The "Kasaoka Music Festival 2020," now in its 4th year, was held on Sunday, November 1.
Under the theme "Bonds of Citizens Connected through Music," Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 brought together groups and units active in Kasaoka City and elsewhere in Okayama Prefecture, entertaining the many people who gathered at Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station.
To help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, visitors entered the venue after wearing a mask, having their temperature taken at reception, and filling in their contact details.
At the venue, the lawn plaza of Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station, many visitors had already laid out their own plastic sheets and were waiting before the show began.
We bring you a photo report of the Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 performances, which ran from 12:00 p.m. to just after 4:40 p.m.!
The information provided here is current as of the article's publication in November 2020. Please note that it may differ from the current information.
What Is the Kasaoka Music Festival?
The Kasaoka Music Festival is a music event held since 2017 under the theme "Bonds of Citizens Connected through Music."
The Kasaoka Music Festival aims to use the event as an opportunity for people to enjoy music across generations, come to appreciate the charms of Kasaoka, and help revitalize the local community.
Serving as host artist for the Kasaoka Music Festival's programming since 2017 is Lugz & Jera, an artist from Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture.
They also closed out Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 as the finale act, putting on a fun, groove-filled stage in collaboration with a dance group from Okayama!
Incidentally, the festival was held at the Kasaoka City Health Center (Galaxy Hall) in 2017 and 2018, while in 2019 and this time in 2020, it was held at "Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station lawn plaza."
![Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station [Spring] – Enjoy the stunning carpet of yellow canola flowers from February to April](https://media.kuratoco.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/24133845/IMG_3598-485x302.jpg)
Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 Event Schedule
Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 was structured in three parts.
▼The performing artists and groups are as follows.
The MC was Moeno, who has taken part in the Kasaoka Music Festival since its first edition in 2017.
Moeno also treated the audience to her beautiful singing voice in Part 3.
The stage brimmed with the passion of the many performers, and before we knew it, the roughly four hours and 40 minutes had flown by.
Photo Report: Kasaoka Music Festival 2020
Now, let's take a look at the stage at Kasaoka Music Festival 2020!
Part 1: "Dance Festival"
In the Dance Festival, the performing units took turns showing off their dances.
▼The performing groups are as follows (in no particular order).
- Dance Team Shine (Okayama City)
- Dance Studio Line (Okayama City)
- FREE SOUL (Okayama City)
- D'z mix (Kurashiki City)
- MINTIA (Takahashi City)
- Studio One Self Mizuno Hip-Hop (Kasaoka City)
▼A total of six groups, ranging from small ensembles to large groups, danced energetically and elegantly, filling the stage.
▼Dancing right in front of the audience below the stage got the crowd excited.
▼A performance combining song and dance.
▼A dance using folding fans. A fusion with Japanese tradition!
▼Alongside the dancing, banners for the Stone Islands of Setouchi, where time flows eternally, fluttered in the breeze.
Part 1's Dance Festival got the venue fired up, leading into Part 2's Harmony Festival.
Part 2: "Harmony Festival"
The Harmony Festival opened with a performance by the local Kasaoka Wind Orchestra, conveying the wonderful charm of acoustic music.
▼The performing groups and artists are as follows (in no particular order).
- Kasaoka Wind Orchestra (Kasaoka City)
- Kasaoka Mitake Chorus (Kasaoka City)
- Petit Soleil (Kasaoka City)
- 宝亀一之 (Kasaoka City)
▼The Kasaoka Wind Orchestra performed a lively number.
After their performance at the Kasaoka Music Festival, the Kasaoka Wind Orchestra was in high demand, as they had another event waiting for them next.
▼Next up was the Kasaoka Mitake Chorus.
▼The voices of Petit Soleil and 宝亀一之 filled the air at Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station.
Part 2 centered on "unplugged" music, letting the audience enjoy the true sound of the instruments. In an atmosphere quite different from Part 1, we could feel the wonder of live, unamplified music.
Part 3: "Music Festival"
In Part 3, the audience became one with the stage, enjoying performances by artists from Okayama.
▼The performing artists are as follows.
- 沖田実夕 (from Okayama)
- Moeno (from Okayama) with Otsuka Emi (piano)
- HAREDAN (from Okayama)
- Brilliant (from Okayama)
- marco (from Okayama)
- Lugz & Jera (from Okayama)
▼The third part kicks off with the stage of Okayama-born Okita Miyu!
Okita Miyu is a former member of "Omoen Kids," an entertainment kids group formed to liven up Okayama, and she has since moved her base of activity from Okayama to Tokyo, where she is active today.
▼Together with pianist Otsuka Emi.
▼Moeno, who also worked hard as MC.
The songs performed were "W ~Tadoritsuitara My Darling~," "Mariage ~Kimi to Zutto~," and "Inochi no Uta" (a cover of Mana Kana).
Moeno performs mainly in regular concerts and music events within Okayama Prefecture.
Not just as MC, she also captivated the audience with her heartfelt singing voice.
▼Moeno also collaborated with Otsuka Emi's piano.
▼"HAREDAN," a two-man idol unit made up of older brother Tomoya and younger brother Rito. They were incredibly energetic, drawing the audience right into their stage.
▼HAREDAN building up the excitement from the stage. The atmosphere instantly rose!
▼"Brilliant," a dance and vocal unit made up of three current high school students.
▼They said that since their high school teacher had come to watch, they were so nervous their talking fell apart... but it was fine. Their feelings came through clearly in their singing and dancing.
▼Performing with a calm, soothing touch was marco, a singer-songwriter from Okayama Prefecture.
Her piano performance as the sun began to set was deeply moving.
The headliner was Lugz＆Jera
It's a shame we can't show you images of Lugz＆Jera's stage, as filming wasn't permitted, but the performance was overwhelming.
They led the dance groups who had performed in the first part as backup dancers, with a staging that used the full width of the stage, from end to end.
Centered on up-tempo songs, their overwhelming singing ability brought the audience together as one — truly impressive.
Their talk between songs was fun too, and the finale, where everyone created the performance together, seemed to embody the theme of "connecting citizens through music."
The finale: all performers singing "Paprika" together
The finale came slightly past the scheduled end time. The performers gathered on stage.
▼Moeno introduced the finale song. With the call "Let's all sing 'Paprika'!" it turned into a mass sing-along.
From the Writer
Compared to the Kasaoka Music Festival held in 2019, the 2020 Kasaoka Music Festival had even more performers.
There were also many participating dance groups, which I think made it an event that was lively from the very start.
The Kasaoka Music Festival began with the theme of connecting the citizens of Kasaoka through music, and has grown larger in scale with each edition.
Beside the stage at the venue, Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station, there were kitchen cars.
Inside, local specialties, fresh seafood, and vegetables were being sold, and as it was held on a Sunday, many people came not only from within Kasaoka City but from outside it as well. The Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 drew many visitors and ended in great success.
As a resident of Kasaoka, I'm happy to see the music festival evolving in a way that makes me look forward to what kind of event the 2021 Kasaoka Music Festival will be.
Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 Information
| Name | Kasaoka Music Festival 2020 |
|---|---|
| Date held | Sunday, November 1, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. |
| Location | Kasaoka Bay Farm Roadside Station Lawn Square |
| Participation fee (tax included) | Free |
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