The best concerts and tours coming to Asia in 2026

Few live shows rival the scale of a BTS tour, and the group’s 2026–27 Arirang World Tour is already shaping up to be the year’s hottest ticket. After completing military service and returning with new music, the global K-pop phenomenon is heading back on the road with their biggest tour yet, with more than 80 shows scheduled worldwide. Venues across Southeast Asia and the Middle East can expect BTS’s signature precision choreography, big production, and stadium-wide sing-alongs to hits like ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Butter’.

For now, tickets are available through June, with later dates expected to go on sale soon. For full details and pricing, visit BigHit Music.

Tokyo: 17, 18 April
Busan: 12, 13 June
Riyadh: 26, 27 June
Kaohsiung: 19, 21, 22 November
Bangkok: 3, 5, 6 December
Kuala Lumpur: 12, 13 December
Singapore: 17, 19, 20, 22 December
Jakarta: 26, 27 December
Hong Kong: 4, 6, 7 March 2027
Manila: 13, 14 March 2027

For those who spent the mid-2000s screaming every lyric to My Chemical Romance’s theatrical emo-rock, this is your moment. Two decades after The Black Parade defined an era of eyeliner and angst, MCR are back on the road with a major Asia run celebrating the album’s anniversary. Expect to tap into the revival of 2000s emo nostalgia with cathartic sing-alongs to classics like ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’, ‘Helena’ and ‘I’m Not Okay’.

All ticketing information is available on the official My Chemical Romance website.

Incheon: 7 November
Singapore: 10, 11 November
Manila: 14 November
Bangkok: 17 November
Kuala Lumpur: 19, 20 November
Jakarta: 22 November

Japan’s biggest rock export is back on the road with the DETOX Asia Tour 2026, bringing their high-energy arena-filling anthems across the region. Known for blending Japanese rock with pop-punk and alternative influences, the band have built a massive international fanbase with tracks like ‘The Beginning’ and ‘Renegades’. Their live shows are famously explosive, with frontman Taka’s powerhouse vocals leading the charge.

Check the Bandsintown website for information on all venues.

Taipei: 25 April
Kuala Lumpur: 29 April
Hong Kong: 2, 3 May
Shanghai: 9 May
Jakarta: 16 May

Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI’s major global moment continues with a headline slot at the Prambanan Jazz Festival in Yogyakarta this July. While her Buzz World Tour wrapped in 2025, this appearance marks a major homecoming of sorts, bringing her back to the region where her fanbase first exploded. Blending R&B, indie pop, and diaristic songwriting, the Jakarta-born artist has built a fiercely loyal following with tracks like ‘lowkey’ and ‘Every Summertime’. Add to that the magic of a live performance set against the UNESCO-listed Prambanan temple complex, and it is shaping up to be one seriously atmospheric evening.

All ticketing and other information is available on the official Prambanan Jazz Festival website.

Yogyakarta: 4 July

Few artists can command a stage quite like Shakira. The Colombian superstar’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour brings her signature high-energy mix of Latin pop, rock and dance to audiences across South Asia and the Middle East, with a hit-packed setlist spanning decades, from ‘Whenever, Wherever’ to ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ and ‘Waka Waka’.

Several previously scheduled stops, including dates in India and the Middle East, have been postponed due to geopolitical tensions. For the latest updates, visit the official Shakira website.

Delhi: 15 April
Jeddah 19 April

Classic rock fans are in for a treat as Def Leppard finally brings a full-scale tour to India. The British legends – responsible for some of the biggest arena anthems of the 1980s – will play a trio of shows through Shillong, Mumbai and Bengaluru before heading to Dubai later in the year. The setlist is expected to pack plenty of nostalgia, with guaranteed crowd-pleasers like ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ and ‘Love Bites’. Add to that the novelty of catching a show in Shillong – India’s long-underrated live-music capital, where generations of rock fans have kept the scene alive – and this is shaping up to be one of the year’s most anticipated comebacks.

The official Def Leppard website has all ticketing and other information.

Dubai: 2 August

If 2026 is the year of the long cultural revival of the mid-2010s, Calvin Harris returning to India feels only right. Few DJs have shaped modern dance music quite like the Scottish producer, whose catalogue spans chart-topping collaborations, club staples and festival favourite hits including ‘Summer’, ‘One Kiss’ and ‘Feel So Close’. Across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, his shows promise the big familiar drops and a Zillenial-dominated audience that grew up to his choruses.

Check out the Calvin Harris website for ticketing information on all venues.

Bengaluru: 17 April
Mumbai: 18 April
Delhi: 19 April

Not many concert venues can compete with Registan Square. Framed by three towering Silk Road-era madrassas, Samarkand’s UNESCO-listed plaza will host John Legend for what may be the year’s most atmospheric live performance. The rare EGOT-winning singer-songwriter brings soulful ballads like ‘All of Me’ and ‘Ordinary People’ – a kind of concert best followed by a slow evening wandering one of Central Asia’s most historic cities.

Tickets can be bought at the iticket.uz.

Samarkand: 8 June