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BTS and The Loudest Weekend in El Paso
By Andy Martinez
Photos by Cynthia Martinez
South Korean pop group BTS played at UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium May 2-3; the group’s first performances in the Sun City, representing one of the highest profile concert weekends in El Paso’s recent memory.
BTS’ arrival occurred during an already busy weekend which featured events like Michelada Fest El Paso, Sol Summit, and El Paso Comic-Con. Fans congregated across the UTEP campus hours before the concerts began wearing purple clothing and holding homemade posters, photo cards and light sticks. Once the lights dimmed within the stadium, the Sun Bowl turned into what appeared to be an ocean of synchronized lights flashing to the beat.
This glow extended well past the stadium. On the Mexican side of the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juarez, fans listened from far away, attempting to sync their light sticks to the beat of music coming from the UTEP concerts. This felt especially fitting given that the U.S.-Mexico border is located just outside of El Paso. To anyone who questioned why BTS chose to perform in El Paso, it became apparent that a large-scale pop event can cross multiple state lines, mountain ranges and international borders.
Additionally, the UTEP concerts marked BTS’ return to performing as a unit since several solo projects and service in South Korea’s military. The group, consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook, brought back an army of fans (ARMY) who had been waiting to see all seven members perform together again after roughly four years of individual activity.
Many fans traveled to El Paso for the BTS concert, visiting a city they had never seen previously. Local hotels, restaurants and businesses welcomed an influx of tourists. The desert landscape and Franklin Mountains provided an aesthetic to the weekend that fans took advantage of by posting pictures on social media.
The Sun Bowl presented BTS with a unique venue compared to other locations on their tour schedule. Built into the base of the Franklin Mountains, the Sun Bowl created a natural setting that added to the overall experience. During one segment of the concert V stated he believed that mountain could have fallen over from all of the screaming fans.
The production quality was comparable to the size of the audience. The members performed on a rotating platform allowing them to face the entire stadium throughout the show. As fans watched from different areas of the venue, they received varying perspectives of BTS. The choreographed dance routines, lighting effects and stage designs carried the same precision that has contributed greatly to making BTS one of the largest groups in popular music today. However, there was still something special about viewing a production on this level in a city that is rarely featured on larger international pop tours.
BTS’ performance consisted of global hits, and also included songs that carry much deeper meaning for fans who follow BTS on a longer-term basis. While “Dynamite” and “Butter,” two of BTS’ English language songs elicited strong reactions from the audience and exemplified BTS’ transition into mainstream pop culture, other songs were met with even louder applause, such as with the surprise songs “Dionysus”, “Best Of Me” and “Wings.”
In addition to being in front of thousands of fans at the Sun Bowl Stadium, segments of BTS’ weekend were also directly experienced by fans living in El Paso. Some members of BTS toured various local establishments, such as Kaedama Ramen Shop, providing additional opportunities for fans to establish connections between BTS and our city.
Fans shared images featuring local cuisine, murals depicting scenes related to El Paso, photographs capturing breathtaking views from the Franklin mountains and concert attire via social media platforms. Collectively, these images formed a visual representation of El Paso through one of the most passionate fan bases in existence.
Additional security precautions were implemented at the Sun Bowl prior to the BTS concerts. Following Coldplay’s 2025 appearance at the stadium, some area residents climbed nearby mountain formations for views of Coldplay’s performance. To mitigate this risk for public safety purposes ahead of BTS’ concerts at the Sun Bowl, local authorities issued warnings stating that fans were not permitted to climb on hillside areas adjacent to the stadium.
BTS showed off their voices and choreography in between acknowledgments of the crowd’s energy and for how far fans were willing to travel to attend the show. Many local fans also viewed the weekend as significant because they are accustomed to going to large cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas or Phoenix for events of this nature.
This time, it was the world coming to El Paso.
It was not just a weekend of concerts. The two nights showed the potential of El Paso to host major cultural events, attract international travelers and get attention typically associated with larger cities. Visitors that may have never seen anything beyond the tour route for El Paso left with a new view of regional cuisine, geography and a welcoming energy.
By Sunday evening after the second night of performances, the city demonstrated that El Paso has the capacity to handle the pressure from an event of global proportions, one loud enough for people in the surrounding mountains, across the border and across a fandom that had waited years to see BTS together again.
