The four-piece girl group Aespa made history at Outside Lands, becoming the first-ever K-pop group to perform at the 15-year-old festival.
With a handful of Aespa-branded light sticks in the front rows of the Twin Peaks stage, it was clear that getting to see the emergent K-pop group was the main draw at the festival for some attendees. Throughout their nearly hourlong showcase, Aespa’s Karina, Ningning and Winter — even without Giselle, their fourth member — proved their mettle.
Aespa performs at Outside Lands. (Douglas Zimmerman / SFGATE)
Aespa performs at Outside Lands. (Douglas Zimmerman / SFGATE)
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“Next Level” and “Black Mamba,” two of the group’s early hits, got the most notice from the audience. “Spicy” — Aespa’s closing song — had an extra kick from a live backing band, while opening track “Girls” cut through the early-evening din and fog.
Outside Lands continues the trend of K-pop girl groups’ takeover of American music festivals. Blackpink headlined Coachella, just four years after becoming the first-ever Korean girl group to perform at the mega-fest. Earlier this month, buzzy K-pop upstarts NewJeans took Chicago’s Lollapalooza by storm in their inaugural performance in the United States. (Aespa also boasts the distinction of being the first K-pop group to perform at New York City’s Governor’s Ball festival, doing so earlier this year.)
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The Friday set was Aespa’s final performance before the group starts its global tour, kicking off at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles Sunday. It remains unclear if Giselle, who sat out this show after “showing symptoms of the flu,” will be performing.