Hanayake. Hanayake, the largest-ever hosted event "Spring Grand Liberation Festival 2025" is held on the 10th anniversary of its formation! The first performance of a new song "Spicy Queen" was also held!

Spring Liberation Festival 2025" at KT Zepp Yokohama Live report

On May 31, the four-piece band "Hanayake. Since the first event was held at the live house Shibuya CYCLONE in 2018 to commemorate the members' graduation from high school, the "Spring Grand Liberation Festival 2025" has become an annual event. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Hanakairoe has been very active recently, touring not only in Japan but also overseas in North America and Europe, and last year performed on the main stage of "Lollapalooza 2024," one of the largest festivals in the United States. Last year, they performed on the main stage of "Lollapalooza 2024," the largest festival in the U.S. Last year, they performed at the largest capacity venue ever for this year's "Spring Festival of Liberation. This year's performers included Hanayoe. In addition to Hanayorae, 4s4ki, Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fox Lake (from USA), Knosis, and MIGHTY HOPE, two groups, DJ Tomo (ex:Hysteric Panic) and LIFE is SAMPLING, performed as DJ acts during the changeover. It was a grand festival with a total of 8 groups.

Dressed in colorful and cool outfits, Hanayake is a band that embraces both loud rock and danceable pop in their own expression. The band's appearance is full of greed and originality. At the same time, they are pure and natural, unafraid to reveal their inner "urges," "likes," and ambivalent feelings. Such is the nature of Hanayoe. That is why they were able to create numerous crossings of borders and encounters, and the result was a day of happiness, the "Spring Grand Liberation Festival 2025. Incidentally, the order of performances on this day was not announced in advance, except for the trio Hanakairoe, who performed at the end of the day. The order of the performances on the day was not announced in advance, except for Hanayake, who performed at the end of the day.

Entering KT Zepp Yokohama after the showtime of 3:00 p.m., the space was in full festival use, with photo booths and apparel and food vendors as well as merchandise sales in the lobby. DJ Mato and LIFE is SAMPLING warmed up the venue from the time the doors opened until showtime. Both DJs alternated between DJs throughout the day, and their DJ performances kept the air shaking with music. At 4:00 p.m., the main live performance began, and the first group to take the stage was Knosis, a former Crystal Lake vocalist. The first group to take the stage was Knosis, a music project started in 2023 by former Crystal Lake vocalist Ryo. Knosis, a five-piece band, appeared on stage under the divine light that shone through the dark clouds and pierced the venue with a ferocious mass of sound. Ryo, an expressionist who has been pioneering the circuit of "expression" that connects the "individual" and the "world", was the topper of the event, as he led Knosis on stage. The stage of Knosis, led by Ryo, was filled with a fresh sense of awakening that was appropriate for the event's topper, and the audience went into a frenzy. The song "FUHAI" was performed by Yukina (Vocalist) of Hanayake. Yukina (Vo) of Hanayake appeared on stage and collaborated with the band. The "Spring Grand Liberation Festival 2025" opened with an intense yet dependable performance by Knosis, who seemed ready to take on the responsibility of the beginning of the event.

Next was 4s4ki (Asaki), one of Japan's leading hyper-pop artists, who performed with a DJ and a duo, and was the only non-band performer of the day, but her extremely colorful and chaotic presence was a flowery coolness. The two were linked in a deep place, and above all, the emotion brought about by their massive beats and flood of emotional melodies was truly worthy of the term "great release". The energetic hyper-pop sound as well as the richness of expression, such as the song "I picked up a prostitute's iPhone" in which she played only the piano and sang, inviting the audience into a deep silence, were also impressive. The songs that follow these words are always gentle, and perhaps this gentleness and delicacy is what 4s4ki is dying to protect.

The third performer was MIGHTY HOPE, a three-piece band formed in 2020. The sound of the band's powerful rock music with its majestic beats and melodies filled the entire venue. Rico's comment during the MC about the meaning of being invited to this event, "I don't know what it is, but it's something I can connect with.... I don't know what it is, but it's cool, it's beautiful, it's wonderful. We are pursuing something that is not tangible." These words must have also expressed what is at the root of the "Spring Grand Opening Festival 2025.

