Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2014

Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic get all the press, but for many of Japan’s music connoisseurs, Taico Club gets the nod for best fest. The event’s small, friendly scale and finely curated lineup guarantee a sellout every year. This year’s bill ranges from the definitive Detroit techno of Daniel Bell to the blues-inflected noise-punk of Lightning Bolt and a set from post-Sonic Youth Thurston Moore. Japanese acts including emo-skronkers Sakanaction and theatrical jazz-funk collective Soil & “Pimp” Sessions. Cero, a multi-genre band with one foot in the past and the other in the future, also make a welcome appearance. Tickets for this all-night Nagano dance fest were sold out as of this writing, with an advisory that more were to be made available for latecomers.

May 31-Jun 1, Kodama-no-Mori, Nagano. See concert listings for details.