I left one important thing off of my recent recap…
Jason and I drove exactly 700 miles to Tampa. Not for the beaches or even the adventures of a road trip but for a BTS concert.
Jason played the part of a doting husband and entertained his wife’s crazy obesssion.
And before anyone starts making assumptions… I’ve heard them all.
“They’re just a boy band.”
“They’re Kpop.”
“You can’t even understand what they’re saying.”
To which I would like to point out that half of America spent the last decade singing along to “Despacito” without knowing the words, so let’s not get too carried away.
I’ll be honest – I almost enjoy telling people I like BTS just to watch their facial expressions. There’s always a brief moment where their brain tries to reconcile “grown married woman who square dances” with “drives 700 miles to see 7 Korean men perform in a language she doesn’t understand.”
When I told Jason that BTS were planning a world tour. He didn’t even hesitate “Let’s go!” I don’t think he realized that for international artists “world tour” means an actual WORLD tour and not North America gets 134340 stops and Europe gets 2 and Japan might get lucky and have 1. Small town Johnson City, Tennessee was a long way from any tour stop.
BTS kicked off the ARIRANG tour in South Korea before heading to Japan, then crossed the Pacific for a stadium run through North America. From there they’ll spend the summer filling stadiums across Europe before moving into Latin America, Australia, and additional dates throughout Asia. By the time the tour wraps up in 2027, they’ll have performed more than 80 concerts across five continents and over 30 cities. So yes, WORLD tour.
And for the record, Jason had a good time. He nerded out over the PA, (for the non-nerds, audio stuff) and even dragged his own friend into the nerding mid-concert. And most importantly, he survived.
The part that always surprises people is the crowd. Stereotypically, people picture screaming teenage girls. And while yes, there are teenage girls, there are also parents, grandparents, engineers, nurses, veterans, teachers, CEOs, and plenty of people just like you and me.
One thing that stood out was how many people were dressed up. Not just in concert t-shirts, but in sequins, custom outfits, themed looks, and enough purple to paint a small town. To an outsider, it might seem over the top. But after spending years in that crowd, I realized it’s because BTS concerts are one of the few places where people feel completely safe being themselves. Nobody cares if you’re 16 or 60, if you’re wearing designer clothes or a homemade jacket covered in rhinestones. People show up as the most unapologetic version of themselves because they know they’ll be met with compliments instead of judgment. In a world that constantly tells people to tone it down, ARMY seem to have collectively decided to do the exact opposite.
And the atmosphere was weirdly… beautiful.
I know, that’s not a very exciting description.
But when you puts tens of thousands of people into one place, “beautiful” is actually pretty impressive.
People traded freebies with complete strangers. Others made friends with whoever they happened to be sitting by. (Including Jason) They helped others take photos. They complimented outfits. They shared sunscreen, phone chargers, and directions. Nobody seemed interested in proving they were the biggest fan in the crowd. Everyone was just happy to be there.
Then the concert started.
Now, you’re not required to like BTS. But if you can watch 7 performers sing, dance, run across a stadium stage, and somehow still make thousands of people feel interacted with, you have to at least respect the amount of work involved.
I can barely walk up a flight of stairs without sounding like I’m fighting for my life.
I’ve just barely started talking about the concert and this post is already miles long… Sorry…
It’s hard not to appreciate the sheer scale of the production. The stage stretched across a huge portion of the stadium, with massive video screens making sure even the people in the back felt connected to what was happening. Every song had its own visual identity, and there was never a moment where the show felt static or repetitive.
The lighting deserves its own paragraph because it wasn’t just there to help us see. It was part of the performance. Entire sections of the stadium would change colors in an instant, synchronized with the music. Spotlights, lasers, video effects, and tens of thousands of fan light stick (called ARMY Bombs) and Jason’s favorite, LED banners carried by backup dancers. Transformed the stadium into something completely different from song to song. One minute it felt intimate, and the next it felt like being dropped into the middle of a ball of fire. Even Jason, who spends his free time analyzing concert lighting, commented on how impressive it was.
My favorite part was the music itself. The setlist jumped between high-energy tracks, rock-inspired songs, emotional ballads, and a few surprise nostalgic songs that are different for every concert. You don’t need to understand Korean to recognize a powerful vocal performance or a crowd singing along to every word. By the end of the night, it was obvious that the language wasn’t really the point. The music, the energy, and the connection between the performers and the audience made it all tie together.
But for a few hours nobody seemed concerned about politics, bills, or the stress of everyday life. They were simply enjoying a shared experience. In a world that often feels divided, that was refreshing.
And you know this isn’t Rosie talking unless I drag square dancing into this.
I’ve spent 13 years explaining square dancing to strangers. Explaining BTS is honestly not that much different. Most things aren’t nearly as ridiculous once you’ve experienced them yourself. And life is a lot more fun when you’re willing to be enthusiastic about something – even if other people don’t get it.
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