Venice, Brought Within Reach by GLAY | An Unforgettable Night Beyond the Music

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of GLAY’s official fan club, HAPPY SWING, the special concert “HAPPY SWING 30th Anniversary GLAY SPECIAL LIVE We♡Happy Swing Vol.4 extra ‘DREAMY’ in VENEZIA” was held in Venice, Italy.

What lay beyond the ocean was more than an overseas concert. The music that had accompanied the passing years intertwined with the long journey to Venice, rekindling the desire to dream of faraway places.

This article looks back on the setlist from GLAY’s Venice concert and the unforgettable scenery that unfolded beyond the music.

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Overview of GLAY's Venice Concert

Date	Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14, 2026
Venue	PALAZZO DEL CASINÒ, SALA PERLA
Location	Venice, Italy / Lido Island
Performance Format	Two performances a day, for a total of four performances
Attended Performance	Saturday, June 13, 2026, 2nd Stage Doors open at 6:00 p.m. / Show starts at 6:30 p.m. (local time)

A Special Day on Lido Island

The performance took place at the “PALAZZO DEL CASINÒ SALA PERLA” on the island of Lido, separated from the main island of Venice by the sea. Unlike the main island of Venice, with its rows of historic buildings, life on Lido flows at a leisurely pace befitting a seaside town.

Walking through town, a water bus terminal was always close by, while a long sandy beach stretched a little farther ahead. On an island poised somewhere between everyday life and a seaside resort, the thought that a GLAY concert was about to begin felt strangely unreal.

Reaching Venice, staying on Lido, and seeing GLAY there still felt like scenes from a dream.

The First Thought: So Close

The moment the stage came into view, only one thought came to mind.

So close.

At large arenas and domes in Japan, GLAY usually seems much farther away. In Venice, the stage was much closer than expected, with almost no barrier between the audience and the performers.

Furthermore, at the start of the show, the members appear from the left and right sides of the audience and walk right past the audience on their way to the stage.

Even with a place worth visiting someday, that “someday” does not easily become reality. Daily life and countless practical concerns had begun to push the dream of a distant country deep into the heart.

GLAY Led the Way to a Faraway Place Once Again

When Distant Lands No Longer Felt Easy to Dream Of

Overseas travel no longer felt as easy to imagine as it once had.

After traveling all the way from Japan to Venice to see them, those final few meters somehow felt as though GLAY were the ones drawing near.

Then came the news that GLAY would perform in Venice.

Not Simply Wanting to Go, but Knowing the Journey Had to Be Made

The first response to the announcement was not simply a wish to go.

This was a journey that had to be made.

Of course, concerns remained. Traveling to a distant country and staying somewhere unfamiliar were not decisions to make lightly.

Even so, another chance to travel to Venice for GLAY might never come.

Music that had accompanied so many years once again opened a door to a distant world. It gave a push just as everything seemed ready to stop, and offered a reason to set out once more toward somewhere unknown.

“the other end of the globe” Begins in Venice

The First Song That Turned a Dream Into Reality

The concert kicked off with “the other end of the globe.”

Until then, the song had never stood out as something especially significant. Yet the moment it was heard in faraway Venice, the scenery within the music aligned perfectly with the reality of that moment.

Japan had been left behind, the ocean crossed, and the place where GLAY was waiting had finally been reached.

The dreamlike feeling began to turn real the moment TERU’s voice was heard.

The Moment GLAY Was Felt, Not Just Heard

TERU’s clear, seemingly endless voice filled the venue. Unlike hearing a voice through the speakers of a vast arena, even the vibrations and every breath seemed to travel straight through the body.

It felt less like listening to music than being completely immersed in GLAY.

At that moment, one thought rose from deep within: “So grateful to have made it this far.”

It was not only about reaching Venice. It was about the long road from the first encounter with GLAY’s music, through every challenge along the way, to finally arriving in that place. That thought carried gratitude for every step of the way.

Something long closed seemed to come undone, as though a pair of wings had finally opened.

GLAY, Past and Present, Echoed Through Venice

An Opening Run That Quickly Built the Heat

With the afterglow of “the other end of the globe” still lingering, the concert continued with “サバイバル,” “口唇,” “Dead Or Alive,” “INAZUMA,” and “汚れた英雄”.

One high-energy song after another filled the air, and the dreamlike atmosphere in the venue suddenly became electric.

With the stage so close, every expression, movement, and gesture while playing could be seen in vivid detail. Beyond the music, GLAY felt like a living, breathing band right there before the audience.

GLAY Then and Now

Amid that intense run, “BELOVED” brought a warmth unlike anything that had come before.

Songs loved for many years still rang out with the same strength, even in faraway Venice. The moment revealed music’s power to cross both time and borders.

“Unleashed,” meanwhile, revealed a band still moving forward in the present.

They were not merely revisiting nostalgic songs; they were still creating new music and moving forward. Because both existed on the same stage, the night became more than a concert built on memories.

The Scenes from Those Days, Brought Back by “グロリアス” and “SOUL LOVE”

“グロリアス” and the Instant Return to School Days

Among all the songs performed that night, “グロリアス” and “SOUL LOVE” struck especially deep.

Both had been played again and again during school days, and the moment “グロリアス” began, scenes from that time and fragments of ordinary life came rushing back.

Perhaps music preserves the very atmosphere of the years in which it was heard.

