BAND-MAID Embarks on 10th Anniversary North American Tour

Celebrating their 10 year anniversary, Japanese rock band BAND-MAID will be going on tour starting this spring. The tour will travel the U.S. mid-May, starting in Houston, TX and heading east to St. Louis, MO by the end of the month. After taking a quick break, the tour will return stateside again in Chicago in August, before moving west to Anaheim, CA, and wrapping up in Mexico City mid-August.

Forming in 2013, BAND-MAID is a five-member, all-female Japanese rock band known for their unique music and maid outfit aesthetic. The band was created by guitarist and vocalist Miku Kobato, who previously worked in a Japanese maid cafe and had the idea to create a group based on the contrasting image of the maid visuals with unexpected rock music. In addition to Kobato, the group is comprised of vocalist Saiki Atsumi, guitarist Kanami Tono, bassist Misa, and drummer Akane Hirose. The band released their first mini album, Maid in Japan, in 2014, but it wasn’t until April 2015 that they truly caught the public’s attention. Their music video for “Thrill” hit one million views after a post by Internet radio station Jrock Radio, and their second mini album, New Beginning, entered the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart at number 64. This led to the group’s first promotional tour and consequently their first sold out concert that same year.

Continuing the momentum, the group’s first full length album, Just Bring It, was released in January 2017 and peaked at number 16 on the same chart. From there, the group began to promote more internationally, appearing at the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan and embarking on their 2018 world tour. In 2020, their fourth full-length album, Unseen World, debuted at number 8 on the Oricon weekly album charts and number 1 on the Oricon weekly rock albums chart, making it their highest charting album thus far. In late 2022, the group went on their second U.S. tour, and just last year, the group released an EP titled Unleash, with the lead single “Sense.” The group was also here in the states earlier this year, acting as the opening act for Japanese rock mega-group, The Last Rockstars.

2023 Tour Dates & Venues
May 14 — Houston, TX — Bayou Music Center
May 15 — Austin, TX — Emo’s
May 18 — Daytona, FL — Welcome to Rockville Festival
May 19 — Atlanta, GA — Buckhead Theater
May 21 —  Nashville, TN — Brooklyn Bowl
May 22 — Charlotte, NC — The Underground
May 24 — Detroit, MI — St Andrews Hall
May 26 — Columbus, OH — Sonic Temple Festival
May 27 — St. Louis, MO — Point Fest Radio Show
Aug 4 — Chicago, IL — Lollapalooza
Aug 6 — Minneapolis, MN — Varsity Theater
Aug 8 — Denver, CO — Summit
Aug 9 — Salt Lake City, UT — THE Depot
Aug 11 — Portland, OR — Crystal Ballroom
Aug 12 — Spokane, WA — Bing Crosby Theater
Aug 14 — Sacramento, CA — Ace of Spades
Aug 15 — Anaheim, CA — House of Blues Anaheim
Aug 18 — Mexico City, Mexico — PABELLÓN OESTE