THE FIRST TIMES has been exclusively covering all nine stops of Suchmos’ ‘Suchmos The Blow Your Mind TOUR 2026,’ a co-headlining tour featuring artists the band admire. This report covers the finale show of the tour at Zepp Haneda Tokyo on July 2, featuring special guest Fujii Kaze.

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■The Tour Reaches Its Grand Finale — Nine Cities, One Journey

Suchmos

‘Suchmos The Blow Your Mind TOUR 2026,’ which kicked off on May 14, has finally reached its final night. Having attended all nine stops of the tour, I spent the past month and a half seeing Suchmos perform at a pace of once or twice a week — and every single time was genuinely exciting.

Around the second or third show, one of the members joked, “Aren’t you sick of us by now?” But honestly, not for a single moment. I found myself heading to each venue with a mix of anticipation and nerves, thinking, “What kind of Suchmos would I see tonight?” And after the shows, I’d lie in bed unable to fall asleep.

Suchmos

The setlist changed for almost every show (out of 18 performances, only Sapporo Day 2 and Sendai Day 1, and Sendai Day 2 and Hiroshima Day 1 were identical), and what made it fascinating was watching Suchmos continuously evolve — not just sonically, but in terms of what it means to be a band and to keep making music — influenced by each guest they brought in. I’ll dive deeper into all of that in the next (and final!) article, which will also include solo interviews with the members.

■The Deep Connection Between Suchmos and Fujii Kaze

The final guest was Fujii Kaze. He regularly sells out dome-level venues across Japan and has even taken his act on a world tour — so seeing him step onto the stage of Zepp Haneda, which holds around 3,000 people, was a moment that felt almost miraculous.

Suchmos & Fujii Kaze

For Fujii Kaze, Zepp holds a particular significance — he had a solo show planned there in June 2020, which was cancelled due to COVID-19. After that, he skipped the Zepp circuit altogether and quickly progressed to performing in halls and larger venues. On top of that, appearing as a guest at another artist’s show is extremely rare for him; the only other notable example was his appearance at Billie Eilish’s ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR’ at Saitama Super Arena on August 17, 2025.

This rare moment was made possible by the deep connection between Fujii Kaze and Suchmos. Since Suchmos went on hiatus, TAIKING has been a regular support guitarist for Fujii Kaze. Earlier this year, when Fujii Kaze performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival — one of the world’s biggest music festivals — TAIKING was right there beside him on guitar. During Suchmos’ hiatus, TAIKING would sometimes play the “STAY TUNE” riff at Fujii Kaze’s concerts, getting the crowd excited. And when the news broke of Suchmos bassist HSU passing, TAIKING was in the middle of Fujii Kaze’s tour — and it has since become a story passed among fans and those close to the band that he performed that night using HSU’s pick.

There’s also the story of how Fujii Kaze played a key role in bassist Ren Yamamoto joining Suchmos upon their return. When the Suchmos members first reached out to Ren, initially asking him to join as a support player, he turned them down. But shortly after, Ren and Fujii Kaze—who hadn’t met before—happened to run into each other, and Fujii Kaze said, “You’re going to join Suchmos, right? TAIKING’s been waiting for you.” That encounter helped influence Ren’s decision. In a sense, Fujii Kaze is a key figure in the current lineup of Suchmos. And since Ren joined Suchmos, he has also served as the bassist when Fujii Kaze performed “Prema” on Music Station in September 2025.

For Fujii Kaze personally, Suchmos is a group he’s been covering since his days of uploading videos to YouTube. During the MC, he referenced this himself: “When Suchmos first came out, I was just an ordinary young man from Okayama. I used to cover them on YouTube.”

Following those words came a remark that captures Suchmos’ place in Japanese music history, the movement they pioneered, and the baton they passed to the next generation. “I genuinely believe Suchmos made Japanese music cool overnight,” Fujii Kaze said. “After that, stylish bands started popping up all over Japan — and I got to ride that wave myself.”

Fujii Kaze

As I’ve noted in previous reports from the Sapporo show with cero and the Niigata show with The Birthday, Suchmos debuted in 2015 and introduced the grooves of acid jazz, neo-soul, and their roots — soul, jazz, hip-hop, funk, and R&B — fused with rock and Japanese-language singing, bringing it all to a mainstream Japanese audience. What Fujii Kaze said was a powerful, firsthand testament to how he himself is part of the J-pop lineage that Suchmos helped reshape.

