New Year, New Artists, More Energy: RENDEVOUZ & Illuminarium Turn Georgia into a Weekend-Long Countdown

New Year, New Artist, More Energy felt less like a theme and more like a promise that kept cashing out all night long, and the fans were the heartbeat that made every moment hit harder. The second you stepped into RENDEVOUZ in Duluth on January 3, 2026, you could feel it in the way people rushed to find their friends, compared outfits, and clutched lightsticks and cameras like they were gearing up for a once-in-a-year celebration that refused to end at midnight. The hosts, Hanyang Society and INVASIAN, didn’t just throw a show—they curated an experience that made every fan feel like they were an essential part of the story, not just spectators.

The night kicked off on an intimate note with the VIP meet and greet, where fans lined up with buzzing nerves to see SAM SUEN, BACHYARD GHOST, Toshi, Jjang.E, JUNOFLO, and Justin Park up close. There was a softness in the room as fans exchanged shy smiles and bolder ones jumped straight into conversation, sharing how certain songs got them through tough days or long nights. The artists gave that energy right back—posing for photos, laughing at inside jokes, and taking the time to really listen. It felt less like a transactional moment and more like a reunion between artists and the people who have been cheering them on from behind screens for years.

When the VIP portion wrapped, fans stepped out for a moment, but the energy never dipped—it simply shifted. As staff reset the space, special guest DJ Tommy Yoo, better known to many as imyoonotyou, took full control of the room and flipped RENDEVOUZ into party mode. The second his set started, the venue turned into a pulse of bass and color, with fans walking back in and immediately bouncing to the beat, waving at artists across the room, throwing their arms around old friends, and hyping up strangers as if they’d known them for years.

Once the lights shifted again and the concert truly began, SAM SUEN hit the stage like a starting gun, slamming his foot on the gas from the first note. The second “Late Night” dropped, the room locked in—fans shouting, hands up, bodies moving as if they’d been rehearsing this moment all week, and by the time he flowed into “Call Me Baby,” it felt less like an opener and more like a headline moment. Every hook landed, every ad-lib rode perfectly over the crowd’s noise, and with each song, the cheers only grew sharper and louder, not because he needed the validation, but because the audience knew they were watching an artist rise to match their energy.

BACHYARD GHOST came next, and if SAM lit the fuse, BACHYARD GHOST detonated the room. The beat for “AKIRA” dropped and suddenly the floor was alive—fans jumping in unison, hands punching the air, a chain reaction of energy that traveled from the front of the crowd to the back wall. When he rolled into other tracks such as “woke up”, the crowd didn’t just watch; they participated. Every time he signaled, screams ripped through the venue, and when he called for call and response, the audience fired right back, roaring his words until their voices blurred into one massive, single sound. This was the point where the concert stopped feeling like separate performances and started feeling like a shared, collective high.

Then the vibe took a beautifully intentional turn as Toshi stepped onto the stage. Known for his effortless presence and the sincerity he carries in every note, he opened his set by admitting he felt a little nervous now that it was his turn. That honesty only made the room lean in closer. He took a moment to acknowledge something that rarely gets said out loud: everyone came for different artists. Instead of seeing that as a challenge, he embraced it and promised a set that would make everyone feel included, no matter who their original bias was. What followed was less a setlist and more a love letter to the music that made him who he is. When he sang DEAN’s “I’m Not Sorry,” you could hear fans belting the lyrics out with him; during keshi’s “WANTCHU,” the mood softened as people swayed and filmed, wanting to bottle that moment; and when he hit NewJeans’ “ETA,” the energy picked back up with fans chanting and echoing the melody. He closed with his own rendition of “FREE” from K-Pop Demon Hunters, and that’s where his voice truly took over the room—smooth lower range, then soaring higher notes that seemed to hang in the air for just a second longer than expected. The crowd responded with cheers that felt more like gratitude than just hype.

