We Bridge Music Festival & Expo Closes Out a Triumphant Inaugural Weekend
Just like that—the inaugural We Bridge music festival and expo is over.
The three-day event, held from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23, in Las Vegas, Nevada included an action-packed weekend of live music, exclusive interviews and panels to highlight Asian heritage and K-pop.
The three panels offered discussed cultural impact, Asian women in leadership and the growing Asian representation in entertainment. Before the evening music festival—which brought in MONSTA X, ENHYPEN, KANGDANIEL, VIVIZ, ONEUS, BE'O, CIX, Dreamcatcher, Jessi and BamBam of GOT7—We Bridge hosted a plethora of miscellaneous activities, including food vendors, dance lessons and an art gallery.
(Photo Credit: Peter Byun / IPE)
For fans of performers, vendors sold K-pop goods, and attendees had the opportunity to purchase a meet-and-greet with an artist of their choice.
If you weren't able to attend, the festival aims to return in 2024. In the meantime, we've gathered up some of the standout moments from this year's event.
Celebration of Life
Two days before the start of We Bridge, the K-pop industry was met with the devastating passing of ASTRO's Moonbin. We Bridge's founder, Alex Kang, issued a statement: "Although this is a tragic and sad time for the community, we hope that our festival will bring some light, love and joy to the fans and unite them through their love for this music and culture, to celebrate everything Moonbin lived for—his music, dance, art and the passionate and dedicated K-pop fans."
Before the start of the music festival, We Bridge honored Moonbin's legacy with a moment of silence and candle lighting as they displayed a video in memoriam.
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Our Favorite K-Pop Stars Hit the Red Carpet
Each act on the lineup kicked off the weekend with an appearance on the red carpet. Fans anxiously awaited along the ropes to get their first peek of the stars—and their first chance at engagement, as fans collectively shouted "Happy birthday!" to ENHYPEN's Jay.
(Photo Credit: Peter Byun / IPE)
Every artist was all smiles as they waved to the crowd before posing for their photo ops.
Once-in-a-Lifetime Meet & Greets
It's not often you get to be within inches of your favorite K-pop idol.
We Bridge presented multiple chances to interact with your favorite acts on the lineup with hi-touches, which is a lightning-speed meet-and-greet to give the idols a high five and let them know how much you appreciate them. In a vlog, TikTok influencer Jooshica mentioned that she told Jay of ENHYPEN about the conch piercing she was inspired to get because of him.
@jooshica Replying to @kpopdeez143 STILL SCREAMING #fyp #enhypen #webridge #kpop #webridge ♬ Funny Song – Cavendish Music
Another attendee seized the opportunity by asking Jessi what her ideal type of guy was, to which she replied, "You!"
Meanwhile, a few lucky fans saw ENHYPEN casually walking through the festival to head to their next event and caught their attention during their Q&A with the GRAMMY Museum.
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Exciting Returns to the Stage
Despite the difficult time in light of Moonbin's passing, each act carried on with performances to bring a little happiness into the arena.
The first day of the music festival saw CIX, ONEUS, Dreamcatcher, KANGDANIEL and Jessi with a flawless show that included eye-catching, coordinating outfits, lockstep choreography and dazzling visuals. MONSTA X shut down the show with a lowkey but amusing performance of their greatest hits.
(Photo Credit: Peter Byun / IPE)
On day two, BE'O, VIVIZ, BamBam and ENHYPEN continued the ongoing celebration, and ONEUS made a return to the stage for an encore performance.
The We Bridge music festival marked BamBam's first solo appearance in the United States as well as one of Jessi's first performances in North America.
Curious about our other favorite K-pop stars? Read HERE to learn about newcomer WVVE and her debut single, "Sweet Like Sugar."
