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In another life, Jin would still be a superstar. Instead of being one-seventh of BTS, though, he’d be the affable host of a variety show, turning charisma and humour into ratings gold. Tonight, at the first of two London shows on his ‘#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR’ outing, he lives that fantasy.
This is not your typical concert, nor your usual K-pop extravaganza. Instead, it feels like you’re inside an episode of Jin’s Run Jin series, the web show he created as a spin-off from BTS’ own Run BTS. The logo for the programme remains in the corner of the big screens throughout the night, and when the singer first appears on stage for buoyant versions of ‘Running Wild’ and ‘I’ll Be There’, he jumps around a lightning-shaped podium with a big game-show style button on it.
Between performances, he leads the crowd in a series of “challenges” – a telepathy game where he has to guess a word through fans’ gestures alone, another where he has to figure out the song from the crowd’s a cappella singing. “Korean’s difficult for you too, huh?” he quips after fans struggle to recreate the rap verses in ‘Boy With Luv’. Compared to the usual flash of K-pop shows, where dramatic, cinematic VCRs often appear at regular intervals to uphold the narrative of the night, Jin’s is refreshingly down-to-earth, with only one video game-themed clip running right before the encore.
Jin’s performances aren’t without some extra razzle-dazzle, though. Many come accompanied by pyrotechnics and explosions of streamers, or during a snippet of BTS’ ‘Dynamite’, rainbow-coloured confetti explosions that mirror a scene in the music video. ‘Super Tuna’, meanwhile, sees him performing dressed in an inflatable alien costume – a “prize” the crowd earns during the first game of the evening. As he finds out what he’ll be wearing, he tilts his head and laughingly winces, as if bemusedly regretting his choices leading up to this moment.
The challenges and games – and Jin the variety host – are only half of the night’s story. On the flipside is the role that Jin is more commonly known for – phenomenal performer. He shines brightest when he’s engaged in emotionally rich songs, like a beautiful rendition of ‘Abyss’, which finds him seated at a paint-splattered purple piano, lost in the melancholy of the song. He’s equally commanding for the thundering ‘Another Level’, but ‘Rope It’’s endless lasso moves, his arm circling his head, becomes a little awkward.
As fun as the rest of the show is, it’s the closing section – no games, just quality songs – that really hits. A medley of BTS songs – the aforementioned ‘Dynamite’, ‘Butter’, ‘Mikrokosmos’ and ‘Spring Day’ – is received rapturously, fans screaming back every word of each song. ‘The Astronaut’, ‘Epiphany’ and ‘Moon’, meanwhile, showcase what Jin does best – soaring, sentimental songs that allow his voice to dazzle.
Before he wraps up the show for good with a sweet version of ‘To Me, Today’, he takes a moment to reflect. “I think five or six years ago, we sang ‘Epiphany’ here, right?” he says, referring to BTS’ 2018 concerts at this same venue. As he continues, he promises to come back “next time” – a pledge that whips up even more excitement in the stands, given his group’s impending March 2026 return. As a badge he wears at the start of the concert declares, stay tuned for that, and the burgeoning growth of Jin’s fun-filled solo career.
‘Running Wild’
‘I’ll Be There’
‘With The Clouds’
‘Falling’
‘Don’t Say You Love Me’
‘Super Tuna’
‘I Will Come To You’
‘Abyss’
‘Background’
‘Another Level’
‘Loser’
‘Rope It’
‘Dynamite’ / ‘Butter’ / ‘Mikrokosmos’ / ‘Spring Day’
‘The Astronaut’
‘Nothing Without Your Love’
‘Epiphany’
‘Moon’
‘To Me, Today’
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“I received plenty of comments saying it was far too soon to ‘go solo’,” Geese frontman Cameron Winter told NME last year while reflecting on how people initially reacted to his decision to branch out on his own. “Most likely because a lot of folks assume that ‘solo albums’ only happen once a band has passed its peak and that they usually feel like uninspired cash grabs.”
Honestly, everyone is trying to earn a living however they can these days, yet no one expected a Geese side project to generate any real financial payoff in 2024. “Just so you know,” he went on, “my solo album is different: because barely anyone knows my band, I am young and comfortable living with my parents and I have the freedom to follow any ideas that interest me.”
Brooklyn indie followers and former NME cover stars Geese were gaining real momentum when their second album ‘3D Country’ mixed cowboy psychedelia with a jazzy, art-punk energy that had already captured the attention of many UK 6 Music dads back in 2023, but who could have predicted what came next? Geese have become one of the most talked-about bands of 2025 and are expected to dominate multiple end-of-year lists with the ambitious and full-range rock of ‘Getting Killed’. Yet the moment that set the stage for this rise was Winter’s Lou Reed-inspired debut solo record ‘Heavy Metal’.
A handful of late-night US television appearances and a spot on Jools Holland acted as a welcoming doorway for the world to see what this 23-year-old can do far beyond what many twice or three times his age are capable of. Now the sold-out Roundhouse audience made up of indie teens, art school regulars, fans who traveled across Europe and seasoned listeners reacts with a collective breath as a slight opening in the stage curtain reveals the silhouette of Winter seated at a piano. First comes a spark of excitement, then a sudden hush.
There is no flashy social media moment, no chatter overriding the music and almost no sea of raised phones. There is a sincerity to how the night unfolds. The Geese singer barely turns toward the audience. “Turn around!” someone calls out from the balcony at one stage. “Is this not enough for you all?” Winter teases back. For some, maybe it was more than enough. At least four people appear to faint around the warm and crowded Roundhouse while the room stands in absolute focus as Winter moves through the dreamlike storytelling of ‘Try As I May’, the emotional swirl of ‘The Rolling Stones’, the bright lift of ‘Love Takes Miles’ and the sermon-like stomp of ‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’. When he reaches the intense and spiritually charged ‘$0’, even the most skeptical hipster might be convinced that “I’m not kidding, God is actually real”. In that moment, it feels as though we all understand.
The entire performance can be summed up in how ‘Drinking Age’ unfolds. It starts softly with a gentle touch on the keys before erupting into a thunderous attack on the Steinway that could echo into next year, followed by a long, open cry aimed toward the sky. Winter somehow manages to blend something minimal with something enormous, something grounded with something cosmic, a delicate approach that hits with staggering force as he reaches toward ideas of existence, heaven, hell and everything surrounding them.
Winter could recite the phone book and still leave a crowd stunned. He carries the spirit of a post-punk Rufus Wainwright you can play alongside The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, a Gen Z Tom Waits for listeners exhausted by TikTok overload, a new Nick Cave who arrives at exactly the moment he is needed. His voice feels older than his years yet perfectly suited to express the concerns and emotions of his own generation.
We will continue praising Geese endlessly because they deserve it. They are an extraordinary burst of musical creativity that goes far beyond what their lineup would ever imply, and along with Fontaines D.C., they are poised to become one of the decade’s essential bands. Still, tonight offers something quieter and more intimate. Cameron Winter stands completely on his own power, talent and magnetism, proving himself a rising force who can hold an entire room with only his voice, a piano and an entire future waiting for him.
‘Try as I May’
‘Emperor XIII in Shades’
‘The Rolling Stones’
‘Love Takes Miles’
‘Drinking Age’
‘Serious World’
‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’
‘If You Turn Back Now’
‘Vines’
‘Nina + Field of Cops’
‘$0’
‘Take It With You’
‘Cancer of the Skull’
