K-Fest Abu Dhabi 2022: The Rose, Jay B, Sik-K and others announced for Etihad Arena show

The first acts for K-Fest Abu Dhabi have been announced.

The line-up includes Woogie, Peakboy, Sik-K, Jay B, P1Harmony and The Rose, all of whom will be making their Middle East debut when they play at Etihad Arena on September 10.

Hyperound, the company behind the festival, launched in the UAE earlier this year with promises of bringing top acts from South Korea to the region.

“Not only do we know there are a number of fans waiting for K-pop concerts in the Middle East, having seen fans cheering and enjoying previous K-pop concerts, but also the number of fans in the region keeps increasing drastically,” a representative for Hyperound tells The National.

“Fans’ interests, passion, and love for K-pop inspired us to establish Hyperound to hold this festival.”

Ahead of the gig, a number of musical acts expressed their excitement about coming to Abu Dhabi.

“This is very new to me and I was very excited by the fact that there are a lot of K-pop fans. I would like to express my gratitude to all the fans who love and support our music and culture,” says producer and rapper Woogie.

P1Harmony, who are one of the first acts to be announced, said they are slightly nervous, especially when it comes to meeting fans.

“I'm really looking forward to how everyone will react to our performance. I'm not that nervous yet, but I think I'll be nervous if I meet everyone in person. We promise to show you an exciting performance,” says member Jiung, who is a rapper for the group.

Fellow P1Harmony member Keeho also expressed his excitement about meeting fans, who call themselves P1ece, in the region. “I'm already looking forward to meeting P1ece from afar" he says. "I hope P1ece likes it as much as we do as we worked hard on it.”

Meanwhile rapper Sik-K, whose songs include Abu Dhabi and Habibi from his album Flip, is eager for fans to hear his music live.

When it comes to new songs and albums, however Jay B, who is also the leader of K-pop boy band Got7, said he was planning on releasing an album in August.

“I'm working hard to prepare a new album as soon as possible and perform in front of everyone," he says.

Jay B, also performs in the duo Jus2 with Yugyeom, will be performing solo.

“I heard so many people waited for Jus2 to the point that I thought it would have been nice if I could have gone as Jus2. Next time, I'll try my best to return as Jus2,” says Jay B, who also hinted he could return as JJ, referring to a Got7 sub-unit.

“Since I'm going alone this time around, I want to be able to leave my fans with as many great memories as possible. And, next time I promise I'll return even better than this time.”

After announcing the line-up, Hyperound said they appreciated hearing all the positive feedback about the event. “We hope everyone knows that we are considering all the comments or messages from the fans for the next festival line-up in near future. It will be highly appreciated if fans keep giving us their huge support,” says the representative.

Tickets for the seated concert tickets go on sale on August 10.