Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

Katteni Shiyagare Literally Jumping For Joy @ FRF '06

A whole whack of artists were just added to the lineup for FRF ‘12. Notable names include fantastic Canadian rock duo Japandroids, former Public Image Ltd (PiL) members Jah Wobble and Keith Levene, DJ Krush, Katteni Shiyagare, DJ Scratchy, Kensington Hillbillys, and fest-favourites Big Willie’s Burlesque, who will be presenting something called “The New Recessionaires.”

The full stage lineups for All Night Fuji, Gypsy Avalon, the Crystal Palace Tent and Palace Arena, Naeba Shokudo, Mokudo Tei, and Café de Paris were revealed too. Check out all of the latest additions and where they’ll be performing here.

There’s been 195 acts announced for FRF ‘12 so far.  Expect the final performers (including all the bands on the Rookie A G0-Go Stage) to be announced in about two weeks time.  The full timetable will likely come out then too.

Check out Jamie’s interview with DJ Scratchy here:
Check out a live report of Big Willie’s Burlesque from FRF ‘11 here.
Check out a live reports of the Kensington Hillbillys from FRF ‘11 here and here.
Check out live photos of Katteni Shiyagare from FRF ‘06 here.

*Photo of Katteni Shiyagare by Koichi Hanafusa and used with the permission of Fuji Rock Express ‘06.

WAITING TILL THE END TO ADD THE VERY BEST

Four new additions were made to the Fuji Rock line-up today including the outstanding Japanese 4-piece post-rock band, Toe, De De Mouse + Drumrolls and DJ Baku. But my favorite is The Very Best, a collaboration between Malawi’s Esau Mwamwaya and a London DJ, Radioclit. Their 2008 release entered Pitchfork Top 40 with the single “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” cheekily reworking Vampire Weekend’s African guitar riff.

But for many, the real chin pulling begins when we scrutinize the stage-lineups and the inevitable conflicts that are part being a big festival. From my experience, meticulous planning and a good pair of boots will let you catch about 75% of the acts you wanna see. But peripheral areas (Crystal Palace, Boardwalk, and Gypsy Avalon) haven’t announced yet so it’s way too early for Fuji veterans to commit to an itinerary.

I just saw the schedule today, so I haven’t had the  time to plum its true depths, but I did have this initial insight for those that don’t want to walk too much, a couple of power line-ups or three-fers perfect for stage-camping. Continue Reading…

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Live in Osaka on May 26

Ever since the early announcements that The Stone Roses and Radiohead would be headlining this summer’s Fuji Rock, people have been wondering who the third headliner for the weekend would be.  Seconds ago, Smash just revealed that it will be Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

Considering that Noel Gallagher made references during his Japanese gigs last week that he’d be back for Fuji Rock, hearing today that he’s been slotted to close out the Green Stage on Saturday night isn’t that surprising.  And now folks who’ve been fretting over Saturday’s headliner can finally relax and instead spend their time speculating about who will be included added in the coming weeks to fill out the rest of the fest’s bill! Continue Reading…

Mono on the White Stage at FRF '08

Six more bands names were just added to the lineup for FRF’ 12.  Electric Guest, Hey-Smith, and Third Coast Kings will all play on July 27.  Asparagus and Mono will play on July 28.  And Yosui Inoue will play on the final day of the fest.

One of post-rock’s elite, Tokyo’s Mono are currently working on their sixth full-length album.  Hopefully we’ll get a sneak peek of some of the band’s new tracks at FRF.

Check out live photos from Mono’s White Stage performance in 2008 here.

Asparagus also played on the White Stage in ‘08.  Check out live photos from their set here and a live report here.

Our good friends at Smashing Mag have some great photos of Hey-Smith from the band’s April 20 concert at Akasaka Blitz here.

*Mono photo by Izumi Kumazawa and used with the permission of Fuji Rock Express’ 08.

Another 16 acts were just added to this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival. Included amongst the new names are Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, who electrified audiences at FRF ‘09 (photos here and live review here) and last fall’s Asagiri Jam, the always amazing DJ Kentaro, The Birthday, and former Kemuri frontman Fumio Ito.

Information about what day each band will play on has also been announced.  Check it out here.

Check out the full list of new FRF ‘12 performers after the break. Continue Reading…

Time is an illusion. Don't let the band schedule suck you in

For all of you who like planning out your trek through Fujirock way, way ahead of time, this one’s for you. The schedule is up, and so let the band prioritization begin.

Upon first look, I can see several potential conflicts for myself and others:

-On Friday, The XX, Dirty Projectors and Special Others share similar time slots, and Muse, !!! and Beardyman all overlap. As do Ken Yokoyama and Toe. The Entrance Band and Zappa Plays Zappa do too, but I’m guessing that these two might actually be fun (and given their proximity, highly possible) to float between.

Saturday and Sunday potential conflicts and advice on how to cope, from the Generalissimo of Fujirock himself, after the jump. Continue Reading…

Smash has revealed the latest batch of artists who will perform at this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival.  17 acts including a blast from the past that we mentioned as a definite possibility last week are listed after the jump.

Continue Reading…

A comment to our recent post about the latest artist additions echoed what many have been speculating on the Japanese BBS of Fujirockers.org — that legendary British art rock act Roxy Music are coming to Fuji Rock.

While nothing has been confirmed, frontman Bryan Ferry does include an appearance on July 31 at Fuji Rock amongst the tour dates on his MySpace site.  All the other shows listed are festivals that Roxy Music will perform at.

We’ll have to wait for the next official lineup announcement from Fuji Rock promoter Smash to see if the rumours are true.  In the meantime, up your anticipation level by checking out Roxy Music’s inclusion in Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of “The Greatest Artists of All Time.”

The initial set of acts for Fuji 2010 have been announced. Any bets on who gets top billing?