City Pop Waves 2026: Masayoshi Takanaka

Returning to London just 4 months after his previous sold-out shows at the O2 Academy Brixton, Masayoshi Takanaka showed just how far his fans are willing to go to see the 73-year-old legend. The weather added to the experience, with a clear sky and warm breeze, perfect for a tropical evening of tunes. 

Crystal Palace Bowl is a lovely venue, the park itself makes for some especially nice sights before shows. Even inside the concert bowl it continued to shine, with even what my friend pointed out as a “knockoff Tokyo tower” in the background — this instead being the Crystal Palace transmitting station.

Opening the festival we had Ginger Root, performing a DJ set full of city pop bangers, starting quite laid back with EPO’s ‘Girl in me’. Although slow-paced, the tunes were still more than enough to get the crowd worked up, and even managed to inspire a couple of crowd surfers. About halfway into his set, the vibe shifted almost instantly, with ‘Les aventures de TINTIN’ rallying the crowd and convincing those not dancing to join in.

With just a five-minute interval in between, Himiko Kikuchi joined the stage shortly after to perform one of the most adored jazz-fusion albums of all time in its entirety; Flying Beagle. The horn section filled the stage, a team of six members where in any other show, the band’s lead would have stood, with Kikuchi instead being tucked away into the back corner at her piano. It makes a change that the backing instrumentals get a chance to shine, but it was certainly a welcome one. Every single song was beautifully layered, and executed flawlessly. It is rare to see an artist look so joyous during their set, but Kiuchi’s smile didn’t leave her face from start to finish. Even during the technical piano solos, she still made it clear to the crowd that she couldn’t be any more thankful. 

And then it was finally time for the man that everyone was waiting for, the legendary Masayoshi Takanaka, coming back to London for the second time to reclaim his throne, this time with an extended 2-hour set. This had everything a Takanaka fan could want, starting on ‘Brasilian Skies’, instantly sending the crowd into a frenzy whipping out not one, but two papayas, before following this with ‘Beleze Puza’, and ‘Mambo No.5 (Disco Dango)’. Takanaka is a man who knows what fans want, and executed this perfectly, even including some of his lesser known songs, such as ‘Finger Dancin’ and ‘Nagisa Moderato’, which were welcome surprises which caught the majority of fans off guard. 

His backup instrumentalists and vocalists were loving being in the moment, joking around with hats and bug nets during one of Takanaka’s more intimate moments with the crowd. Takanaka’s stage presence was something special. At 73 he still managed to dart from corner to corner of the stage, ensuring equally that every fan had the same experience. The widespread adoration which fans have was also teased at by him teasing a Wembley 2027 date, though it remains to be seen if this was tongue in cheek.

Just as it seemed Takanaka was winding down, his iconic surfboard-shaped guitar arrived on stage and he began to play  ‘Jumping Take off’. A true spectacle in person, the craftsmanship which had gone into place the instrument was awe-inspiring. Overall, that singular performance captured the entire show: a well-curated experience, showing his fizzing range of style. From rock, to jazz, to city pop, Takanaka is a legend who can do it all.