The 13th edition of the K-Music Festival opened in London on 28 September 2026 with a night that showed just how difficult contemporary Korean music can be to put into one box. Held at EartH Theatre in East London and curated by the Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK), the opening night brought together artists with very different sounds and approaches, but that was exactly what made the evening work. The opening night programme gave every artist space to show how much Korean music has to offer outside the categories people often associate it with.
Sibling hip-hop duo Lil Cherry & GOLDBUUDA were the first to take that opportunity and run with it. Opening a night like this is never the easiest job; there is no momentum to inherit and the crowd is still settling into the room, so you have to create that energy yourself. They had little trouble doing exactly that. Starting with energetic newer releases such as “Yummy 88”, the pair came out with confidence and immediately gave the room a much-needed jolt of energy. There was nothing hesitant about their performance, with music that was loud and full of personality, and songs inspired by food, home and their Korean roots.
When they moved into “MUKBANG”, Lil Cherry’s flexible flow over GOLDBUUDA’s heavy beats filled the venue and gave the set another burst of energy. What worked well was the way they moved between tracks performed together and their individual moments, giving both artists the chance to show what they bring to the duo. They eventually closed with “하늘천따지 (1000 Words)”, ending their opening set on a high.
Chang Kiha was next on stage and he did not need the same explosive energy to hold the room; his confidence came through in a completely different way. Backed by an incredibly tight band, he relied on his distinctive spoken delivery, dry humour and the small shifts in tone that make his music so recognisable. There was something wonderfully relaxed about the way he performed, yet he never lost the audience’s attention. He knew exactly when to let the band take over, when to pull the focus back to his voice and, perhaps most importantly, how to make a packed venue feel as though everyone was in on the same joke.
Performing songs from his latest album, “San San Jo Gak (산산조각)”, released earlier in September, Chang Kiha showed how comfortable and confident he is on stage. During “Nuh Na Na Na (너나 나나)”, the energy picked up, with the whole room jumping along as the band kicked in behind him. He moved easily between the quieter parts of the set and its louder, more rhythmic moments, never forcing either. By the end, the London crowd was fully with him, singing along and waving their hands in the air.
Closing the night were ADG7 (Ak Dan Gwang Chil), a group that draws heavily from Korean folk songs and shamanic traditions, but whose live performances are anything but stuck in the past. With traditional Korean instruments including the daegeum and ajaeng alongside powerful percussion, they brought colour, humour and plenty of energy to the stage.
It did not take long for ADG7 to get people off the wooden steps and onto their feet, and before long much of the theatre had turned into one big dance floor. They moved from their own takes on traditional Korean folk songs to previews of new material, including “Zombie”, while keeping the crowd involved throughout.
One of the loveliest surprises of the night came when Lil Cherry & GOLDBUUDA returned to join ADG7. Lil Cherry appeared first, performing alongside the group, before GOLDBUUDA joined them for “하늘천따지 (1000 Words)”. After seeing the artists separately earlier in the evening, watching them come together was a great way to end the show. Different sounds, different generations of Korean music and very different performers came together over the course of the night, each bringing something completely different to the programme.
By the time the night came to an end, all three acts had shown just how much can exist under the umbrella of Korean music. Hip-hop, singer-songwriter storytelling and traditional sounds all had their place, without one needing to sound anything like the other. More importantly, the audience was there for all of it.
The K-Music Festival runs from 28 September to 23 November at venues across London. You can find out more here.
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Written by Amran Mohamed
Featured image (Lil Cherry & GOLDBUUDA) © Ikin Yum
View of the Arts is an online publication dedicated to film, music, and the arts, with a strong focus on the Asian entertainment industry. As we continue to grow, we aim to deepen our coverage of Asian music while remaining committed to exploring and celebrating creativity across the global arts landscape.