The fourth performer was Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, who last year invited Hanakairoe to join them on their own tour. The fourth performer was Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, who last year invited Hanayorae. From the first song, "Return to Zero," the band's performance was an explosion of excitement, freely manipulating chaos and harmony. The band's frenzied beats and melodies kept the audience on their toes and in a whirlpool of excitement, while their humorous choreography, such as the bamboo shoot dance to "Virtue and Vice," created a sense of togetherness that made them a quintessential live band. Minami (Vo, Key), who roared while squirming in the crowd, was also beautiful in spite of her messy appearance. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas has announced that they will hold a festival "POWER OF KOBE" in September to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and I enjoyed the band's current resilience as they continue to expand their horizons, and their euphoria and chaos as they continue to engage people with their unchanging freshness. and the chaos that continues to engulf people with its unchanging freshness.

The fifth band was Fox Lake from the U.S. They were the band that toured with Hanakairoze on their first U.S. tour in 2023. The four-piece band's heavy yet flexible sound and Nathan Johnson's (Vo) agitated vocals were communicating with the audience fiercely. The four-piece's heavy yet supple band sound and Nathan Johnson's agitated vocals were fiercely communicating with the audience. As if to say, "It doesn't matter if we live in different countries or speak different languages," Fox Lake seemed to be asking the audience to talk, collide, and overlap with each other in their music, as if to say, "Let me know that you and I are alive. Fox Lake seemed to want to talk, collide, and overlap with listeners in the music. The audience responded with enthusiastic reactions to Fox Lake's earnest and passionate requests for communication. It was a wonderful performance that allowed the audience to experience the purest part of the hope that hardcore punk holds - to find happiness, dignity, and the certainty of life through super-dense communication.

And the last performer was Hanakairoe, the organizer of the "Spring Grand Liberation Festival 2025". The first one was "Hanayake", the organizer of "Spring Grand Liberation Festival 2025". On stage, he said, "From the beginning to this moment, I am happy!　I am happy!　I am happy! I'm so happy! The girls really seemed to be chewing on their happiness throughout their performance, from the first song "Hyperdimension Galaxy" to the last song "Sentimental Heroine". Not that they were melting with happiness. She was biting her happiness through clenched teeth. Their eyes were staring into the future. Yukina, Matsuri (Gt/Vo), Hetz (Ba), and Chika (Dr) were condensing their emotions that were about to overflow into the sound and exploding. They were as if to say, "This is the band's way of life. The second song "L.C.G." featured a guest vocal by Tomo (ex: Hysteric Panic), who continued the excitement of the day as a DJ. Tomo Taniguchi (trumpet) and Hayato Koike (trombone) joined the band as horns for the song "Kono Koso Gyaru - Early Summer ver. The last part of the song, "After you, please excuse me. Nathan from Fox Lake appeared on stage for the last part of the song. It was a rare collaboration that only took place on this stage.

Before playing their latest single "Spicy Queen," Yukina said. I went on my first overseas tour in the U.S., and the hard schedule almost broke my heart. I met Fox Lake and they came today, and I think that one of my goals has come true. On the last day of the U.S. tour, I shed tears when I heard such intense hardcore," she said. The reason why she cried should be clear to anyone who saw Fox Lake's live performance that day. At least, I do. Yukina continued. Yukina continued, "In addition to these overseas tours, I have been to many places and met many people in Japan, and it's all thanks to you. I want to repay everyone even more from now on. Then, after briefly restating this statement in English, she added, "I've been making the music I love for 10 years. I feel happy that I have been able to make the music I love for 10 years. It's because you all have been there for me, thank you!" Thank you!

Hana Chill. The "Spring Great Liberation Festival 2025," organized by the festival, was a very warm event, colored by various roaring sounds. It was a day for noble musicians to connect with each other, transcending generations and genres, living an original life, deviating from the "normal" or "correct" life imposed on them by others. It was a festival that conveyed the preciousness of both "people are not alone" and "people are alone. At the center of the festival was Hanayake. The history of their 10 years of explosive running gave birth to this warm day. That great history should be further renewed in the future.

Text: Fumiakira Amano
Photo by Okabe May