Noted as the first ever K-Pop group to be invited to perform at the Austin City Limits festival, RIIZE is gaining attention for potentially setting a new wave of K-Pop integration into the U.S.
For those who may not be too familiar with this festival, it is an annual festival spanning the duration of two weekends and drawing over 450,000 attendees every year. Abbreviated to ‘ACL,’ this festival will actually be one of the biggest U.S. music festivals. But why was the group’s performance such a milestone?
Sure, we’ve seen groups like BLACKPINK and BTS be invited to larger festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza over the years, but this is the first time we’ve seen a major performance take place outside of major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.
The fact that RIIZE has performed in Austin, Texas, means that K-Pop as a genre is now being taken with a more serous presence in general festival programs. It’s not just a small part or act, but rather a mainstream narrative. What’s more interesting is the fact that when it comes to festivals they’re full of attendees who aren’t major K-Pop fans, if at all.
By performing at festivals where the majority of the attendees aren’t familiar with K-Pop opens the gateway for discovery. People who may be there for rock, indie, or country acts are now exposed to the group’s music and style which in turn naturally leads to curiosity of who this group is, where do they come from, what other music have they released. It becomes a great testing field to see just how far of a reach K-Pop can go within the international music scene.
With festival appearances like these, it’s also another way for groups themselves to broaden their skills and capabilities. Particularly with live singing, as most of these festival stages are performed with a live band that means the preparation the groups would have to do to adapt set lists, staging, their songs all either leads up to success or criticism, and therefore sets the base standard for what people can expect from a K-Pop group. If a group does well, and people are receptive enjoying their music then there’s higher chances of future bookings to come for other festivals. But if a group doesn’t do well, people aren’t receptive, and they perceive the overall performance to be lackluster well, let’s just say, it’s not likely you’ll see the group again in many festivals.
Unexpectedly, even the members of RIIZE were shocked at how well their performance was received. With members Sohee and Shotaro explaining that the entire group was nervous due to the fact that they were aware the people attending the festival were not familiar with K-Pop. But despite those concerns, with their full fledged energy, and astounding vocals, RIIZE’s performance received much praise and acknowledgement from those who attended, and even those who ended up watching fancams. Even major news outlets like Forbes ended up making headlines for the group.
Thus with the positive responses received, ACL may now actively consider bringing more K-Pop acts, along with other major U.S. festivals, and who knows there can be more cross-overs of K-Pop collaborations, not just with mainstream music, but branching into country and indie. In doing so, now K-pop groups can gain more fans as the crowd engagement of those who did not know about K-Pop come to enjoy it.
Furthermore, festival audiences can expect more live vocals with less lip syncing, and overall RIIZE’s performance this time around can lead to many adjustments to support K-pop performance standards possibly even in places where not many K-Pop groups tend to perform!
SEE ALSO: RIIZE becomes first K-pop idol group to perform at Austin City Limits Music Festival
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