New York City’s iconic Terminal 5 had a line snaking down the block for Epik High’s 3.0 Tour 2026 kickoff show. The Korean hip hop trio of Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz brought minimal production (besides the biggest LED wall they could find) and maximum energy as their North American fans welcomed them back with a packed house.
While Epik High takes their music and their craft seriously, they are deeply unserious people onstage. The guys are now over two decades into their time as a group and they remain goofy and playful during their performances, bantering back and forth in both English and Korean while their audience laughed right along with them. The show jumped off with each member getting their own walkup song right into the pulsing beats of “High Technology” and “NO THANXXX”.
DJ Tukutz started the show behind the booth and soon emerged to join Tablo and Mithra Jin front and center to the delight of the Tukutz enthusiasts on the barricade. They all showed off both impressive dance moves and airtight lyrical flow through “ANTIHERO” and “Light It Up” as the room shook with the force of the fans’ excitement.
Between songs, the group caught their breath by playing lighthearted games with the audience, including a Q&A and a roomful of fans peer pressuring Tukutz into random K-pop dance challenges. Tablo controlled the room like a maestro (despite losing his leader status to Tukutz, a wildly hilarious story for another day), conducting the show with precision and flair as each member got a turn in the spotlight with solo tracks playing to everyone’s unique talents.
“Born Hater” then came crashing through the roof and everyone from the floor to the mezzanine was rocking alongside the trio as they wrapped up the main part of the set. An encore of “EPIKISM” and “Don’t Hate Me” tied up an incredible start to the group’s tour and sent an absolutely buzzing crowd loose into the balmy city night to relive the best moments again and again.
