Band-Maid, 2013–2026: Career Timeline and What Comes After the Hiatus

Band-Maid, the all-female Japanese hard rock band formed in Tokyo in July 2013, reaches its 13th year with the same five members and a world tour that ends with two shows at the Nippon Budokan on November 13 and 14, 2026.

Formation (2013–2015)

Guitarist and vocalist Miku Kobato, a former maid café employee, founded the band in July 2013 with the concept of pairing maid-café imagery with hard rock. Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno, drummer Akane Hirose and bassist Misa completed the first lineup, which played its first show on July 24, 2013. The group then auditioned a lead singer, and Saiki Atsumi joined. The five-piece made its debut at the P Festival at Shibuya-AX on August 22, 2013, and signed to Gump Records the same year.

The debut mini-album, Maid in Japan, came out in January 2014, followed by the first one-man show at Shibuya Milkyway on February 8, 2014. The single “Ai to Jōnetsu no Matador” followed in August 2014, and the second mini-album, New Beginning, in November 2015. Through 2014 and 2015 the band played regularly at Tokyo clubs.

Major label and first overseas tours (2016–2019)

The third mini-album, Brand New Maid, released in May 2016 on Nippon Crown’s Crown Stones label, was the band’s major-label debut. A tour in October and November 2016 took the group to Mexico, Hong Kong and six European countries. The first full-length album, Just Bring It, followed in January 2017.

World Domination (February 2018) reached No. 9 on the weekly Oricon albums chart. Conqueror (December 2019) debuted at No. 9 on the same chart and at No. 1 on Oricon’s rock albums chart; it includes “The Dragon Cries,” produced by Tony Visconti. In the United States it entered Billboard’s Heatseekers chart at No. 19. In 2019 the band signed with Revolver Records for Japan.

Pony Canyon, the pandemic years and Unleash (2020–2022)

In late 2020 the band left Revolver Records and signed with Pony Canyon. The single “Different,” released in December 2020, served as the opening theme of the anime Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table. Unseen World, the first album for Pony Canyon, was released in January 2021 and debuted at No. 8 on the weekly Oricon albums chart.

The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the band’s planned 2020 Zepp tour and its 2021 Nippon Budokan performances. “Sense” came out in October 2021 and the Unleash EP on September 21, 2022.

10th anniversary and Lollapalooza (2023)

The band marked its 10th anniversary in 2023 with a global tour that included four major international festivals. On August 4 it played Lollapalooza Chicago before about 20,000 people, the first Japanese band on the festival’s lineup since X JAPAN 13 years earlier. The single “Shambles,” the ending theme of the anime Kengan Ashura season 2, was released the same day.

Two compilation albums, 10th Anniversary Best Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, came out on August 2, 2023. The anniversary tour ended on November 26, 2023, at Yokohama Arena, where the band played to 8,000 people in a show streamed worldwide.

Epic Narratives, collaborations and Scooooop (2024–2025)

In 2024 the band released “Bestie,” co-written with Mike Einziger of Incubus, and opened for Incubus in Tokyo on May 1. On June 12 it played a joint show in Tokyo with the Mexican band The Warning, premiering their collaboration “Show Them.” Epic Narratives, the band’s eighth studio album and its first in three years and eight months, was released on September 25, 2024, and charted internationally. A Zepp tour in November 2024, originally planned for 2020, ended with two nights at Zepp Haneda on November 25 and 26.

In 2025 the band contributed songs to three anime series and released the EP Scooooop on October 22. It was named ambassador for Japan’s Record Day 2025, with vinyl editions of Unseen World, Unleash and Epic Narratives released on November 1. According to its official profile, the band’s YouTube channel has more than 250 million views. The sold-out Tour 2025 finale at Tokyo Garden Theater was where the band announced its 2026 world tour.

World Tour 2026, the Budokan finale and the hiatus

Band-Maid World Tour 2026 began on March 20 in Hong Kong and includes a Megaport Festival appearance in Kaohsiung on March 22, Japanese dates, a European leg in June (Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris and London) and a Taipei show on September 20. On May 10, at Zepp Haneda in Tokyo, the band announced the single “Energetic,” released on June 24. It is the band’s first physical single since “Sense” in 2021. The North American leg, with shows between October 3 and 14 in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and Phoenix, is under way.

The tour ends with two nights at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on November 13 and 14. The November 14 show is sold out. The band had planned Budokan performances in 2021, which the pandemic cancelled.

After the finale, the band will pause live performances. Its members will keep producing music during the break, and the band plans to return in 2028 for its 15th anniversary.