“Diverse” was the quintessential word getting tossed around at The Belmont on Wednesday, as Korea’s widest assortment of exports left their mark at K-Pop Night Out.
The lineup was stacked this year, and from heavy metal band Victim Mentality to mainstream juggernaut MAMAMOO, K-Pop Night Out atSXSW delivered. Fans and the curious showed up en masse early, which proved that the decision to move the event from the terribly small (and also terrible) Elysium to the larger Belmont location was a smart one. The venue filled up quick with K-pop fans, industry peeps, and what was probably the entire Korean community of Central Texas.
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Electro rock duo Love X Stereo brought a freshness to the lineup that resonated strongly with a lot of the people at The Belmont. In fact, they might have been the one group the audience was pleasantly surprised to hear. “I really wasn’t expecting that sound from them,” said one fan I talked to, and truth be told, Love X Stereo played with a lot of heart Wednesday night. Vocalist Annie Ko poured a little more energy into every performance as the group’s set unfolded, culminating in a visibly emotional rendition of their synthpop release, “Hide And Seek“.