Build Your Own Summer Sonic 2026 Hitster Pack with Hitify

In less than two weeks, one of the world's most unique music festivals kicks off in Japan. Summer Sonic 2026 returns to Tokyo (Makuhari Messe) and Osaka (Intex Osaka) on August 15-16, bringing together the biggest international acts across rock, pop, electronic, and indie music on multiple stages running simultaneously in two cities at once.

Summer Sonic has been Japan's premier international music showcase since 2000. What makes it special is the sheer range, from indie darlings to global pop superstars, all performing for Japanese audiences who travel hundreds of kilometres to be part of it. It is the one festival where you might see a rock legend on the main stage and catch an emerging pop act on the beach stage within the same afternoon.

With Hitify, you can identify every song you hear, log the ones that hit hardest, and turn the Summer Sonic experience into a custom Hitster card pack your friends will be playing all autumn.

What is Summer Sonic?

Summer Sonic is Japan's answer to Glastonbury or Lollapalooza. It was founded in 2000 and has grown into a two-city event with simultaneous stages in Tokyo and Osaka, linked in real time so fans in both cities share the same lineup. The Marine Stage (indoor arena), Mountain Stage, Sonic Stage, and Rainbow Stage each host different genres, creating a festival within a festival.

Past headliners include Muse, The Killers, Green Day, Blur, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Gorillaz, Adele, Foster the People, and Radiohead. The festival is famous for attracting acts who rarely tour Japan, making it a once-in-a-decade chance for many Japanese fans to see their heroes live.

Summer Sonic 2026 continues that tradition with another internationally stacked lineup across two August weekends in Tokyo and Osaka.

What is Hitster?

Hitster is the card game where you guess the release year of songs. Each card has a QR code that plays the real track through your phone. You listen, then try to place the card in the correct chronological position on your personal timeline. Place it correctly and you keep the card. The player with the most cards at the end wins.

The beauty of Hitster is the debate it sparks. Did that song come out before or after that other one? Was it really 2003? With a Summer Sonic themed pack, you are spanning 25 years of international music history, which makes for fiercely competitive rounds.

With Hitify, you can scan any song playing around you to identify it instantly, including the release year. It is the perfect companion for building your own custom pack.

Build Your Summer Sonic Hitster Pack

Here are 12 iconic tracks from Summer Sonic's history that make for a brilliant Hitster pack, spanning from 1997 to 2022:

• "Song 2" - Blur (1997) - the "woo-hoo" anthem that still detonates every crowd, Blur headlined Summer Sonic 2024
• "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers (2003) - arguably the most singalong indie rock song ever made, The Killers have played Summer Sonic multiple times
• "Time Is Running Out" - Muse (2003) - the riff-driven rock monster from Muse, who headlined Summer Sonic 2013
• "Feel Good Inc." - Gorillaz (2005) - the track that made Gorillaz a global phenomenon, they have been a Summer Sonic staple
• "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day (2005) - Summer Sonic 2025 headliners, this remains one of rock's defining anthems
• "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele (2011) - Adele performed at Summer Sonic 2011 shortly before becoming the biggest artist in the world
• "Somebody That I Used to Know" - Gotye ft. Kimbra (2011) - Summer Sonic 2012, one of the most distinctive songs of the decade
• "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster the People (2011) - the infectious indie pop hit that Summer Sonic audiences went wild for in 2011
• "Bad Guy" - Billie Eilish (2019) - Billie headlined Summer Sonic 2020 before COVID, then returned triumphant in 2025
• "Levitating" - Dua Lipa (2020) - Dua Lipa brought her Future Nostalgia world to Summer Sonic 2022 and blew everyone away
• "As It Was" - Harry Styles (2022) - Summer Sonic 2022 headliner Harry Styles performed this anthem to an audience of thousands
• "drivers license" - Olivia Rodrigo (2021) - the debut single that launched one of the biggest careers in modern pop

These 12 songs cover 1997 to 2022, giving you 25 years of music to sequence correctly. The 2011 cluster alone will spark enormous debate: which came first, Adele, Gotye, or Foster the People?

How to Build Your Pack with Hitify

Building your Summer Sonic Hitster pack with Hitify takes minutes:

• Open Hitify on your phone and let it listen while you play these songs
• It identifies each track instantly with artist name, song title, and release year
• Add each song to your custom Hitster card list
• Print your cards and start playing

You can also use Hitify while watching Summer Sonic livestreams or listening to playlists in the build-up to the festival. Every song you discover is one more card for your pack.

Ready to start? Visit hitify.app and build your Summer Sonic 2026 Hitster pack today.