My First Outdoor Festival in My Life! I went to the Wind Parade!

On September 9 (Sat.) and 10 (Sun.), I went to the first day of the outdoor festival Wind Parade in Chichibu!

This was my first ever festival in my life, as I had never been to an outdoor festival before. Being an indoor person myself, I wondered if it was going to be too hot to be outdoors for an extended period of time, and if I was going to be able to enjoy the music. I was a little anxious at first, but once the event started, there was no reason for me to worry at all! It was so much more enjoyable than I had imagined, and I truly had a wonderful time!

So, I would like to share my excitement with you in the form of a brief live report and give a quick recap of the Wind Parade! Please bear with me if you will.

Wind Parade (official website)

The venue was at Chichibu Muse Park in Saitama Prefecture. It was a venue surrounded by mountains and rich nature. Although the lingering summer heat was still intense, there was a good breeze on this day, making it a pleasant environment.

The first band to perform at this wonderful venue was Cero!

I love this band. They combine various elements of neo-soul and jazz to create a variety of highly accomplished songs. Their live performance was excellent! Even as an amateur listener, I could really feel the groove between the band members. My body was dancing to the beat on its own! The band played a lot of my personal favorite songs, and I was very excited to be attending the Wind Parade Festival from the very beginning.

↓ My Recommended Music ↓

Next up on stage was Hanaregumi!

This time, Hanaregumi performed with only one guitar. It was a great time as the audience could feel the emotion in his singing voice being delivered straight to them. The quality of the guitar sound was also wonderful, showing that he was a professional! Personally, I was very happy that he covered a song by my favorite band, Supercar. I think it was a very warm and welcoming space with some interaction with the audience between songs.

↓ My Recommended Music ↓

The next on stage is Gezan!

Gezan is a band with a unique and deep worldview. I first heard of this band when I was in college, and although I had listened to them a little, I had not listened to them that thoroughly. I had an image of this band as being very habitual and selective about who they listen to, so I had not been inclined to give them a listen. However, after seeing them on stage this time, I was instantly attracted to them! Their destructive power in their performance shook me to the core. As for their respective songs, I felt that the band has a wide range of genres, from groovy songs with a reggae and dub feel, to songs with a certain pure indie rock atmosphere in a post-rock sense, to cute songs full of pop. The MC was also very funny, which made me wonder if he was blurting stuff out or if he was really crazy. In any case, they are still a band that chooses its listeners, but this time I came to love their music!

↓ My Recommended Music ↓

The last band to take the stage was Fishmans!

Fishmans is the band that inspired me to even come to this festival. As I wrote in my previous blog, I love Fishmans and I think they are the band I have been listening to the most in the past few years. They are a truly important band that is no longer the closest band to my life.

This was the first time I had heard them play live. As you can imagine, it was truly a dream come true! From the moment the backing guitars started playing the first song, I felt as if I was already in their world, and as I listened to the second song, I started to get teary-eyed, but the tears stopped after that, and I started vibing to the music. I don't need to tell you that the music and performance were great, but what was especially surprising to me this time was that the Fishmans are loved by people of all ages. When they played, the seats in the auditorium were almost completely filled, and the audience ranged from young people who seemed to be of the same generation as myself to couples with children. What was impressive was that a father and his child next to me were listening to the Fishmans' performance while singing loudly. It was very impressive that he seemed to be so moved. It was a moment when I realized that the band is truly loved by the audience.

The band was joined on stage by other performers who appeared as guests and played Fishmans' songs along with them. Looking back on it now, it was a very, very precious time!
Anyhow, it was just a great and emotional time!

↓ My Recommended Music ↓

This time, I wrote down my impressions of the best festival, Wind Parade. I sincerely feel that it is good to go outside once in a while and enjoy music while taking in the breeze.