SGC Hall Ariake

Sparks and Cornelius will take the stage together at the new SGC Hall in Ariake this May as part of the venue’s opening celebrations. Sparks, which features brothers Russel and Ron Mael, have evaded categorisation for the better part of 60 years. They’re widely referred to as your favourite band’s favourite band, and their fingerprints are all over popular tracks from early electronic artists like New Order to rock and pop stalwarts like the Smiths, the Ramones and Björk. Sparks have a long history with Japan, and this will be their second visit to the country in as many years since the release of their 2025 UK No 2 album MAD! – the duo’s 26th. Co-headlining the performance will be Cornelius, a mainstay of Japan’s indie and experimental scene since the late ’80s. He has made no secret of his appreciation for Sparks, having remixed two of the latter’s tracks last year, and has hinted at a special tribute to the band during his performance on May 5.

The newly opened SGC Hall in Ariake will host an Avengers-level meeting of the minds between neo-soul outfit Hiatus Kaiyote and jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy in May. Sure to feature more polyrhythms than you can shake a stick at, the special double hander is part of a broader series of programming from Blue Note Tokyo, also set to feature Boz Scaggs and Sadao Watanabe over three nights. Hiatus Kaiyote will be following up on regular headline appearances in the country since the release of their 2024 album Love Heat Cheat Code. For Snarky Puppy, who released a live collaboration largely written in Japan with Metropole Orkest late last year, this will be their first non-festival appearance here in a while.