Official Press Release
2011 J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES EXPANDED PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS – ONLY 16 DAYS AWAY!!!
NEW PEOPLE Details Events For Annual Bay Area Celebration Of Japanese Pop Culture With Live Music, Fashion Shows, Film Premieres, Street Vendors And More!
San Francisco, CA, August 11, 2011 – An explosion of colorful artists and pop culture music, fashion, art, and film takes over San Francisco in only 16 DAYS when the 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival will be held the city’s Japantown. The annual is newly expanded to two days and will take place Saturday and Sunday, August 27th– 28th.
The weekend-long festival is highlighted by live bands and DJs, fashion shows, a vocaloid music conference, several theatrical film premieres, dance workshops and performances, and assorted arts, crafts and food vendors. NEW PEOPLE, the dynamic entertainment destination showcasing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture, presents the annual event and also welcomes several Guests of Honor to this year’s J-Pop Summit.
A dedicated web site with full details and event schedules is now available at J-pop.com.
J-Pop Summit Festival Event Highlights include…
Saturday August 27th:
Girls Rock Explosion! Day 1
Bay Area and Japanese musicians rock the Pagoda Stage in Japantown’s Peace Plaza.
Layla Lane are a cross-cultural rock duo combining exquisite arrangements and clever harmonies for a style that is equal parts 1960′s pop, gypsy swing, and rock. Layla Lane is fronted by guitarist Heday from Shizuoka, Japan and Los Angeles-born pianist Valerie Stern.
The Patsychords are a Pasty Cline Tribute band that will rock the Girl Rock Explosion 2011 with their brand of smooth rockabilly country and a tribute to Kyu Sakamoto’s Sukiyaki Song!
Fashion Events:
SOU・SOU Fashion Show
Hosted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, designer and producer Takeyuki Wakabayashi from Kyoto, Japan, SOU・SOU’s first U.S. fashion show will showcase NEW PEOPLE and SOU・SOU’s new Clothing line collaboration. Enjoy the art of modern designs meeting traditional craftsmanship in an innovative style of Japanese tabi shoe and clothing.
h. NAOTO Fashion Show
Designer Naoto Hirooka (aka h. NAOTO) attends the 2011 J-Pop Summit to preview the opening of his first U.S. flagship store on NEW PEOPLE’s Fashion Floor on October 7th!
BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT Fashion Contest
Lolitas! Fashionistas! Boys and girls! This year, BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT and Animation on Display co-host a circus-inspired, over-the-top Lolita fashion contest.
Film Events:
GANTZ II: Perfect Answer (San Francisco Premiere)
How will we face the end? The two-part GANTZ film meets its kinetic conclusion in GANTZ II with an intensely gripping story-line yet to be known even to readers of the manga series!
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal U.S. Premiere (subtitled)
Based on the self-titled manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki, Rurouni Kenshin follows Kenshin Himura, a highly skilled swordsman and his journey across Japan during the Meiji era.
K-ON! Anime Vol.3 Premiere and Mini Concert
Enjoy a mini live event by the K-ON! English voice cast and the premiere of the third volume of the anime series. K-ON!’s story revolves around four Japanese high school girls who join the Sakuragaoka Girl’s High School’s light music club to try to save it from being disbanded.
Tokyo Freshly Squeezed: Hottest Music Videos from Japan!
MUSIC ON! TV (www.m-on.jp) from Japan will feature the hottest J-Pop bands and artists performing Visual Kei, J-rock, anime songs, and more to be screened with NEW PEOPLE cinema’s THX® sound system. Attendees for VIP Party at 7:30pm on August 27th at NEW PEOPLE will be all invited to this event. VIP Party tickets are now on sale at:
http://j-popsummit03.eventbrite.com
Dance & DJ Events:
Danceroid Dance Performance
Danceroid is a group of four girls that have become an international musical dance sensation with their performances choreographed to popular Vocaloid songs. The group’s videos have been played more than 100 million times online
Miku Mix DJ Battle
LA meets Tokyo in San Francisco! DJ Amaya and ZANEEDS rocked out thousands of fans at the Nokia Theater during this year’s Anime Expo will join together on the J-Pop SUMMIT’s Pagoda Stage to take turns mixing up some mean Hatsune Miku vocaloid remixes!
