In recent years, the musical ensemble Minyo Crusaders have regularly made trips to Europe for summer tours, and this summer is no exception. If our calculations are correct, this will be the fifth European tour for the group of musicians, who continue their mission to keep min’yō (traditional Japanese folk music) alive. The European tour kicks off on 11 July and includes nine shows at festivals in five countries, including Slovakia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain.
After releasing Echoes of Japan, Minyo Crusaders’ debut album in 2017 (and a reissue by Mais Um in 2019), it was followed up in 2020 with a mini-album, Minyo Cumbiero, on which Minyo Crusaders joined forces with Colombian cumbia radicals Frente Cumbiero to focus on combining Japanese folk songs with Colombian styles. They also released another digital live album from their performance at Le Guess Who? in 2019. The long-awaited second album, 日本民謡珍道中 (Nihon Minyo Chindochu (Tour of Japan)), was released in November 2023 and got a vinyl release last June (via 180g).
The first time the group was in Europe for a tour, we had the chance to interview Katsumi Tanaka, guitarist and co-founder of Minyo Crusaders, to talk about the start of the group, combining min’yo and Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian rhythms, and the challenges of the group.
Minyo Crusaders European Tour 2025
Friday 11 July, 2025: Pohoda Festival – Trenčín, Slovakia
Saturday 12 July, 2025: Cactus Festival – Brugge, Belgium
Sunday 13 July, 2025: Wildeburg Festival – Kraggenburg, Netherlands
Wednesday 16 July, 2025: Valkhof Festival – Nijmegen, Netherlands
Thursday 17 July, 2025: Durchlüften – Berlin, Germany
Saturday 19 July, 2025: Horizonte Festival – Koblenz, Germany
Sunday 20 July, 2025: Holidays Fetival – Frankfurt, Germany
Monday 21 July, 2025: Noches del Botánico – Madrid, Spain
Wednesday 23 July, 2025: Jazzaldia – Donostia, Spain
