Summer Sonic (サマーソニック, Samā Sonikku) is an annual music festival held on one weekend in August simultaneously in both Chiba (branded as Summer Sonic Tokyo) and Suita (branded as Summer Sonic Osaka), Japan. Organized by Creativeman Productions, Summer Sonic is one of the largest major music festivals in Japan, and features rotating lineups with artists performing one day in Chiba and the following day in Suita, and vice versa. The lineup often features major international acts alongside Japanese artists from major and independent record labels.
The festival was first held in 2000 at the Fuji-Q Highland resort in Yamanashi Prefecture. The festival moved to Chiba in 2001, just east of Tokyo, and has been held simultaneously in Chiba and Osaka since 2002. The festival is often accompanied by separately ticketed overnight events held exclusively in Chiba featuring an EDM-centric lineup, which have been branded variously as Sonicmania or Midnight Sonic. The 2009, 2011 and 2026 editions of the festival were held over three days, while all other editions have been held over two days. International editions of the festival have occasionally been held outside Japan, including Shanghai in 2017 and Bangkok in 2024.
History
Summer Sonic Festival was founded in 2000 in Japan, by Naoki Shimizu, CEO of Tokyo 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 Tokyo event takes place at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba City, which overlooks Tokyo Bay, with the main stage located in nearby Zozo Marine Stadium, as well as an additional stage located on Makuhari Beach. In Osaka, the festival was first held at WTC Open Air Stadium before moving to Maishima Sports Island in 2007. In 2024, the Osaka event was moved to Expo Commemoration Park in nearby Suita.
In 2017, Summer Sonic held its first event outside of Japan, taking place in Shanghai, China. Placebo was originally was set to be the headline act for day two, but the band was refused entry into the country by the Chinese government after posting a picture of the Dalai Lama; as a result Travis took their place.
In 2011, the festival established Sonicmania, a separately ticketed overnight event focusing on electronic dance music. It is traditionally held at Makuhari Messe the day before the festival. In some years, the festival has instead featured a similar event named Midnight Sonic, which regular festival ticket holders are also permitted to attend.
In 2019, B'z was announced as the first Japanese headliner in the festival's twenty-year history. Further Japanese headliners have included Ado and L'Arc-en-Ciel, both in 2026.
The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An abridged version of the festival, 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 lineup was mainly electronic. Controversy arose when some foreign DJs were allowed to enter Japan without having to quarantine, despite the quarantine requirement for most other international arrivals.
Summer Sonic celebrated its 25th edition of the festival in 2026, returning to a three-day format for the first time since 2019.
Performances
Lineups for the festival in past years are as follows. The artists in bold are the headlining acts for that year.
