{
  "id": 750478,
  "title": "The man behind 25 years of Summer Sonic",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/the-man-behind-25-years-of-summer-sonic",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-13T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/08/13/music/summer-sonic-25th-anniversary-creativeman/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Summer Sonic, a renowned summer music festival, began its journey in 2000 with just two stages and drew over 15,000 fans. The event, helmed by Naoki Shimizu of Creativeman Productions, saw a sold-out turnout for its inaugural year when Green Day headlined. Recognizing the need to expand, Shimizu introduced additional stages the following year. Today, Summer Sonic continues to thrive, with its 25th edition set to take place concurrently in Chiba and Osaka. The festival will feature 199 artists over the weekend, a testament to its enduring popularity.",
  "summary": "Naoki Shimizu reflects on 25 years of Summer Sonic, from Green Day and broken AC to 300,000 fans.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}