Japanese Artist Yoshiki To Make History With Upcoming Saudi Arabia Performance

Yoshiki is set to make history next month. The global star is the first Japanese artist ever to be invited to perform at Hegra, the UNESCO World Heritage site in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.

The once-in-a-lifetime experience is titled “Hegra Candlelit Classics,” and it will be staged against the backdrop of ancient tombs carved into desert rock nearly 2,000 years ago. Yoshiki will have thousands of candles lit to illuminate the night within the archaeological wonder, and the artist will bring his signature sound that blends rock and classical music.

Presale tickets for the special performance are now available at experiencealula.com.

“I am extremely honored and excited to perform at such a historic venue. I owe it all to my fans,” Yoshiki said at an August press conference when the show was announced. He then concluded the announcement by playing a composition of “Endless Rain” on piano and added, “I wish it would rain peace all over the world. I hope to perform this in Saudi Arabia.”

“Hegra Candlelit Classics” will be Yoshiki’s first appearance on an international stage since having undergone his third neck surgery in 2024. Yoshiki, who is repped by WME, has played sold-out shows at iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and London’s Royal Albert Hall. In the past two years, he has cracked Time magazine’s most influential people in the world list.

Trumpet virtuoso Ibrahim Maalouf will open for Yoshiki, and the Japanese star will then be followed by seven-time Grammy Winner Jon Batiste and Marilyne Naaman.

Other artists to grace the stage in Hegra include Andrea Bocelli and Ludovico Einaudi.