Sunday August 28th
Vocaloid Conference: The Voice of Future Music
Brian Zisk (Executive Producer, SF Music Tech Summit), ZANEEDS (vocaloid music creator), and Danceroid (vocaloid music dance unit) will discuss, “The creative explosion caused by internet platforms and vocaloid idols like Hatsune Miku, and how it’s affecting the future of music.” Also see ZANEEDS and Danceroid behind the scenes footage!
Vocaloid Dance Workshop
Vocaloid music dance sensation Danceroid will teach audiences one of their very own dance routines. Contestants of the Vocaloid Dance Contest are welcomed to participate winners will perform on the Pagoda Stage with Danceroid!
Vocaloid Dance Contest
Vocaloid fans hit the stage to dance and lip-sync in front of a huge audience! Animation on Display is the host and guest performers Danceroid will judge the performances.
Girls Rock Explosion! Day 2
The Bayonettes are presented by the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp. The teen duo will deliver their sweet acoustic set, including a version of Japan’s #1 punk rock song “Linda Linda!”
SpacEKrafT is a performance group that re-creates a futuristic interactive travel environment complete with flight attendants, ground crew, video projections, sound chairs, interactive music equipment, personality feedback station and interactive art.
Emi Meyer is a jazz-inspired pop musician born in Kyoto Japan and raised in Seattle. Her bi-cultural heritage has shaped the unique jazz-inspired pop sound heard on her three albums. With the release of her first album, Curious Creature, Emi was invited to perform at the Sundance Film Festival and shot to #1 on the Japanese jazz charts.
K-ON! LIVE
Come check out anime K-ON!’s English Voice Actresses’ live show! Yui (Stephanie Sheh), Mio (Cristina Vee), Ritsu (Cassandra Lee), Mugi (Shelby Lindley), and Azusa (Christine Marie Cabanos) all will rock out with full-gear on the Pagoda Stage.
Film Events:
h.NAOTO Tokyo Collection Film Screening
Enjoy h.NAOTO’s fashion on the big screen! For customers who purchase over $100 at the h.NAOTO pop-up-shop inside the NEW PEOPLE Fashion Floor. Designer Naoto Hirooka will appear for an after screening Q and A session!
DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48 To Be Continued… (U.S. Premiere)
Don’t miss the US premiere of the documentary following the unstoppable all-female Japanese idol group, AKB48! With their ever-growing popularity and success, this is a must-see for fans. The footage sheds a light on AKB48’s struggle, joy, growth, and dream
Other Events & Performances (Saturday & Sunday):
Ken Hamazaki
Ken Hamazaki returns for the second year in a row to perform his avant-garde Red Tea Ceremony -YOU ARE GOD on the festival grounds!
Estria Foundation Presents: MIKE “BAM!” TYAU
Mike “BAM!” Tyau (rhymes with ‘meow’) has been creating graffiti art since 1983 during the NYC B-boy era. On Sunday the 28th, watch Mike “BAM!” paint a live graffiti art all day in the Peace Plaza. The artwork will be silent-auctioned to raise funds for Japan.
Fortune Telling by Hoshi from “not for sale.”
Translating ancient Eastern knowledge and languages to suit our modern lives, Hoshi from not for sale. reads over 2000 fortunes per year in the Tokyo area. He comes to the J-Pop Summit to read the fortunes of attendees!
About NEW PEOPLE, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, California, NEW PEOPLE, Inc. (www.newpeopleworld.com) offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan through its unique entertainment destination as well as through licensing and distribution of selective Japanese films. NEW PEOPLE Entertainment (www.newpeopleent.com), a film division of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the “Kingdom of Pop” for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, GANTZ, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, and THE TASTE OF TEA.
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The Make-A-Wish Foundation is granting a five year a chance to be Batman for a day. On November 15, San Francisco will be protected by Miles, who has been battling leukemia. But Miles won’t be battling villains alone, the San Francisco Police Department will be helping him as well as a “real” Batmobile. They’ll be foiling some local villains (since it’s San Francisco, maybe beating hippies). It’s a wonderful thing to see and great for the city and foundation to do.