The intro alone seemed to cross the years, bringing school days back for one brief moment.

"SOUL LOVE": Longing for a Time That Can Never Return

The next song, “SOUL LOVE,” also vividly brought back memories of times gone by.

There was no desire to return to the past, nor to abandon the present and live those days again.

Even so, seasons that can no longer be touched and moments that will never return in the same form can still exert an irresistible pull.

In Welsh, there is a word: Hiraeth.

This term expresses a deep sense of nostalgia and longing for one’s hometown, places one can no longer return to, and times gone by. It encompasses a complex mix of affection and pain—feelings that cannot be fully captured by nostalgia or loneliness alone.

What “SOUL LOVE” awakened that night was probably something close to hiraeth.

Many years separated the GLAY of those days from the GLAY performing in Venice now.

But once the music began, past and present became one. The songs remained where they had always been; only the years spent listening had quietly accumulated.

Music for Living, Carried in the Final Stretch

The Final Sprint That Begins with "誘惑"

The final stretch, moving from “誘惑” to “VERB” and then to “生きてく強さ,” had such momentum that it left no time to pause.

From a time of reminiscing about the past to a time of moving forward once again.

The title “生きてく強さ” resonates with the long road that had led to Venice.

It’s not just about dazzling success; it’s about moving forward even while carrying the weight of days of uncertainty and moments of stagnation. Perhaps one of the reasons GLAY’s music has continued to be loved for so long lies in that kind of clumsy yet resilient strength.

The Future Carried Forward by “BEAUTIFUL DREAMER”

After “I’m loving you” and “KISS’N NOISE,” the final song performed was “BEAUTIFUL DREAMER.”

Although it was a song that brought a dreamlike day to a close, it wasn’t just filled with the sadness of parting. Rather, it left behind a sense of strength to move forward toward a future where unseen landscapes still await.

The performance in Venice was the final destination of a long journey.

However, by the time the final note had faded away, that place had also become a new starting point.

Setlist for GLAY's Venice Concert

At the Venice concert, the band performed a total of 16 songs that traced GLAY’s journey from their early days to the present.

Looking back, the setlist contained a surprising number of songs that had been part of life for many years.

From the first encounter with GLAY’s music to the present, songs from each era gathered in a single night in Venice, creating a setlist that traced the passage of time.

It was more than a collection of popular songs. It felt as though music from every turning point in life had appeared all at once.

Grateful to Have Made It This Far

A View That Once Seemed Impossible to Imagine

Throughout those school years, GLAY’s songs played again and again as thoughts drifted toward the distant future.

Yet there was no way to imagine that Venice and Lido would be part of that future, or that a night watching GLAY there was waiting ahead.

Life brings moments that do not go as planned, along with stretches that seem like nothing but detours. Yet beyond them, a view once impossible to imagine can sometimes appear.

The performance in Venice was a night that confirmed just that.

Even the Detours Led Here

Not every painful or difficult experience can be said to have happened for the sake of this day.

There are some painful experiences that don’t need to be given meaning in hindsight.

Still, while GLAY’s music filled Venice, every road—including those difficult stretches—seemed to lead to this place.

There's no need to deny the time that has passed, nor is there any need to start over.

Simply having made it this far brought a sense of completeness, and everything slowly began to loosen.

An Unforgettable Night Beyond the Music

Not an endpoint, but a turning point

Seeing GLAY, a band whose music had accompanied so many years, in Venice felt like the culmination of a great journey.

Yet when that night finally arrived, there was no sense that something had ended. It was undeniably a major milestone, but not an ending—only a point along the way.

The scenery looked a little different before and after the journey.

Faraway places no longer had to be given up so easily. New landscapes could still be sought. And something loved for many years could lead toward an unexpected future.

That quiet sense of certainty remained.

A Form of Freedom Found in Venice

In Venice and on Lido, freedom was felt again and again.

It was not freedom from every constraint, but the way the heart loosened while walking through an unfamiliar city, looking up at a distant sky, and being wrapped in music that had accompanied so many years.

The freedom GLAY has sung about may not be a fixed idea at all, but something that lives within those moments encountered along the way.

Venice, Brought Within Reach by GLAY

The journey to Venice began with the desire to see GLAY.

Looking back after the journey, however, it also felt as though GLAY had been leading the way to Venice all along.

A city that might never have been discovered without music. Lido, an island that might never have been visited. A sea that might never have been seen, and streets that might never have been walked.

The smiles of those who lived there, the words exchanged along the way, and quiet acts of kindness received in unfamiliar places became cherished memories that shaped the journey.

Beautiful scenery alone would not have left such a deep mark. The people, the conversations, and the warmth shared there transformed Venice and Lido from distant foreign places into places worth returning to one day.

Every one of those encounters was brought by GLAY.

What waited beyond the music was not only a concert. It was an unforgettable night in which the past and future, the beautiful city, and the people encountered there all became connected.

The feelings of that moment, along with the scenery and the warmth of the people met along the journey, will remain for years to come.

So grateful to have made it this far.

You May Also Like

• The Journey Begins Before the Plane Takes Off — Music Reaches the Unseen City First
• Lido — Where Venice Takes a Deep Breath by the Sea
• Venice — A Place Where the City Becomes a Story on the Water

*Performance information is based on the official GLAY special website. The article and setlist are based on records from the 2nd Stage held on Saturday, June 13, 2026.