Sep 27

Wave to Earth at The Anthem 10/2 – Concert Preview

Wave to Earth at The Anthem 

Go To This Because We Asked So Nicely – A Concert Preview

By Sonya Lee

tour poster of a k-indie band

[the () pieces: wave to earth] Tour Poster; Wave to Earth

Rising to popularity over the last couple of years, Wave to Earth made their debut on August 23, 2019. The K-indie band consists of Daniel Kim, Soonjong Cha, and Dong Q; along with the main members of the band, there are others who assist with the sessions. The additional members include Jo Jung-geun, Jeon-min, and Hong Seung-gi. Daniel handles the guitar along with lead vocals and songwriting. Soonjong Cha (who also goes by John Cha as his stage name) is the band’s bass player, and Dong Q is the drummer. Session member Jo Jung-geun is in charge of the keyboard, while Jeon-min handles the saxophone. The visionary behind the album artwork is Hong Seung-gi (sometimes Daniel helps create some of the work too under the alias: ‘we are not oo’), who doubles as the group’s videographer. Though their first single wave [1st Single] dropped in 2019, they started gaining traction after they released wave 0.01 [1st Mini Album] and summer flows 0.02 [2nd Mini Album], which caught the attention of the indie music scene in South Korea and globally in 2020. On November 21, 2021, the band signed with the label WAVY to further expand their reach in the music scene. After all, the band name ‘Wave to Earth’ stands for the members’ desire to “become a new wave” in the music scene and expand their creation across the world. Speaking of the band, their fans haven’t secured a fandom name, yet in recent years people have accepted the name “planktons” as the unofficial fandom name. The story behind the auspicious title comes from the band’s song surf. [2nd Mini Album: summer flows 0.02]. There’s a lyric in the song that goes “we surf like plankton”, and since the lyric resonates with parts of sea life surfing along the “waves”, fans adapted the meaning to be the same source back to the band.

For a genre that seemed to be fading into the background, Wave to Earth has brought the indie genre to a wide audience, boosting the popularity of the genre to a new generation. Composing and writing all these hit songs is guitarist Daniel Kim. The band’s main inspiration is drawn from their favorite artist, “Sunset Rollercoaster,” a Taiwanese Jazz and Indie rock band. Having such a refreshingly calming sound in their music, people began using the band’s songs for short edits across social media. With the additional rise in interest in Asian dramas during 2020, Wave to Earth became the staple band to create these short (or long) forms of content, which compiled clips from the dramas. Their most streamed songs range from homesick [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], peach eyes [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], light [1st Compilation Album: uncounted 0.00.], love. (사랑으로) [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], and bad [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.]. However, their most streamed song (and counting) is seasons [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], which currently sits at 603 million streams. Their popularity just keeps rising as their latest comeback, bad pieces [2nd Studio Album], has made rounds across the globe, and the song cherry flavoured love inside your heart [2nd Studio Album: bad pieces] captured people’s hearts. This show won’t be the band’s first time in Washington, D.C., as they stopped by 3 years ago on their first American tour; this show will act as a return to the nation’s capital.

The 5 W’s (and a few H’s)

Who: Wave to Earth

What: K-indie (Korean Indie Rock/Lo-fi)

When: Friday, October 2, 2026. Doors open at 6:45 PM; show starts at 8:15 PM

Where: The Anthem, 901 Wharf St SW, Washington, DC 20024

Why: Enjoy a calming night with a performance to wash away all the stress

How might you know them?: The countless edits across social media with the band’s song in the background playing. Their most used songs for edits range from bad [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], love. (사랑으로) [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], seasons [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], peach eyes [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.], and homesick [1st Studio Album: 0.1 flaws and all.]. Their latest release [2nd Studio Album: bad pieces] has also made rounds on edits, with the song cherry flavoured love inside your heart [2nd Studio Album: bad pieces] producing the latest short fan-made videos. From the edits, a drama/show that’s used with the band’s music seems to be “When I Fly Towards You”.

How to go: Tickets start at $62.65 on Ticketmaster

To follow along with Wave to Earth’s updates, connect with their Instagram (@wave_to_earth), Twitter (@wave_to_earth), TikTok (@wavetoearthofficial), or Facebook (@wavetoearth). The band’s music is available to stream on all music platforms.

sonyalee

pen in my hand, music in my heart ♡

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