YONCE, Suchmos’ vocalist, responded:
“When he was a teenager — ‘a kid from Okayama,’ as he put it — the music of Suchmos, a six-piece band that never quite wanted to grow up, a band that started out just wanting to do exactly what we wanted, reached him through the internet, CDs, or whatever format — there are so many ways to access music these days. And from that, this guy on an unimaginable scale showed up. Being someone’s gateway to music like that — that makes me genuinely proud.”

YONCE (vocals／Suchmos)

■Fujii Kaze: A Person Whose Entire Being Is Music and Who Speaks Through Melody

Fujii Kaze

Now let’s look back at each set from the evening — including, of course, that special collaboration at the end.

Fujii Kaze opened the night. The last time I saw him perform was at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 on June 13, where he was dressed in a black suit and tie. Tonight he appeared in a relaxed outfit — a long-sleeved shirt under a white tee, track pants with yellow vertical stripes, and white sneakers.

Fujii Kaze

One of the special touches of the evening: a backdrop had been prepared with “Fujii Kaze” rendered in a stencil-style font modeled after the Suchmos logo. During doors, the same white Suchmos logo backdrop with “The Blow Your Mind” in red that had been used at previous shows was hanging — but the moment Fujii Kaze appeared, it was swapped out for the Fujii Kaze version. A backdrop featuring the guest artist’s logo appeared only at the Tokyo show, out of all nine cities.

Fujii Kaze

Stepping into white light, Fujii Kaze opened with “Nan-Nan” (performed in a condensed one-and-a-half-song format — verse one plus the final chorus), then smoothly transitioned to “Mo-Eh-Wa” at the grand piano, also in the same format. With “Shinunoga E-Wa” that followed — leaning against the piano as he sang — and every song after, the entire crowd knew every word and sang along.

Fujii Kaze

From that moment on, I couldn’t help but feel that Fujii Kaze was someone whose entire being is music. Music flows through him from head to toe — he and music seem to be one and the same. There’s no sense of him trying to accomplish something with music, or trying to control it. It’s more like the energy and emotion running through him simply pours out, and what we hear is the sound and song that result.

During “Matsuri,” he set down the mic stand and moved his arms freely with the music. During “Kirari” — which he introduced by saying, “Maybe our biggest thing in common is that we’ve both done the same CM song. So here’s ‘STAY TUNE.’” — he danced with shuffling steps, arms spinning, finishing with a peace sign held high. At the end of “damn,” he stood on one leg with arms outstretched, with a touch of playfulness. And even at the piano, he was completely natural and free, as though the piano were simply an extension of himself.

Fujii Kaze

Fujii Kaze

And with every one of those moments, the crowd erupted. For a moment, it felt like witnessing the kind of fan frenzy you see in Beatles documentaries — or, more recently, in the film Michael. The feeling of being present for something historic was palpable.

Fujii Kaze is a person whose entire being is music. He’s also someone who can speak through melody. From “Nan-Nan” to “Prema” at the end, there were many moments when he let his voice carry wordless melodies, and even in those moments, you could feel love, prayer, sometimes grief, and the pure ecstasy of music. He doesn’t need words — he can express his heart through melody and voice alone. That’s why Fujii Kaze’s music crosses language barriers and reaches listeners around the world.

The middle section rocked the venue with a heavier band sound. “damn” opened with a sharp guitar intro from guitarist Duran, and he and bassist KOBY SHY came to the front to fire up the crowd. Drummer Saji Norihide pounded the kit with a punky drive, and keyboardist Jun Miyakawa stood up to play — this was “Tabiji,” a powerful mid-set highlight.

Duran (support guitar)

KOBY SHY (support bass)

Saji Norihide (support drums)

Jun Miyakawa (support keyboards)

The closing stretch, which began with “You” gently wrapping the entire audience in warmth — introduced with the words “This song is for you” — was built around three tracks from his latest album Prema. The setlist traced a path through Fujii Kaze’s discography from “Nan-Nan” to songs from Prema, and throughout, his singing seemed to awaken with every song. He opened “Okay, Goodbye” with these words: “Everything that’s alive has an ending. That’s exactly why we should cherish each moment, be grateful for the small things. Today has been truly special — and even when this time is over, I hope we can keep moving forward together, quietly appreciating the little things around us.” The vocal power he brought to that song felt like a blessing for everyone in the room — and a celebration of how each person chooses to live.

