The stage is swathed in blue, smoke is pouring out and Kaho Nakamura starts her set with hauntingly beautiful vocals. The audience is buzzing with the knowledge that they are witnessing something masterful. Established in 2012, Japanese singer/songwriter Kaho Nakamura left the Field of Heaven audience in awe on the last day of Fuji Rock 2022.

She began her set alone on the stage accompanying herself on the piano. Her performance was so consuming that the crowd was itching to applaud and show their love. There was no time for this however, as she jumped straight from one song into the next by bridging the songs together with some improvised vocalization. Once the first act finished the applause was uproarious. The rest of the band finally trickled out as things settled down. Nakamura collected herself before admitting that she had been focusing really hard during that whole sequence.

Nakamura continued to prove her genius artistry with the way she directed her band and backup chorus. It really was like watching a conductor rather than a solo artist the way she commanded different parts of the band. Although she was doing the most singing and performing, she stepped back to let other members of her crew shine. It was really amazing to see some of her very talented chorus take the lead on certain vocals. For example, one of the singers, Azumi Takahashi, took lead vocals to belt the finale of a song with a power Nakamura said she needed help with. Her drummer and bassist also got stand out moments where their volume was turned up in the speakers. For one piece, Nakamura pulled the chorus’ starting pitch out of thin air which was a very subtle display of talent. Given this and her incredible pitch accuracy I would not be surprised if Nakamura had perfect pitch. (For those who don’t know, perfect pitch is very rare and VERY impressive.)

With all of her talent, she still managed to come off as very humble and earnest. The audience was fully taken by her, laughing after each comment she made. Everyone was enraptured by her artistry and charm.

Everything in Nakamura’s set just seemed so tastefully done. It had the touch of a true musician to it all.