After cancellations had been imposed on Japanese outdoor festivals with the outbreak of Covid-19—followed by restrictions (including masks to be worn)—finally this year all regulations were lifted, and large-scale rock festivals returned to the annual calendar.
Japan Jam 2023 was no exception. The event is held over Japan’s Golden Week holidays, and sets out to honor the best rock music performed by domestic musicians. Artists are drawn from alternative, indie, metal and other rock music genres, and this year the festival saw a record number of participants.
But Chiba City Soga Sports Park, where Japan Jam takes place, is surrounded by heavily populated residential and commercial areas. And so with the lifting of restrictions, and requirement for a higher SPL to be reinstated, emphasis needed to be placed on tight noise control, to prevent sound from escaping into the adjoining neighborhood. To counter this, Japan Jam 2023 needed to adopt a far from conventional approach...
