Fuji Rock Festival
| Fuji Rock Festival | |
|---|---|
| File:Fujirock.gif | |
| Genre | Rock |
| Dates | last weekend of July (3 days) |
| Location(s) | Naeba, Japan |
| Years active | 1997 - present |
Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival organized by Smash Japan, held in Naeba, Japan. The 3 day event features Japanese and international musicians performing on 7 different stages. In 2005, more than 100,000 people attended the festival. The Green stage is the main stage and it has a capacity for more than 30,000 spectators. Other stages include the White Stage, the Red Marquee, Orange Court, and Field of Heaven.
History
The festival began in 1997. The first festival was actually located near Mt. Fuji, hence the name, Fuji Rock. Unfortunately, that first year, a large typhoon nearly destroyed the festival. The organizer was criticized for not having enough preparation for the bad weather, and the lack of enough bus transportion between the venue and the nearest train station.[1] The audience was forced to stand in the severe weather conditions during festival, and had to wait for many hours afterwards for the buses. No deaths were reported, however, many folks in the crowd became ill on the first day. The organizer considered it impossible to carry on with the event and canceled the entire second day of the 2-day event.
The second year, the festival moved to a temporary location in Toyosu, Tokyo. It was in 1999 the festival found its home in Naeba, at the Naeba Prince Hotel ski resort, Niigata prefecture. Naeba is not anywhere close to Mt. Fuji, however, the festival still retains its original name. After experiencing the horrific first year, the organizer has basically been running the festival smoothly up till present.
The location in Naeba is stunning, set amidst forested mountains. Be prepared for lots of walking as it isn't very close between stages, and some parts of the mountain trails are hilly.
2007
The 2007 festival runs from Friday, July 27th through Sunday, July 29th.
The bands announced for 2007 so far include Ash, The Ataris, Blonde Redhead, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Chemical Brothers, The Cure, Fountains of Wayne, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, The John Butler Trio, Jonathan Richman, Justice (French band), Kaiser Chiefs, Kemuri, Kula Shaker, Less Than Jake, Mika, Muse, Ocean Colour Scene, The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, Ratatat, The Shins, and Simian Mobile Disco. Ticket prices for the 2007 festival appear to remain unchanged from the 2006 event.
2006
The 2006 festival ran from Friday, July 28th until Sunday, July 30th (actually Monday morning).
Artists booked for the 2006 festival included Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Happy Mondays, Jet, The Raconteurs, Sonic Youth, Wolfmother, Snow Patrol, The Hives, Dirty Pretty Things, KT Tunstall, Jason Mraz, The Cooper Temple Clause, Madness, Mogwai, Scissor Sisters, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Super Furry Animals, Gnarls Barkley, The Zutons, Denki Groove and many more.
Tickets for the 2006 festival cost ￥39,800. Early bird advanced tickets were available for ￥32,000. It was possible to buy a 1-day ticket. The cost was ￥16,800, however, only 10,000 1-day tickets were sold each day. There is an on-site campsite, which costs ￥2,500 per person. Parking is available at a cost of ￥2,000/day, but you must have a minimum of two people travelling by car.
2005
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Röyksopp, Red Marquee, 2005 -
United State of Electronica, Red Marquee, 2005 -
Dancing with Royksopp, Red Marquee, 2005
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The 2005 festival ran from the weekend of July 29-July 31 2005. Headliners on the Green stage include Foo Fighters, and Coldplay on Friday, Fatboy Slim and Beck on Saturday, and New Order and Primal Scream on Sunday. Other artists to perform in 2005 were Röyksopp, Cagedbaby, Mylo, Night Snipers, Sugiurumn, The Longcut, Laurent Garnier, Shibachoff, and many more.
2004
Notable international performers from 2004 included The Chemical Brothers, Franz Ferdinand, Jamie Cullum, Jet, Lou Reed, The Stills, The Streets, Ben Kweller, Santos (artist), Sikth, Pixies, Courtney Love, The Killers, Dizzie Rascal, PJ Harvey, Primus and The White Stripes.
2003
Anthrax - Björk - Coldplay - Elvis Costello - Evanescence - Iggy Pop - Massive Attack - Mogwai - Primal Scream - Underworld
2002
The Chemical Brothers - Ian Brown - Pet Shop Boys - The Prodigy - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Sonic Youth - Muse - Midtown - The Get Up Kids
2001
Alanis Morissette - Eminem - Manic Street Preachers - Neil Young - New Order - Oasis - System of a Down
2000
The Chemical Brothers - Ian Brown - Primal Scream - MDFMK
1999
Blur - Chemical Brothers - Happy Mondays - Rage Against the Machine - Underworld - ZZ Top
1998
Beck - Bjork - Ian Brown - Iggy Pop - Primal Scream - Prodigy - Garbage - Elvis Costello - Blankey Jet City - Sonic Youth
1997
Beck - Green Day - Foo Fighters - Prodigy - Rage Against the Machine - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Southern Culture on the Skids - The High Lows - The Yellow Monkey
References
External links
- Official site (Japanese)
- Official English site
- [1] A South China Morning Post slideshow of Fuji Rock Festival 2006 with images by Kevin Utting and audio that includes an interview with Fuji Rock Festival pointmen Johnnie Fingers. Podcast dated September 5, 2006.