam is the little brother of Fuji Rock Festival. The event is known for its family-friendly and pet-friendly vibes and its penchant for international artists. This year's lineup includes artists such as Caribou, Cornelius, Charlotte Day Wilson, Elephant Gym and more. Tickets Asagiri Jam's ticket offerings take a little while to wrap your head around. The basic one- or two-day tickets come with parking and camping included in the on-site parking and camping areas. Other packages include Fumotoppara off-site parking or general off-site parking and on-site camping. There's also off-site parking and camping tickets. If you don't need parking or camping, there are options available for those scenarios too. Gaia October 12 – 14, 2024 – Kyoto Rurikei Onsen for Rest Resort (Kyoto) Regularly featuring a solid line-up of psychedelic, trance, and techno artists, Gaia is billed as the largest psychedelic festival in Japan. This year’s line-up sees Tokyo’s Yurufuwa Gang making one of many fall festival appearances, France’s Okapi, and England’s Sonic Species. Held over three days, the festival offers various camping and accommodation options, with some already starting to fill up. Tickets With advance ticket sales closing on September 15, there's no word yet about general online ticket purchases, but same-day tickets will go for . Accommodation and camping tickets are currently sold out, but parking tickets are still on sale for . M Festival October 19 – 20, 2024 – Canyons Minakami (Gunma) M Festival is a laid-back, inclusive music festival held in the hills of Japan at Canyons Minakami. A variety of accommodation is available near the festival grounds, including mountain lodges and hotels, as well as camping and glamping sites. This 2024 event showcases Japanese soul and garage rock artists such as Minnesota Voodoo Men and Tokyo-based DJ collective Caribbean Dandy. Tickets One- and two-day general admission tickets are currently available via the festival website. Camping and accommodation should be organized separately. Wired Music Festival October 13, 2024 Aichi Sky Expo (Aichi) Wired Music Festival is held outdoors in Aichi at Aichi Sky Expo, an exhibition hall on an artificial island in Ise Bay. The festival showcases art, fashion, and food, as well as local and international hip-hop and R&B artists. The 2024 line-up features NLE Choppa, Okinawa’s Awich, and Number_1. The festival website provides detailed information in English, but jump on tickets soon. Tickets With all advance ticket options selling out quickly, currently only general admission tickets remain via the festival website. General admission tickets are priced at . Mind Travel Tokyu Kabukichō Tower Edition October 26, 2024 – Tokyu Kabukichō Tower (Tokyo) Curated by the team behind music media company Spincoaster, Mind Travel first kicked off in Myōkō in 2021 and has just announced its sixth iteration. Known for its tasteful curation, this year's lineup presents some of Japan's best established and up-and-coming artists like Shinichi Osawa (Mondo Grosso), Okinawa’s newcomers HOME, Korean indie quartet ADOY, and R&B artist VivaOla. Tickets Early bird tickets are available for via the festival website until September 22. After that, advance tickets will be on sale for . If still available, door tickets will be on the day. Note that the official festival app will be needed to receive and display early-bird and advance tickets. Rockin' on Sonic Festival January 4 – 5, 2024 – Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall (Chiba) Rockin’ on Sonic will hit Makuhari Messe in Chiba this winter. Presented by the same team behind Summer Sonic, the lineup includes a vast roster of international artists across two days, including Pulp, Weezer, Primal Scream, Death Cab for Cutie, St. Vincent, and heaps more. Tickets Organizers are selling one- and two-day advance tickets through the festival website until September 19. General advance information wasn't available at the time of writing. Also read: 12 Must-See Fall Music Festivals in Japan Frequently asked questions Can I buy resale tickets if the show is sold out? We recommend only buying from official resellers. Some bigger ticketing companies, like ePlus and Ticket Pia, will generally announce official resale tickets if they become available. While unofficial resale sites often have tickets available, tour promoters and official ticket agencies typically have policies against them. Why does the ticket price say “1 drink”? Most shows in Japan, big or small, have a drink ticket policy. This additional cost (usually around ¥500) guarantees bar revenue for the venue and helps to keep costs down for artists and promoters. Can I buy tickets from overseas? Larger events and ticketing agencies usually have a separate link or landing page for customers purchasing tickets from outside Japan, but this is not always the case. What time will the show finish? Gigs in Japan usually start and finish early. For most live shows, you can expect doors to open around 6:00 pm and the performance to begin around 7:00 pm. This means that shows are usually finished before the last train so attendees can make it home safely. What is the ticket lottery? You’ll see this for many big shows and festivals. Basically, lotteries are a way to prevent ticket scalping and website overload when shows go on sale. Allowing lottery entries over days or weeks gives fans enough time to enter the lottery comfortably and apply for a limited number of tickets. Most available tickets will generally get picked up during this period, but those who miss out still have a chance when general sales become available. Is Oasis coming to Japan? Oasis hasn't announced any Japanese dates at the time of writing but we'll be keeping an eye out for if and when they do. While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change. The first version of this post was published in August, 2023. Last updated in September, 2024, by Patrick Balfe.

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