Yoshiki talks upcoming concerts at Disney Hall, kimonos, advice to artists
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I spoke with Yoshiki, the famed Japanese rock star who lives in Los Angeles.
Upcoming, he is performing two concerts at the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles on July 16 and 17.
https://www.yoshiki.net/disneyhall2026
He also plans on bringing special guests onstage, TBA.
https://www.yoshiki.net
Yoshiki opens up during this interview to talk about a lot of things; artist-entrepreneurs, following your heart as an artist, and the conflict between art vs. commerce. Listen in!
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Yoshiki is arguably Japan’s most famous rock star. The Los Angeles-based musician is known for being leader of the band X Japan and an acclaimed classical musician, as well as for his kimono and wine brands, and for being one of the Time 100: Most Influential People of 2025. He is the founder of Yoshiki Foundation America, has sold over 50 million records, and has collaborated with countless artists, from performing at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center during a surprise appearance with the Jonas Brothers, to Roger Taylor of Queen, Gene Simmons of KISS, Skrillex, Sarah Brightman, and St. Vincent, among others. Recently, he became the first Japanese artist in history to perform at the ancient Nabataean tombs in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, performing an emotional set by the light of thousands of candles.
He will be performing at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on July 16 and 17, 2026, with two performances called "Scarlet Night" (July 16) and "Violet Night” (July 17), at the iconic Frank Gehry-designed landmark theater. The “Classical 2026” tickets are now available to buy on the Yoshiki website [https://www.yoshiki.net/disneyhall2026].
As a composer, pianist and rock star, Yoshiki is busy. He just performed the Japanese national anthem [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6xq6O64N-s] at the Suzuka Circuit (the Formula One Grand Prix in Japan), then a few days later, flew to Los Angeles to play the American national anthem at Dodger Stadium [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy09dC24BLw].
“To make a long story short, I had neck surgery in 2024, so I had to take a break for a year or a little longer,” said Yoshiki, who recently held his comeback show in Japan. This upcoming show in Los Angeles marks the US return of Yoshiki live in America.
“It will be like a poetic interpretation of 'sound as visual' and 'visual as sound',” he said. “People don’t know this yet, but I have special guests planned to come out during the concert. It's still too early to talk about.”
Yoshiki is famous for playing a Kawai crystal piano, though he also sometimes plays a Shigeru Kawai concert grand piano. “I’m thinking of playing the concert grand piano for the Disney Hall concerts because it's more fitting for those acoustics,” he said.
Yoshiki has played major US venues like Carnegie Hall and Dolby Theater, but this will be the first time he performs at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He then plans on touring, step by step. “This is part of my world tour, but when people say 'world tour', they have like 50 shows a year or 100 shows a year, but I'm not doing that,” he said.
Upcoming shows will be announced in the coming month or two, but shows may be planned towards the end of 2026.
“20 years ago, bands would do back-to-back shows, different nights, in different cities. I think, you know, it's too exhausting,” he said. “I think a lot of people are trying to slow it down, too. I used to do 100 shows or 200 shows a year. But at the same time, is it good for the artist mentally? I also do charity work. I have my own nonprofit foundation called Yoshiki Foundation America, and I try to support mental health causes through that as well.”
Yoshiki adds: “I'm experimenting with a slower paced world tour, which financially isn't very practical, because when you do back-to-back shows, financially it's the most practical and efficient way to tour
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