[2025–2026] A roundup of popular winter festivals: Music festivals for the cold season

This is a jazz festival held at the Gifu Civic Hall Main Auditorium. If you want to listen to or experience jazz in Gifu, be sure to check it out.

A showcase festival that brings together up-and-coming artists active in Japan and abroad. Festival and music industry professionals are invited to discover new talent. In Japan, one of the earliest and most notable organizers is the Music Lane Festival Okinawa. Because it receives many participation offers from overseas, this format is more common outside Japan, and it’s an exciting event where general audiences can encounter artists who may soon break through.

This festival, held in tandem since its launch in 2010, is constantly pursuing new styles and getting more powerful every year. From major names in the anisong scene to fresh faces, it’s sure to offer something to enjoy across a wide range of genres!

The large-scale circuit festival “GRAND LINE,” organized by RAD CREATION and held in Nagoya since 2011, has changed its name and expanded to two days. The venues are live houses in the Sakae and Shinsakae areas. While the lineup is centered on younger artists, veteran acts are also featured, giving it a broad and well-rounded feel.

This music festival was created to provide a venue for young people engaged in musical activities in Sagamihara City. With the city’s support, the participating bands themselves handle planning and operations. It takes place over two days: a festival stage purely for enjoying music, and a contest stage where skills are put to the test. The contest stage promises to be a hotly contested battleground where bands compete with passion and technique for the top prize. Thinking that a band could debut on the national stage from here makes it impossible to take your eyes off the ones you’ll want to support.

This music festival was created with the cooperation of the city to provide a venue for young people engaged in musical activities in Sagamihara. The participating bands not only perform but also handle planning and operations themselves. It takes place over two days: a festival stage for the pure enjoyment of music and a contest stage where techniques are put to the test. On the festival stage, some bands will perform cover songs while others will present fully-fledged original tracks, so there’s a chance that a band could make a nationwide debut from here. It’s hard to take your eyes off the bands you’ll want to root for.