“Tokyo Band Summit 2009 vs. Asian Beat GRAND FINAL”Bands Competing in the Grand Final Have Been Selected

“Asia’s No. 1 Band Competition” with the Participation of Representative Amateur Bands from 11 Countries and Regions

Yamaha Corporation (Headquarters: 10-1, Nakazawa-cho, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture; President: Mitsuru Umemura; hereinafter, Yamaha) will sponsor an event, “Asia’s No. 1 Amateur Band Competition,” with the participation of representative young amateur bands from Japan and 11 other countries and regions in Asia. The title of the event will be “Tokyo Band Summit 2009 vs. Asian Beat,” and it will be held on November 8 (Sunday) in the National Convention Hall of Yokohama. The 13 bands that will participate in the Grand Final have recently been selected.

In “Tokyo Band Summit 2009 vs. Asian Beat,” the top three winners from Japan and the top winners from 10 countries and regions in Asia and elsewhere (China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand) will each perform an original piece, and the top band in Asia will be decided in what might be called the “Amateur Band Asian No. 1 Competition.” The event will take place at the time of the 2009 Musical Instruments Fair, which will also be held in the National Convention Hall of Yokohama from November 5 through November 8. A total of about 5,000 participants are expected to attend, including members of the general public (for whom admission is free), the bands, and their supporters.

The number of bands from Japan participating in the competition was 652. The total number from countries and regions other than Japan amounted to about 1,000. In addition, the number of persons expressing a desire to attend the event has exceeded 3,000.

The participating bands have received the support and cooperation of the embassies and consulates of their respective countries or regions, and a highly international support rivalry is expected, which will be appropriate as a part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Yokohama to foreign trade, which is being held around this time. Please note that bassist Billy Sheehan of the popular band “Mr. Big,” which re-formed and got off to a new start this year, will attend as a special judge for the contest. He will participate with the other guest judges in judging the performances and is scheduled to hold a music clinic.

Also, following the Grand Final playoff, a reception will be held in the Marine Lobby on the first floor of the event venue to give band members, their supporters, and the audience the opportunity to meet and talk. At the reception, free copies (limited to 1,000) of a specially prepared CD containing a compilation of performances by the various participating bands will be distributed. In addition, non-profit organization (NPO) corporation NICE (standing for “Never-ending International WorkCamps Exchange”) will collect donations for furthering their tree-planting and global warming prevention activities in the 10 countries and regions represented by the bands in the Grand Final event.

The bands that will appear in the event are as follows:In addition, on the day of the event, TOKYO MX, a TV broadcasting station, will record the proceedings and is scheduled to air a special feature program on the Grand Final.

For further information, overseas media representatives should contact

Corporate Communications Division

YAMAHA CORPORATION

17-11, Takanawa 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8568, Japan

• Telephone: +81-(0)3-5488-6605
• Facsimile: +81-(0)3-5488-5063