Legendary Japanese rock group X JAPAN made a triumphant return to the Coachella Music & Arts Festival this past weekend (Saturday, April 21). As one of only a few rock artists performing at the festival, X JAPAN’s powerful rock performance and elaborate production thrilled the Coachella crowd with a rousing hard rock concert, pyrotechnics and special effects that delivered both surprises and guest stars. Mid set, YOSHIKI of X Japan welcomed Marilyn Manson on stage to perform “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” which the Los Angeles Times described as “…a haunting rendition” (4/22/18) of the Eurythmics’ classic. Guitarists Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit) and Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses) returned for Weekend Two along with holograms of X JAPAN’s two deceased members, Hide and Taiji. View the full X JAPAN set list, as well as critical soundbites from the show and more below.
“It was such an honor to be part of this amazing festival, playing with so many great artists,” says YOSHIKI of X JAPAN.
“Because of our time slot, I was sad I couldn’t see Beyoncé’s show, but
at the same time I was shocked so many people showed up to support us.
The mosh pits surprised me, too--the audience’s energy was unbelievable.
There were so many rock fans onsite, let’s bring back rock to the
mainstream, rock’s not dead. Thank you to our fans and Coachella from
the bottom of my heart.”
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X JAPAN’s second Coachella performance capped off a frenzied media week which included a sold-out GRAMMY Museum event for the band’s award-winning documentary film WE ARE X (available on Hulu and iTunes) as well as YOSHIKI’s appearance with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols on his show, “Jonesy’s Jukebox,” among others. Watch YOSHIKI’s interview with Steve Jones HERE.
X JAPAN-the most successful rock group in Japanese history-has sold over 30 million albums, singles and videos combined, and has sold out Japan’s 55,000-seat Tokyo dome a record 18 times captivating a wide range of admirers as Sir George Martin, KISS, Stan Lee, and the Japanese Emperor—all while pioneering a spectacle-driven style of fashion and visual rock called Visual Kei, a one-of-a-kind cultural phenomenon.
X JAPAN, led by composer, drummer, and pianist YOSHIKI, PATA (guitar), HEATH (bass), TOSHI (vocals) and SUGIZO (violin, guitar) are currently in the studio in Los Angeles completing their first full-length album in over 22 years, set for release in 2018.
