Worldwide Sensation BTS Announce Live L.A. Concert

(HONOLULU) —  BTS, currently the biggest band in the world, surprised their fandom by announcing their first in-person concert in two years — which might also be the last time all seven members perform live together.  

Tickets for the show, which will be called “Permission To Dance On Stage – LA,” went on sale on Oct. 5.  The concert will run various days at the end of November and early December at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Ticket holders from the COVID-canceled 2020 “Map of the Soul Tour – North America” received priority, with VIP ticket holders able to get their tickets on Oct. 5 and regular ticket holders the following day.  Official ARMY members (the name given to BTS’s biggest fans) entered a lottery for entry to the Oct. 7 presale.  The Ticketmaster Verified Fan presale will take place on Oct. 8, and the general public sale on Oct. 9.

Fans have commented that this is possibly the final chance to see all seven members before the eldest, Jin, enlists for his mandatory military duty in South Korea.  

Dr. Stephen Yano, 57, of Honolulu, said that he’s lucky to be able to access the presale for the tickets and is excited to see BTS again. He previously saw the band perform on the 2019 “Love Yourself World Tour.”  An avid concert-goer, Yano has seen the likes of The Rolling Stones, but said in a phone interview that BTS was “without reservation, the most memorable concert experience ever.”

BTS fans know that getting tickets to the ultra-popular shows can be anxiety-producing. Isabel Coloma, 19, of Honolulu, said she talked with previous concert-goers and watched videos of the ticket-buying process to “prepare for battle.”

Her mom, Karen Gionson-Coloma, 53, agreed. “I have a couple of friends that had gone to concerts before and said that it’s probably the most stressful experience they’ve ever gone through,” she said.  

Fans told The Click that being part of ARMY is about connection to BTS, and to each other.  Superfan Lahela Manning, 35, told The Click in a phone interview that she looked forward to sharing the concert experience with fellow ARMY members — and she’s taking the iconic light sticks called “ARMY bombs” that are a staple of these shows.

“I’m just excited for the possibility of coming with my ARMY bomb, and turning next to me and smiling, and turning to the left, turning to the right, and it’s a stranger and I’ll cry with them and it won’t be awkward at all because they’ll get it,” she said.