The Rose Brings Healing To Atlanta With Their “2022 HEAL TOGETHER World Tour”

After three years, The Rose is finally back on tour!

The Rose, which consists of Hajoon, Woosung, Dojoon, and Jaehyeong, recently embarked on their 2022 HEAL TOGETHER World Tour, named after their first full-length album, HEAL. It kicked off October 13 with their first show in Chicago, Il.

The Korean indie pop-rock band’s latest concert was on October 29 in Atlanta, GA, at the Buckhead Theatre. Black Roses (The Rose’s fandom) lined up outside the venue hours ahead of the show. A diverse crowd, including all ages, ethnicities, genders, etc., truly proved the band’s popularity and inclusivity. Some fans handed out banners and paper roses as part of a fan project, and everyone made conversation. Many new friends were made.

Black Roses were filling the chill outside as they waited in line, especially as some had driven from warmer states such as Florida, but The Rose soon heated things up.

The Buckhead Theatre, which opened in 1930, holds a capacity of 1,800. It originally was a classic movie house but was restored in 2010 to become an excellent choice for classy and intimate concerts. The already stunning venue was made even more by The Rose’s stage, designed with extra large roses and multicolored lighting throughout the night.

The concert started late but compared to the average American concert, The Rose was on time, especially since there was no opener. The members walked out onto a dark stage to fans screaming. Still, as soon as lead vocalist and electric guitarist Woosung’s iconic vocals filled the venue with “Definition of ugly is,” the band was lit by bright white lights, perfectly fitting his angelic voice.

This set the tone for the rest of the night, and after the first song ended, Black Roses barked until “Insomnia” started playing, followed by another fan-favorite, “She’s In The Rain.” After The Rose performed some of their most iconic songs, they treated the audience to Woosung’s solo song “Modern Life” from his 2022 album MOTH. 

The Rose then took a moment to introduce themselves. They thanked everyone for coming and waiting. Main vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist Dojoon ensured everyone was now warm but wanted to make sure they were having fun even more. Don’t worry; we all were! So, to really get the party started, they performed “California” next.

Afterward, they took another moment to tune guitars, giving time for each member to address Black Roses. Bassist and maknae Jaehyeong sweetly spoke in between barking and screaming from the crowd.

We are finally here. This has been a long time. Thank you for waiting for us. Good to see you again.

— Jaehyeong

Likewise, Drummer Hajoon was met by screams and barks. He giggled before saying, “How are you doing? Hopefully, you guys enjoy tonight…” And with that, the band was ready for their next song: “I Don’t Know You,” which was followed by “Candy (so good).”

The concert was just getting started because as yet another favorite song of everyone, whether you’re Black Rose or not, “RED” played to the venue completely lit by red lights. Black Roses also manually changed their lightstick for each song, so there would be a bouquet of red roses.

After that, everyone was surely hot! So, the members took a break to speak to Black Roses again, and Dojoon said they were having so much fun that they forgot to tell them they were The Rose. Woosung thought he remembered doing it, but even he wasn’t too sure (don’t worry, you did!), but they hadn’t introduced themselves individually yet.

They asked everyone if they had listened to the new album and their favorite song. This was met by lots of mixed answers being screamed, so Dojoon teased, “Their favorite song out of this album HEAL is…” and he imitated their muffled response. Woosung then explained why the members released HEAL.

We wrote this album a couple of months ago, and we released it in October, and you know it was a long time coming. …We’ve been gone for two, maybe three years. So, this is us coming to Atlanta in… What? Three, three, and a half years? So, within those times, we’ve individually matured, learned, and grew and had all these new experiences, and all those new experiences, we talked about it, we caught up, talked for weeks, and we really put that into one. And we put it into one because we wanted to share this with you guys and share with you this emotion we were filling.

— Woosung

Black Roses shouted, “Thank you” for sharing the personal album, and Woosung thanked them for listening. He continued to share the message behind HEAL. After the members took a break to fulfill Korea’s mandatory military enlistment and switched companies (they’re now under the self-made label Windfall after suffering mismanagement from J&Star Entertainment) after two-year hiatus, some feared the band would break up, but they proved wrong. Instead, they returned and wanted to return to their roots, which is all about healing.

