Day of Songs 2015 Concert celebrates power of music

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The Day of Songs concert attracts large audiences every year.

Organizers of the Day of Songs 2015 Concert want to make the power of song and dance the focus of the event, and to express their appreciation of Okinawan music and it’s role in history, especially in the midst of hardships of the wartime.

The Day of Songs Concert has been organized since 2001, and its spirit has since spread across the country. The event takes place at Kaneku Seaside Park next to Kadena Marina, this Sunday, June 27, starting at 3:30 p.m. The event will go on rain or shine, except in case of truly inclement weather it will be cancelled.

Advance tickets to the event are available at FamilyMart e-plus terminals costing ¥3,000 for adults. Junior high and high school student tickets are ¥1,000. Admission to children of elementary school age and younger is free but they have to be in the company of a guardian.

Begin, a nationally very popular band from Ishigaki Island, and one of the powerhouse organizers behind the Day of Songs Concert, is leading the lineup of entertainers.

Motohiro Hata gained national fame and fans last year after one of his tunes was chosen for a title tune of the animated movie “Stand by Me Doraemon” and became a huge hit.

Others in this year’s lineup of artists include Okinawan rock icon Katchan, Miyagi Sisters, famous among samba enthusiasts, Sky’s The Limit, Melissa, comedy group Garage Sale, and Yukie Sawa.

Dancers from Sandii’s Hula Studio, Ryukyu-koku Matsuri Taiko and Kadena Sembaru Eisa preservation group also perform.

The Day of Songs Concert specifically celebrates songs of a time when singing aloud and dancing was forbidden during the wartime. People believed that joy of songs gave them power to overcome any hardship.

In Okinawa, June 23rd is remembered as “Irei-no-Hi,” the day on which the war was over. The Day of Songs concert is held on the following weekend in order to inform descendants that people in Okinawa kept on singing with small voices, and dancing in the shelters, even at the time when it was not officially allowed.