The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...

held at the same time in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up contains Japanese rock musicians from major and independent record companies, plus international acts. In 2017, the festival was expanded to include

Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

History

Summer Sonic Festival was founded in 2000 in Japan, by Naoki Shimizu, CEO of Tokyp promotions company Creativeman Productions Ltd. Addressing the ever-growing demand for western music, the festival drew established and emerging musical acts of most genres to become, by 2010, Japan's biggest music event. The Chiba event takes place every August at the massive

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

convention center, which overlooks

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

, and at the

Zozo Marine Stadium (official name: ) is a stadium in Chiba City, Chiba, Japan. It opened in 1990 and holds approximately 30,000 people. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Chiba Lotte Marines. It is also used for Rugby union. The stad ...

. In Osaka, the venue is Maishima Sonic Park. At all venues, there is always a large arena main stage and several other smaller stages. In 2011, the festival established Sonicmania, whose focus is on Electronic dance music (EDM). It is held at Makuhari Messe the day before the festival. In 2012, Creativeman formed a joint venture with Live Nation Entertainment. In 2014, Live Nation bought full control of the festival. The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, but a truncated version, branded as 'Supersonic', took place in September 2021 with restrictions in place and a typhoon affecting day one. Possibly because of the logistics of moving people around during a pandemic, the 2021 line-up was mainly electronic. Controversy arose when some international DJs were allowed into Japan without having to quarantine.

Performances

Line-ups for the festival in past years are as follows, the artists that in bold are the headlining acts for that year.

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Canceled due to the

Covid 19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

2021

2022

Notes

References

External links

Official site (in Japanese)

Official site 2009
(in English)
Official site 2008
(in English)
Official site 2007
(in English) {{Rock festival Music festivals in Japan Summer festivals Rock festivals in Japan Tourist attractions in Chiba Prefecture Chiba (city) Konohana-ku, Osaka Tourist attractions in Osaka Festivals in Osaka Prefecture Electronic music festivals in Japan Music festivals established in 2000 Music festivals in China