Concert Date: April 30, 2026
On January 9, 2026, EVERGLOW announced they would embark on a world tour titled 2026 EVERGLOW World Tour [Re:Code]. Having been involved in the K-pop bubble long enough, I know that “world” is more subjective than literal.
My expectations for seeing Canada on the list of places they would visit were low. I’ve accepted that we (as a country) generally don’t exist when it comes to touring K-pop groups, so I assumed I would have to travel if I wanted to see EVERGLOW.
Colour me shocked when I saw on their Instagram that they were coming to Calgary as the first stop on the Canadian leg of their tour. After missing all the previous tours due to life getting in the way, they show up in the city where I currently live. Of course, I took the opportunity to buy tickets as soon as they became available and got SVIP, because why not? Since I didn’t have to account for travel expenses, I had extra cash to burn to get closer to the stage.
Fast forward to April 30, concert day. I arrived at the Grey Eagle Event Centre around 3:30 pm, and a small line was already forming out front. It was a long wait for the doors to open for SVIP and regular VIP. Once everyone was sorted into the correct lines, we were let into the venue for security screening and more waiting.
By this time, it was just after 5 pm. During the wait, the tour staff came around and distributed our lanyards, signed tour posters, photo cards, and signed Polaroids. Shortly after, as 6 pm rolled around, the crowd began filing in for the individual photo ops with the group. Similar to other K-pop benefits I have experienced, this went very fast, so you had to be prepared or risk getting caught napping.
When I entered the room, I was a bit in disbelief to be in the same room as EVERGLOW. I had a brief moment to give them an idea of the pose I wanted before the camera shutter went off. I honestly couldn’t tell you who was beside me, but I’m pretty sure it was one of the taller members, like Aisha or Sihyeon.
My view from the front row for soundcheck.
After the photo op, I thanked the group and moved on to the next part of the SVIP experience, the soundcheck. I ended up in the front row, a bit off to the right, and chatted with fellow fans until the 7 pm start. Like many soundchecks, this was an opportunity for fans to interact with the artists in a more casual atmosphere, and this one was one of the better ones I have attended.
I was up front, which definitely helped, but honestly, it was just good to be there and see EVERGLOW on stage after being denied so many times in the past. I took in the moments as much as I could with my eyes rather than my phone, even if that meant sacrificing a few prime photo and video opportunities.
Sound Check Set List
- La Di Da
- Code
- Pirate
The view from my actual seat during main concert.
After the soundcheck ended, everyone moved to their regular seats. For me, it was just moving a row back, so it wasn’t like I had to go very far. My view from my seat was pretty good. I wasn’t within baby-giving distance anymore, but I could easily throw wedding rings on stage without too much effort.
The main event started shortly after 8. The long-awaited moment I had been waiting for finally arrived: seeing EVERGLOW in concert.
Main Concert Set List
BREAKOUT Intro
FOCUS
LA DI DA
Colourz
Company
ZOMBIE
Act II – DECODE
CODE
Pirate
SLAY
Hush
Make Me Feel (Acoustic)
FIRST
Adios
DUN DUN
Encore
Bon Bon Chocolat
Can’t Be Broken
As you can see from the set list, there was a good mix from EVERGLOW’s discography, with songs from their CODE album surrounded by popular title tracks and select B-sides. Whether this is an ideal set list will come down to personal taste, but I thought it was well planned. It covered the various stages of EVERGLOW’s evolution as a group and was well paced.
What I was most curious about with EVERGLOW in their current formation was how they would look as a four-member unit compared to their initial six-member version. Granted, I only had performances I’ve seen on video from Korean concerts and music shows to use as a reference, but they are still as tight a group as ever.
Among the current EVERGLOW roster, Onda is my bias. However, I found a bias wrecker in Aisha, whose level of fan service was insane. She did a fantastic job of engaging with the audience.
Of the faster songs in the set, the one I was looking forward to most was FIRST. Not only is it hard-hitting, but the choreography is among my favourites from EVERGLOW, particularly at the climax. Other highlights for me were Pirate and DUN DUN, both bangers with engaging choreography.
When it came to slower songs, while EVERGLOW does have quite a few in their catalogue, they chose to showcase only two: Hush and an acoustic re-arrangement of Make Me Feel. Both of these tracks served as a comedown from the intensity of the earlier songs.
They also offered an opportunity to hear the members’ vocals more clearly without the flourishes of their uptempo material, which can sometimes get in the way of hearing them actually sing.
It was a very nice (but short) break before ramping up the energy again for the end of the concert. EVERGLOW have such pretty, lower-to-mid-tempo songs; it would be nice for them to include more of them in future concert set lists.
Once the two-song ballad set ended, it was back to bringing the hype to close out the main portion of the concert. The encore had the group return to their roots with their debut song, Bon Bon Chocolat, before concluding the concert with the inspirational Can’t Be Broken from their CODE album.
So, the question after experiencing EVERGLOW live is: was the anticipation that had been building for years finally satisfied?
The answer is yes. But not in the over-the-top, embellished, life-changing way that K-pop fans tend to use as a default go-to when a question like this is asked. After years of missed opportunities just being in the building and finally seeing EVERGLOW perform live was enough to make it feel worth the wait.
The set list delivered, and the performances were tight. Even as a four-member unit, they didn’t feel lacking in presence or energy.
That being said, the only real negatives from the night had nothing to do with EVERGLOW. They came from the crowd around me, and some of it was hard to ignore.
First, there was the general lack of basic concert etiquette. People holding their phones way up in the air for extended periods blocked the view for anyone around them. I get wanting to capture moments, but there’s a point where it becomes inconsiderate.
On top of that, people were sneaking out of their assigned seats and moving down the aisle toward the first couple of rows to get closer for photos and videos. It wasn’t subtle, and it definitely disrupted the experience for those of us who actually paid for those spots. In my section, it happened at least three times.
The first was an elderly lady who used her advanced age to her advantage, sauntering up to nearly the first row to take pictures and video. The second was when, suddenly, a random dude was standing next to me, taking pictures and then dancing up a storm before security ushered him away. The third was another random woman just casually strolling up to the first row as if she belonged there.
Then there was the group of children, and even some adults, congregating along the right side of the stage well beyond where they were supposed to be. They were actively trying to get selfies and autographs from the members mid-song, which was at best distracting. It pulled attention away from the performance and created unnecessary movement in an area that should have been controlled.
What made all of this more noticeable was the lack of immediate intervention from security. Situations like this usually get shut down pretty quickly, but here it went on longer than it should have. By the time anything was addressed, the disruption had already taken its toll on parts of the experience.
Lastly, and I don’t think of this as a negative per se, the fire alarm went off in the middle of Make Me Feel, which was unexpected. Thankfully, it was a false alarm, and we didn’t have to evacuate. EVERGLOW were pros throughout the short 15-minute delay, improvising by interacting with the crowd and playing games. The funniest part of this intermission was when E:U and Sihyeon started banging their heads to the rhythm of the fire alarm.
If I were to put a PR spin on this, it would be, “EVERGLOW’s performance was so hot, the fire alarms went off,” even though they were sitting on stools and doing diva belting at the time.
At the end of the day, this was a show I had been waiting years to see, and despite some of the distractions around me, EVERGLOW delivered where it mattered. They proved that even in a scaled-down four-member form, they can still command a stage, run through a well-paced set, and keep a crowd engaged from start to finish.
It wasn’t a perfect concert experience, but the parts that were within their control hit the mark. And after all the missed tours, finally being able to say I’ve seen EVERGLOW live feels like a long-overdue box checked.
