Year after year, summer in Japan is marked by music festivals—and none is hotter than SUMMER SONIC. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, SUMMER SONIC 2020 was canceled—as the virus has had an unrelenting effect on all sectors of Japan’s music industry. With large gatherings starting to be allowed to resume in Japan, the organizers of SUMMER SONIC announced a replacement for the popular summer festival called SUPERSONIC.
The newly-imagined venture by CREATIVEMAN and SUMMER SONIC will look a whole lot like a regular SUMMER SONIC festival—with equally killer line-ups. SUMMER SONIC 2019 featured an absolutely stacked lineup of huge artists from Japan and overseas. Headlining performers included B’z, THE 1975, [Alexandros], RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, RADWIMPS, BABY METAL, MAN WITH A MISSION, MACHINE GUN KELLY, THE CHAINSMOKERS, and BLACKPINK. And SUPERSONIC promises not to disappoint. Each day of this year’s festival gets (arguably) better than the last.
SUPERSONIC 2020 will be held as a three-day festival in Tokyo with a simultaneous 2-day festival occurring in Osaka. The line-up covers an eclectic mix of genres with Japanese talent performing alongside major international artists. As with the SUMMER SONIC festivals, the artists are announced in waves—and the third wave of SUPERSONIC artists is pretty spectacular.
The SUPERSONIC Tokyo line-up for Saturday, September 19th will be headlined by THE 1975, LIAM GALLAGHER, FATBOY SLIM with performances by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, マカロニえんぴつ(=Macaroni Empitsu), BiSH, Novelbright, Vaundy. Sunday’s line-up in Tokyo includes SKRILLEX, KYGO, STEVE AOKI alongside J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, ちゃんみな(=Chanmina), Creepy Nuts, iri, and m-flo.
The Monday, September 21st SUPERSONIC Tokyo set features headlining performances by POST MALONE, BLACK EYED PEAS, and the legendary WU-TANG CLAN. This day includes the largest presence of Japanese artists with sets by 88RISING stars, Nulbarich, Official 髭男(=higedan) dism, Kawasaki-based hip-hop crew BAD HOP, chelmico, 平井 大 (Hirai Dai), and all-girl rock group 女王蜂(=Ziyoou-Vachi).
The Osaka days feature the same main artists with far fewer supporting acts. Saturday will include sets by SKRILLEX, KYGO, BLACK EYED PEAS, STEVE AOKI, chelmico, Creepy Nuts, and iri. SUPERSONIC Osaka on Sunday, September 20th will be headlined by THE 1975, LIAM GALLAGHER, and FATBOY SLIM. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, マカロニえんぴつ(=Macaroni Empitsu), rock band Novelbright, and Vaundy will also perform.
Tickets for the Tokyo dates cost ￥14,000 per day or ￥36,000 for a three-day pass. An upgraded platinum tickets is available for￥20,000 per day. Tickets for SUPERSONIC Osaka are slightly cheaper at ￥13,000 for a one-day ticket, ￥24,000 for a two-day ticket, and ￥18,000 per day for platinum tickets. They can be purchased through eplus.