Fujii Kaze

He made a move as if to leave the stage, then came back: “I’m not going yet.” He added, “I’ll sing just one more song — but I want you all to sing along too.” And so “Prema” began. Though the song sometimes features a full choir, tonight it was just a four-piece band — which meant every audience member sang as though they themselves were part of the choir, belting out “Prema” with confidence. Fujii Kaze smiled: “You all can really sing.” When a song about not losing self-love rings out this big, this wide, this loud — you start to believe that one by one, people are finding their way to loving themselves, finding richness in their hearts, and that society as a whole might quietly be nudging toward something better.

Fujii Kaze walked the full length of the stage, taking in the audience, spinning around, and disappeared into the wings. Suchmos then took the stage — YONCE bowing longer and deeper than usual — and opened with “Pacific,” as if carrying forward the prayerful tone Fujii Kaze had left in the air. On the line, “Riding the wave, Suchmo day by day,” YONCE reached toward his five bandmates, sweeping his gaze across them all as if introducing his bandmates to the audience, or as though telling them to ride the waves of sound together and surrender themselves to the journey called life.

Fujii Kaze

Fujii Kaze

Fujii Kaze

■Suchmos Reach New Heights on the Tour’s Final Night

This tour changed the setlist not just for each guest, but for each individual show. For this finale — the culmination of all 18 performances — they selected what you might call a “best of 11” from their most-performed songs of the tour, excluding “A.G.I.T.,” which had been played the previous night. Without a doubt, it marked the highest point of the tour.

Suchmos

YONCE (vocals／Suchmos)

TAIKING (guitar／Suchmos)

Ren Yamamoto (bass／Suchmos)

From the very first night, Suchmos had been embodying what it means to be a truly singular live band — playing with all the skill and freedom that defines them. I had already felt that their live sound, across 13 years as a band and 11 years since their debut, was in the best shape it had ever been. The finale surpassed even that impression with ease. The band’s groove, YONCE’s deep and rich vocals, and everyone supporting the show—from the sound and lighting crews to the rest of the staff (YONCE even took a moment during “Life Easy” to say, “Please give a big round of applause to the many staff members working behind the scenes that you’ve never seen. We’re only up here because of them”)—all that passion and skill came together to create something explosive.

OK (drums／Suchmos)

Kaiki Ohara (DJ／Suchmos)

TAIHEI (keyboards／Suchmos)

That said, what exactly is “the band’s groove,” and what changed within Suchmos over the course of this tour? I’ll explore that in depth in the final article.

One moment that made me genuinely laugh: “STAY TUNE.” The song usually begins with that iconic opening note and drummer OK driving in hard on the drums. But from the fifth city — Sapporo — OK had started playing it with a bon odori-style rhythm (in Sapporo it was just OK’s drums and TAIKING’s distorted guitar, so it wasn’t quite full-on bon odori yet), and by the sixth city — Sendai — it had fully morphed into that rhythm, with YONCE adding calls like “ara yotto” and “STAY TUNE Ondo da yo~.” By the final night, YONCE had begun singing along to OK’s rhythm with an enka-style vocal flourish: “Ah~ sore, STAY TUNE in Tokyo Friday Night.” I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He then followed it up with, “Here’s ‘Kirari’!” — a playful callback to Fujii Kaze’s earlier joke. The encore was full of surprises as well.

Suchmos

First, YONCE announced, “I had something clever prepared to say, but I forgot, so I’m going to take a moment to remember,” and stepped into a “thinking time.” TAIHEI (Suchmos keyboardist) started improvising on piano, the other members joined in for an impromptu session, and YONCE weaved his own made-up words — “sorry, I can’t remember,” “it makes no sense” — into the music, singing them soulfully. It was a perfect encapsulation of Suchmos: musical love, skill, and total freedom.

