The 2026 edition of Live at the Marquee kicked off on Wednesday night with the first of two concerts by K-POP Forever!, with what will be the youngest average audience age of the 21 events in the venue this year, and realistically the most excited crowd too.

It’s important to note that while there are many seasoned concert goers in Cork, many of whom have been going to Aiken Promotions annual temporary event centre for years, events like this one are the first-ever ‘big gig’ for many young music lovers.

With that in mind, it was no wonder there was so much excitement in the venue as they counted down on the big screen for the headline act to start their first of two sets. The tribute show to the world of K-pop was basically four singers (who also did some dancing), and four dancers (who also did some singing) with an MC helping keep the energy going through the very busy set list.

While they did play several songs from the Netflix smash KPop Demon Hunters, there was a lot more to this night than just the animated film, even though their live version of Golden, which won this year’s Oscar for Best Original Song, was met with a particularly big reaction.

Young fans dancing at the K POP Forever! Tribute concert at The Marquee. Picture: Eddie O'Hare. Young fans dancing at the K POP Forever! Tribute concert at The Marquee. Picture: Eddie O’Hare.

The dancing from the stage was at least equalled, in terms of both energy and ambition, from the crowd with plenty of groups of children and young adults doing (and recording) their own synchronised dances to the songs.

The audience were not spared any of the classic big K-pop event staples such as glitter and heart-shaped crepe paper cannons, dramatic lighting, smoke machines and a lot of crowd interaction, usually marshalled by the MC who led ‘crowd votes’ as they selected the next song to be played.

Ultimately, the songs were the star of the show, with the renditions of Internet Girl by Katseye and Ice Cream by Black Pink (and Selena Gomez) and of course Dynamite and Butter by BTS receiving great reception. This was an easy gig for the singers, as if they’d forgotten any lyrics, there were thousands of singers ready to fill in every word for them.

While they had multiple outfit changes, the consistent style of the band, MC and dancers was to celebrate the music of the KPop bands who are very unlikely to appear Leeside, and to give those younger ears a taste of how good the live music experience is. 

Who knows if any of them could turn that passion into becoming acts that end up on stages themselves, smaller ones or indeed the biggest stage in town, Live at the Marquee.