The end of summer is drawing nigh—collective groan—but at least it brings with it a flurry of music festivals. This weekend, Danny Brown is at Brooklyn's AFROPUNK FEST, former Complex cover girl Solange will perform at L.A.'s FYF FEST, and then there's that whole awards thingie that MTV is throwing at the Barclays. A lot of stuff going on, but allow us to add another option: the second annual KCON K-pop convention, produced by Mnet America, at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
"K-pop?" you ask. Yes, we reply. This could indeed be the weekend to break your K-pop virginity. For one, mega-star G-Dragon is on the bill, so you can Instagram him in the flesh and see which of his 1.2 million followers you can poach. Then there's special guest Missy Elliott, who appears on GD's forthcoming album and has the type of monster hits that put the "live" in live shows. There's also underground fave Dumbfoundead and girl group f(x), who you probably don't know but should (try their latest video to get familiar). And if none of that appeals to you, there's the cultural anthopologic draw: You will get a chance to bear witness to thousands of K-pop diehards, many of them non-Korean, going ape shit for their idols. They're like Juggalos, minus the face paint and unstable family backgrounds.
Before Sunday night's concert, there are a bunch of K-pop-related seminars (such as "Developing K-pop Songwriting Skills") beginning on Saturday afternoon—edification to go with your entertainment. You'll want to say that you knew about all of this stuff before the year's out, trust.
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