Minamino Rock Festival 2020 to Stream Worldwide

Minamino Rock Festival will stream internationally for the first time on June 10th.

The yearly event, which benefits the family of slain Japanese music producer Shingo Minamino, will broadcast live from Shinjuku Loft at 8:00pm JST. Fans who purchase a viewing ticket through the live music portal Zaiko will also be able to watch the event on demand through June 15th.

Minamino died at 42 years old, stabbed during a random attack by a crazed unemployed man in Osaka on June 10th, 2012.

A respected producer for several acclaimed Nitroplus game soundtracks and artists such as Swinging Popsicle, Kanako Ito, Super Sonico, Pale Green, VERTUEUX, and others, Minamino was visiting Osaka to manage the Georide 5th Anniversary Special Tour 2012 concert at Osaka Muse Hall on the day of the attack.

The Minamino Rock Festival began in 2013 on the first anniversary of the tragedy. The concert has been held annually as a charity event to celebrate Minamino’s love of music and to help support Minamino’s surviving wife and three young daughters.

This year’s festival is the first time the music event will stream online. With the audience unable to attend in-person due to COVID-19-related concerns, the bands involved agreed that Minamino would have found a way to continue the event without postponement or cancellation.

In the 1990s, Minamino was the vocalist for rock band BOICE, who later changed their name to 4-STiCKS. In 1996, 4-STiCKS made their major label debut on Epic/Sony Records. After the band’s dissolution, he continued various solo and collaboration activities, joining video game company Nitroplus in 2007 as the label head and producer for Georide, the company’s music division.

Minamino Rock Festival 2020 will feature performances by 4-STiCKS, Swinging Popsicle, Kanako Ito, ex-Boøwy drummer Makoto Takahashi, and others. It will be hosted by 4-STiCKS member Yaginuma “SMILEY Yagi” Hirotaka.

Minamino Rock Festival 2020 tickets can be purchased here, and checkout is available in English. When purchasing tickets, supporters can also choose to donate an additional amount to the Minamino family.

Archive tickets can be purchased until June 15th, 2020 9:00pm JST. Archive viewing will be available through June 15th, 2020 11:59pm JST.

Performers scheduled to appear include:
4-STiCKS
Swinging Popsicle
Kanako Ito
G.D.FLICKERS
Makoto Takahashi (ex-Boøwy)
Yuugure no Circus
Seizi Kimura
Koji Takahashi & TARSHI
VERTUEUX
THE VANILA
THE BELGA
Fuguri
Yoshiya Sato
30%LESSFAT
WOLF
ZOOCO

A clip of Shingo Minamino performing at Shinjuku Loft in 1999 can be viewed below: