In the years past, SXSW has always had a Korean night, with a focus on the emerging music scene from Korea. Of course these days, you could argue that The most famous act in the world is Korean (BTS) with another one (Blackpink) not far behind.
With that said, I was interested in seeing Balming Tiger, a Korean hip hop group that was one of the few that made the stateside trip.
Playing an afternoon tent is not always easy as half the people are often there just for the free drinks or snacks, yet the sparse interest was not enough to deter the group’s energy level, which was set to 11.
Starting in a group dance formation, the band quickly jumped from what we thought was a synchronized dance into a party hip hop show. Featuring contributions from each member, the group played an energetic set that took elements from hip hop, dance and even punk. Their enthusiasm kept the crowd engaged and at one point they even tried to get a line dance going.
Fun times.