Today, we are all X.

On January 12 and 13, Japanese musician Yoshiki performed a series of concerts at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall. The concerts, which were part of the “Yoshiki Classical Special feat. Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra” series, both sold out prior to opening day.

The concerts featured a selection of compositions, from Yoshiki’s own classical pieces, to works from Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. At the end of the first set, Yoshiki greeted the crowds with a heartfelt speech about his own pursuit of The American Dream, before performing a surprise performance of The Star-Spangled Banner.

Yoshiki closed off the evening with Endless Rain, which saw the hall lighted by a mirror ball above the stage. He received flowers from fans during an extended standing ovation.

With New York’s gleaming lights behind him, Yoshiki has his sights set on London, where he’ll play Wembley Stadium on March 4. To promote the event, Resonance Media released a series of photos from Yoshiki’s Carnegie Hall performances.

A new trailer also hit the web for the Wembley show, which is beign branded as “#XDay”

Yoshiki has been active in the music world since 1977, when he founded the band Dynamite (later Noise) with childhood friend Toshi. After Noise disbanded, the two joined forces again to form influential rock group X Japan. The group is widely credited as a pioneer of the visual kei movement, and also served as a launchpad for Yoshiki’s independent music label “Exstasy Records.”

Since X Japan’s dissolution in 1992, Yoshiki has maintained several solo projects, including Eternal melody and Violet UK. In the mid 2000s, Yoshiki played drums and piano in short-lived supergroup S.K.I.N.

Source: Resonance Media (Press Release)