That’s a wrap on Fuji Rock 2023! This is only my second ever Fuji Rock but this weekend was such a wildly different experience compared to last year. I loved being able to see both flavors of the festival!

Out of all of the phenomenal acts this year here were my favorites from the weekend:

Lexie Liu
After a full day of travel, I was ready for a chill day 0 in preparation for the long weekend, but Lexie Liu had other plans for me. I stumbled upon her set at Red Marquee and she immediately had my full attention! Especially because Red Marquee can sometimes muddle the artists’ diction, I was especially fond of Liu including lyrics (and translations!) of all of her songs on the background screen. A nice touch for anyone with auditory processing issues and a surefire way for new fans to easily add songs they like to their playlists (which is exactly what I did).

Chilli Beans.
Fans of Paramore’s more pop sounding music would adore Chilli Beans. These ladies ooze such an effortlessly cool aura that I’m already dreaming of seeing them live again! It’s been mentioned before but the four person drum solo? I gasped. Moto, Maika and Lily’s chemistry on stage is so engaging that it reawakens everyone’s childhood dream of being in a band with your best friends.

Caroline Polachek
It was so fun to sing along with Polachek’s iconic vocal riffs! Her choreography was so dynamic, her look was to die for, her vibes were immaculate… I could go on and on. I’d yet to go to a Fuji Rock show where the main performer calls up another artist who is also performing that weekend, so when Polachek called Weyes Blood to the stage it was truly a glorious moment. I will be thinking about this set for years to come and I am not exaggerating!

100 gecs
100 gecs sounds like what it feels like to grow up in gen z internet culture. It just scratches that itch. It is the exact type of music best consumed at dangerous volumes and sung with as much aggression as possible. All this to say, it is really fantastic concert music! The audience knew they were signing up for a silly goofy time which really just made the experience all the better in my opinion.

Lizzo
Lizzo’s set fully felt like I was seeing her on a leg of her own tour. There were beautiful set pieces, backup dancers, costume changes and of course her band consisting of only lesbians, the Lizzbians. Every last second of this set was handled with love and care! Even when the microphone stand was being put on stage, it was danced on stage and artfully set down by one of the dancers. And let’s not forget Lizzo’s “life long dream” of reenacting the Sailor Moon transformation sequence. So iconic.