From K-pop and T-pop to Filipino pop, anime soundtracks and Asian drama stars, The A Festival brought a fresh perspective on Asian entertainment to France — offering fans a weekend that went far beyond the traditional concert experience.
On October 24 and 25, Paris hosted the first edition of The A Festival, an event bringing together artists, actors and fans from across Asia. Its ambition was to move beyond the Korean and Japanese industries that have traditionally dominated the French landscape, offering a wider overview of the region’s contemporary entertainment scene.
With artists connected to South Korea, China, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Myanmar and the Philippines, the festival created an opportunity to explore different musical identities, creative industries and fan communities under kaven
A meeting point for Asian cultures
Several artists perfectly illustrated the festival’s international outlook. Sunny Luks, a Hong Kongese artist living in Seoul and speaking several languages, embodied the increasingly interconnected nature of Asian entertainment.
Filipino group ALAMAT brought another perspective, celebrating the Philippines’ cultural and linguistic heritage. With members originating from different regions and speaking different languages, the group reflects the country’s rich identity through its music and artistic concept.
Meanwhile, Japanese band 7 oops represented the international reach of Japanese music, particularly through its contribution to major anime soundtracks. Their presence was a reminder of how music and animation have helped Japanese artists build audiences well beyond their domestic market.
Familiar faces, new encounters and exclusive moments
The line-up brought together artists with very different relationships with France. TRENDZ returned to a country where they had already met fans, while AM8IC and POW offered audiences the opportunity to discover them during their first visits to France.
For Jacob, the festival marked his first solo festival appearance. He treated fans to an exclusive performance of his upcoming release, Gives You Hell, before joining Ironboy and RNBOI on the next day for a collaborative performance of J’assume. These moments captured what makes a festival particularly exciting: the opportunity to witness performances and collaborations that cannot simply be replicated online.
Beyond the concerts, fan participation was central to the experience. TRENDZ’s dance workshop, BL auditions hosted by Top & Chan, Random Play Dance sessions and opportunities to encounter artists around merchandise stands all offered alternatives to simply watching from the audience.
For many attendees, these activities provided some of the weekend’s most personal and memorable moments, bringing performers and fans closer together.
More than a concert festival
The programme’s structure reinforced this ambition. Morning sessions dedicated to actors and discussions gave space to drama and entertainment, while the afternoon shifted towards live performances.
This balance allowed different fandoms and interests to coexist within the same event. A visitor could attend an actor session, discover an unfamiliar group, take part in a dance activity and finish the day with a concert.
Rather than focusing exclusively on performances, The A Festival offered a more complete experience, reflecting the increasingly fluid boundaries between music, acting, television and fan culture.
A promising step for Asian entertainment in France
As a first edition, The A Festival represents the beginning of a longer-term ambition. Its significance lies in bringing together artists from different backgrounds and creative disciplines while allowing fans to participate actively in the experience.
The next challenge will be to build on this foundation, and strengthen connections between the different communities all while handling the organisational challenges brought by big-scale events. .
Nevertheless, the festival offered a compelling alternative to the traditional single-market approach. From Sunny Luks’s international identity and ALAMAT’s celebration of Filipino heritage to 7 oops’ anime legacy and Jacob’s exclusive performances, the weekend highlighted the many ways Asian entertainment travels, evolves and connects with international audiences.
Ultimately, The A Festival’s strongest contribution was to give Paris a glimpse of Asian entertainment in all its forms — not as a single phenomenon, but as a vibrant ecosystem of music, stories, artists and passionate fan communities.
