K-pop concerts with live audiences return – BTS, Twice, Winner stars and Verivery announce plans as coronavirus restrictions ease around the world

With Covid-19 controls easing in many countries, K-pop groups are eager to play live with their fans in the audience again

BTS has four shows planned in the US, while Verivery hope to start their debut US tour in Los Angeles in November

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BTS are hoping to return to playing to live audiences in the US as Covid-19 restrictions ease. Photo: @_unside0901/Twitter

Published: 8:45pm, 9 Oct 2021

K-pop acts are tentatively planning concerts with in-person audiences as live music events return across the world.

Beginning in November, several K-pop groups including BTS, and solo artists including two members of Winner, plan to return to holding live events in South Korea and touring in the United States for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The highest-profile events are four shows by BTS that are planned to be held near Los Angeles, California, at the Inglewood SoFi Stadium. They will form part of their Permission to Dance concert series, which includes an online concert on October 24.

The Inglewood venue, which typically fits about 70,000 audience members but can be expanded to hold 100,000, will host BTS and members of their Army fandom on November 27 and 28, the weekend following Thanksgiving, followed by midweek shows on December 1 and 2. Fans attending will have to show their vaccine record or a negative Covid-19 test to enter the venue.

Verivery hope to kick off their debut US tour in December. Photo: Jellyfish Entertainment

That same week, boy band Verivery will kick off their first US tour on December 5 in Los Angeles. They plan to perform in seven other US cities before a final show in New York on December 20.

The BTS and Verivery shows are the first of what is likely to be several K-pop tours hoping to make their way to the US market this year after the past two years have seen numerous South Korean acts cancel sizeable tours in the country.