Japanese Breakfast Shine Bright in Manchester with Folky Vibes and Indie Flair

Isobel Eve Scott
Jul 5
2 min read

Manchester Academy 29th June 2025

IMAGES / WORDS ISOBEL EVE SCOTT

Japanese Breakfast Shine Bright in Manchester with Folky Vibes and Indie Flair — **Japanese Breakfast**

Headlining Manchester Academy tonight is indie rock act Japanese Breakfast, a band I constantly get confused with another from the same genre: The Japanese House. I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s made this mix-up, and I’m hoping tonight will leave me with a strong enough impression to stop confusing the two!

Having just played the Park Stage at Glastonbury yesterday—their first time at the festival after a cancellation in 2022—the band has immediately set out on a UK tour, starting right here in Manchester. Japanese Breakfast has been touring since April off the back of their latest album, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women), released in March this year. The tour continues until late September, wrapping up at Soundside Music Festival in Connecticut.

Opening tonight’s show is Minhwi Lee, who has travelled all the way from Korea to support the UK leg of the tour. Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast met Minhwi while living in Korea last year and became a huge fan of her music.

Minhwi plays her entire set from behind an electric piano, accompanied by a musician on acoustic guitar. Together, they create an almost haunting atmosphere with her gorgeous, folky sound. All of her music is sung in Korean, and it’s an absolute joy to listen to her voice.

Infuriatingly, I can hear the entire back of the room chatting during her set. Regardless, I’m still able to enjoy the performance and appreciate her talent.

Between sets, the merch queue snakes so far around the venue that I have to push through it just to get to the bathroom.

Finally, the lights dim and Japanese Breakfast takes the stage. Having been described to me as an indie rock band, I’m surprised by how folky they sound at the beginning of their set. As the show progresses, they lean more into an indie sound—‘Mega Circuit’ in particular really draws me in. It’s not lost on me how talented and varied the live band is. I spot a saxophone, a violin, and even a mandolin being brought out at times, all serving their respective songs wonderfully.

I usually have a hard time with the sound in this venue, but it’s generally been okay tonight—though some bass does occasionally drown out the higher guitar and vocal melodies. Michelle’s voice is quite soft at times, and it’s a shame when it slips under the instrumentals. That said, her vocals shine in Be Sweet, a gorgeously ’80s-sounding track with a real groove.

They close the set with ‘Diving Woman’, a song that strangely reminds me of something Suede might have released in their heyday. There’s a couple near me slow dancing, and I find myself getting really into the track too.