Review: BTS finally returns to the Bay Area stage with spectacular concert
We are in the very midst of the biggest pop culture event of the year in the Bay Area.
Maybe you’ve heard the screams of joy in regard to the moment? They’ve been ringing out from Stanford University in all directions, heralding the long-awaited return of the world’s most popular band.
Yes, I’m talking about BTS. And this K-pop juggernaut is finally back in Northern California - for the first time since a pair of 2018 dates at Oakland Arena - and performing three massively sold-out shows at Stanford Stadium.
The run kicked off in impressive fashion on Saturday (May 16) with BTS - the multiplatinum-selling South Korean boy band consisting of vocalists Suga, Jin, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook - performing an approximately two-hour show in front of one of the most highly appreciative (and vocal) audiences we’ll likely see in the Bay Area this year.
The tour - the band’s first since 2021-2022's very limited Permission to Dance on Stage trek - was scheduled to continue at the home of the Stanford University football team on Sunday and Tuesday (May 17 and 19).
BTS delivered a really solid pop show, working through nearly two-dozen tracks on a mammoth 360-degree stage that covered more yardage on this football field than the Stanford offense. (Come on, Cal Bears fans, I know you thought that was funny.)
There were some nice theatrics and visuals to be seen, plus the BTS setlist - which drew very heavily from the recently released new album “Arirang” - certainly had some fun gems in the mix.
Yet, above and beyond all that, what really made this the pop cultural event of the year in the Bay Area were the fans. Sure, there will be other big stadium concerts around these parts in 2026 - notably, the trio of shows with Usher and Chris Brown at Levi’s Stadium toward the end of summer - yet none will ignite the type of passion, exuberance and, in the best sense of the word, mania that is currently being witnessed around these three BTS shows.
Fans started showing up at the venue days prior the actual concerts, lining up to buy merchandise and carrying around signs showing their all-consuming love for BTS. The sense of anticipation was absolutely bubbling over as Saturday approached, heightened by the fact that the tour marks the group’s return to action after several years on hiatus while members fulfilled their mandatory South Korean military service requirements and focused on solo projects.
And BTS Army would definitely let its collective voice be heard, in a fashion that certainly could be felt in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium and possibly well beyond, as the band opened the show with a pair of rowdy new album cuts, “Hooligan” and “Aliens.”
“It’s our first time here at Stanford. Why is it so good?” Jung Kook commented in Korean (and translated into English) to the crowd. “We are having such a great and joyful time today.”
Moving about the huge circular stage, complete with four catwalks extending out to each of the four corners of the field, the seven vocalists — who sang in both Korean and English — made a welcome pitstop at “Run BTS” (from the 2022 anthology album “Proof”) before racing right back to the present to further spotlight the new album with “They Don’t Know ’bout Us” and “Like Animals.”
This segment included the best slow jams of the night, including “Like Animals” and, especially, the soulful “Merry Go Round” — the latter of which might be the best song off the new album. Then it was time to crank things back up, once again turning to “Arirang” for “2.0” and “Normal.”
The new album’s “FYA” — with its repeated chorus of “everything lit, it’s fire, everything big, it’s fire” — was a definite winner, especially when cleverly paired with the relative oldie “Fire.”
Over the course of the night, there had been fireworks, special effects, legions of accompanying dancers and other visual candy, yet the best moments of the show often came when the BTS guys just quieted the bells and whistles and connected with the crowd. The best example came late in this concert as the seven stars sat on the stage and shared their appreciation — some in English, others translated from Korean - with the crowd.
“What an honor to be here,” Jin remarked in English. “Thanks to you, we had a wonderful time. Stanford, you’re the best.” (Speaking of honors, it was announced this weekend that BTS will join Shakira and Madonna as performers in the half-time show for the FIFA World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.)
The group remained seated for a lovely take on “Please” before closing the performance with another new album cut - “Into the Night.” It proved to be a relatively early evening, which meant that the group could go back to their hotel rooms and rest up - after all, flashing all those smoldering, sultry looks at the camera can take a lot out of a person.
BTS Army began departing the stadium right around 9:15 p.m. - well before the venue’s 10 p.m. curfew. Yet, many of these fans would surely be back bright and early the next day for Round 2 with these K-pop superstars.
BTS Stanford Night 1 Setlist:
1) “Hooligan”
2) “Aliens”
3) “Run BTS”
4) “They Don’t Know ’bout Us”
5) “Like Animals”
6) “Fake Love”
7) “Swim”
8) “Merry Go Round”
9) “2.0”
10) “Normal”
11) “Not Today”
12) “Mic Drop”
13) “FYA”
14) “Fire”
15) “Body to Body”
16) “Idol”
Encore:
17) “Come Over”
18) “Butter”
19) “Dynamite”
20) “N.O.”
21) “Anpanman”
22) “Please”
23) “Into the Sun”
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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 12:20 AM.