Right when emotions were at a high, Jjang.E took us even deeper into that space with a set carved out for the ballad-lovers in the room. On paper, “sad songs” might sound like a slowdown, but in that moment, it felt like everyone was ready to breathe together. Having debuted onstage back in January 2025 at Believe Music Hall, he brought the kind of growth you only get from sitting with your craft and evolving in real time. He shared his admiration for traditional ballads, and you could hear that influence in every phrase he sang. When he performed Lee Mujin’s “Rain and You,” the room cheered him on admiring the artist that was being created with every new stage. Before closing his set, he asked fans if they had ever built a snowman, a simple question that pulled smiles and soft laughter from the crowd, then drifted into “The Snowman (눈사람)” by Jung Seunghwan. His tone was precise, emotional, almost perfectionist—but never cold. The final notes rang across the venue, and fans kept cheering long after the song ended, not ready to let that warmth go.

Just when you thought the emotional intensity might level out, JUNOFLO charged in and flipped the switch back to full blast. He immediately waved fans closer, refusing to let there be any distance between performer and crowd. His set felt like a victory lap: fan favorites like “HUNNED%” and “They Don’t Want This” shook the room, pushing people to jump, shout, and rap along where they could. Then he shifted the tone with a string of unreleased tracks that felt like a preview of the future, including “Kawasaki,” which hit with the kind of power that makes you imagine it blaring out of speakers in a packed car at 2 a.m. He introduced one track as what he’d consider his theme song if he ever became a villain—“BADMAN”—and suddenly the room turned into his anthem factory as he had everyone echoing “BADMAN” back at him on the chorus. The call-and-response boomed so loud it felt like the walls were singing too. When he brought out special guest JAEYOUNG for “Activated,” the entire audience shifted into another gear: people jumped in sync, heads bobbed to the beat, and the collective vibe was nothing short of “we’re locked in right now.”

To close out the RENDEVOUZ portion of the night, Justin Park stepped in with the perfect blend of chill, groove, and emotional payoff. He started with “Adore You, Dior You,” and you could immediately tell who had been waiting for this moment—the fans who screamed from the first note, the ones who lifted their phones with shaking hands to capture every second. As he moved into “POV,” “FASTEST,” and more, the room swayed like one giant wave. Some fans danced with friends, others sang at the top of their lungs. When he ended with “On the Low,” it didn’t feel like an ending as much as a last shared exhale, a final chance to dance it out and lock the memory in. The lights, the voices, and the smiles painted a picture of a night that hit every emotional note without ever losing its sense of fun.

But the party didn’t stop there. As fans and artists made their way from RENDEVOUZ to the after party at Illuminarium, the night evolved into something even bigger: a full-body, immersive continuation of the celebration. Walking into the LED room felt like stepping into another dimension. The walls themselves were alive with color and moving visuals, wrapping everyone in a 360-degree experience that took the concept of a “party” and cranked it past ten. DJs KUYA, DJ Chen, Ben Kang, IMYOONOTYOU, and WESTNINE! rotated through the booth, each putting their own spin on the night with mixes designed to keep bodies moving and lungs working overtime. One moment you were shouting along to a chorus, the next you were lost in a beat drop that made the whole room feel like it was vibrating in sync.

The best part? The artists weren’t done either. Sam, BACHYARD GHOST, Toshi, Jjang.E, JUNOFLO, and Justin Park stepped in for a short segment, giving fans who missed the earlier performances another chance to catch that magic and rewarding those who followed them from venue to venue with extra memories. Attendees danced, sang, jumped, and cheered even louder, determined to wring every last ounce of joy out of the weekend. By the time the night finally began to wind down, one thing was crystal clear: this wasn’t just a show or a party—it was a New Year’s celebration stretched into an entire experience, proving that with the right artists, the right community, and the right energy, the feeling of ringing in the New Year doesn’t have to end when the clock strikes midnight. It can linger, echo, and live on in every replay, every photo, and every “remember when” shared between friends long after the lights go out.