There was also a brief pause during the encore to help an audience member who had fainted. Afterward, YONCE simply said, “How about something a little elegant then” — just those few words — and TAIHEI began playing a clear, serene melody, completely shifting the atmosphere in the room.

YONCE (vocals／Suchmos)

Suchmos

■Suchmos and Fujii Kaze Collaborate on “Miree” During the Encore

The first encore song held a very special moment. YONCE introduced Fujii Kaze as “the Shohei Ohtani of the music world — someone who can effortlessly command both the piano and his voice,” and Fujii Kaze joined the six members of Suchmos to perform “Miree” together (the night before, the collaboration had been “MINT”).

YONCE (vocals／Suchmos)

YONCE took the lead vocal in the first verse with Fujii Kaze harmonizing on the chorus; they swapped for the second verse. Suchmos’ melodies and sound suited Fujii Kaze so naturally that it was undeniable — just as he himself had said — that there is something genuinely connecting what he does back to Suchmos. In the outro, TAIKING wove in a phrase from Fujii Kaze’s “Seishun Sick,” and Fujii Kaze blended that into his singing, creating a spontaneous “Miree × Seishun Sick” mashup — a rare treat for the audience. Fujii Kaze threw an arm around YONCE’s shoulder on the “we are ape” line in the second chorus; on his way off, he shook TAIKING’s hand with real force. After Fujii Kaze left the stage, YONCE said quietly, with feeling, “I’m so happy. Truly.” The whole stage was filled with genuine love and mutual respect from beginning to end.

Suchmos & Fujii Kaze

YONCE often says in his MCs that “we don’t need to become one” — and on this night, his words were: “Are we maybe becoming one right now? Let’s remain separate, just as we are. I believe the future of this planet depends on how different from each other we can remain.” If there’s one more thing Suchmos and Fujii Kaze share, it’s this — that it’s okay to be exactly who you are. Don’t give in to the pressure to conform. Don’t do things to beat someone, be recognized, or get evaluated. Don’t let yourself be bound by things that weigh you down. Live your own life. Put down what burdens you, lighten your heart. Love yourself. Believe what you choose to believe. Keep moving until the journey ends. That light — illuminating each person’s way of being — scattered and reflected in every direction through the music of both artists.

Suchmos

The night closed with YONCE’s send-off: “Here’s a song about taking it easy. Thank you — we’re Suchmos” — and “Life Easy” carried the audience out. The line “Live not for anyone else, but for yourself” seemed to carry more weight than ever. And when it was all over, the members embraced each other on stage. That moment said everything about how full and meaningful ‘Suchmos The Blow Your Mind TOUR 2026’ had been.

Text by Yukako Yajima
Live photos by Tomoyuki Kawakami, Yosuke Kamiyama
Translation Supervision by Yuko “DORAMI” Soutome

Suchmos

Suchmos

■Setlist

‘Suchmos The Blow Your Mind TOUR 2026’
2026.07.02 at Zepp Haneda, Tokyo

Fujii Kaze Setlist
01.Nan-Nan
02.Mo-Eh-Wa
03.Shinunoga E-Wa
04.Matsuri
05.Kirari
06.damn
07.Tabiji
08.You
09.Okay, Goodbye
10.Prema

Suchmos Setlist
01.Pacific
02.MINT
03.Alright
04.DUMBO
05.Whole of Flower
06.Marry
07.YMM
08.STAY TUNE
09.GAGA
10.VOLT-AGE
[Encore]
01.Miree feat. Fujii Kaze
02.Life Easy

■Suchmos New Tour: First Nationwide Arena Tour in 8 Years ‘Suchmos BAY SIDE TOUR 2027’

03/13 (Sat) Sendai, Miyagi · XEBIO Arena Sendai
03/14 (Sun) Sendai, Miyagi · XEBIO Arena Sendai
04/16 (Fri) Fukuoka · Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B
04/17 (Sat) Fukuoka · Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B
04/24 (Sat) Yokohama, Kanagawa · K Arena Yokohama
04/25 (Sun) Yokohama, Kanagawa · K Arena Yokohama
05/01 (Sat) Kobe, Hyogo · GLION ARENA KOBE
05/02 (Sun) Kobe, Hyogo · GLION ARENA KOBE
https://w.pia.jp/t/suchmos-tour2027/