So, the main idea was when we got back together… We were talking and The Rose’s main message for when we first made the group, the band, was healing … together with music, and we felt like it was the perfect timing, us going into this new chapter to kind of introduce you guys again to why we started music and create this tool that can help us and you guys out when you guys have a bad day, have a happy day … All these emotions that we have normally, we felt like this tool could help you get through whatever it is. So, thank you for listening.

— Woosung

Everyone could feel Woosung’s sincerity as he spoke, and Dojoon thanked him for his meaningful and detailed explanation. The band has truly been through a lot, so they are a living testament that people can persevere and heal together.

So, that’s why we called it (the album) HEAL, and that’s why this tour is called HEAL TOGETHER. Let’s heal together…

— Woosung

Woosung introduced Jaehyeong next, saying, “In the album, Jaehyeong wrote a beautiful song.” So, before the band performed his vulnerable self-written song, “See-Saw,” he talked about overcoming hard times before a documentary clip played behind them on screen. Black Roses shouted encouraging words throughout.

I had a hard time, and I was so confused. And now I want to share my story to you guys because I overcame through this HEAL project, and I know, I think, everyone [has a] problem, and I hope someone, especially one person, is healed through my music, through our music… I’m so happy.

— Jaehyeong

The emotions remained high as they performed “Childhood,” “I.L.Y.,” “Shift,” and “Time” back-to-back afterward. The venue was beautifully filled with the voices of not only the band members but Black Roses. Previously, Woosung dropped the setlist via The Rose’s official Discord, encouraging everyone to memorize the lyrics so they could sing together.

🐺 Kim Woosung Discord Update [10.09.2022]#TheRose #Woosung @TheRose_0803

🐺: *Sends the set list of the tour*
🐺: Dont tell anyone it was me
🐺: It might change slightly due to occasions
🐺: But yes definitely go memorize those lyrics so we can all sing together pic.twitter.com/30Abx3vGg4

— The Rose Promotion Team (@PromoteTheRose) October 18, 2022

After crying a little, it was time to dance our worries away! Woosung and Dojoon left their instruments behind to dance with Black Roses to “Yes” (featuring James Reid). In a moment, Dojoon sang acapella with Black Roses, which they complimented their singing afterward.

They talked to fans in the crowd for a little while afterward, reading signs, etc. While Woosung turned down a marriage proposal, they wished another one a happy birthday. The group even received a fan-prepared banner. Dojoon also admired their efforts in changing the lightstick color for each member.

Woosung then transitioned to the next part of the show. He admired Black Roses before introducing their song “Sorry,” their first-ever release.

We feel very happy to be back. It’s been a while, but thank you all for coming out today. It’s an honor to be here in your presence, you guys are so beautiful, you sing beautiful, you guys are so amazing. We are so proud of our Black Roses. I hope you’re proud of us too… And this song we’re going to play next is what started The Rose. It was the first song we ever released … six years ago. We’ve been together for seven years.

— Woosung

“Beauty and the Beast” and “Cure” were next. During “Cure,” Black Roses held up the banners handed out before as part of a project. So, the band could see the words, “TOGETHER WE MAKE A GARDEN FO HEALING ROSES.” One could tell that the crowd truly followed Woosung’s advice, as everyone knew every word. Unfortunately, the concert was coming to an end. They played “-,” thanked Black Roses again, and performed their latest title track, “Sour,” which we all know by heart thanks to the members’ creative TikToks featuring the song.

After “Sour,” we really didn’t want it to end. So, although the members left the stage and the venue went dark, the crowd continued to scream, cheer, and shout for an encore. Sure enough, The Rose returned after swapping their dapper fits for the tour T-shirts.

They sang one more song, “Black Rose,” dedicated to their fans. During this time, they even handed out and threw red roses to the crowd and accepted gifts, including headbands and banners, a Pride flag, and more. And, of course, you can’t forget a group photo!

The concert couldn’t have ended on a more beautiful note. It was bittersweet (or sour) to part ways, especially having not seen them in person for so long. Still, that sense of a loving, healing community is one that remains with you even after the band says their final goodbyes and the lights go out.

The 2022 HEAL TOGETHER World Tour takes The Rose across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America. The band’s world tour will conclude in Barcelona on February 19, 2023. So, don’t forget to get tickets.