Korean rock band Rolling Quartz is closing out their 2025 America tour and stopped by San Francisco as part of it. The Great American Music Hall, in the heart of the Tenderloin, played host.

When it comes to South Korean music, many of us might think of groups like New Jeans, BTS, Stray Kids, Blackpink, Twice, and many others. Not so many rock acts make it internationally but tonight we have a stellar example of one.

Unfortunately for me, today there was no pit and while the Great American Music Hall has an upper floor, no access to that either. I'm going to have to remember to bring a stool with me to this venue because I'm getting the feeling that more often than not there has been no pit which, as a photographer, makes things challenging if you didn't get there for hours ahead of time to wait in line (and given that I was coming straight from work, technically in the middle of a shift, that was an impossibility). Anyway, I digress.

Rolling Quartz was formed in 2020 as the product of two separate bands, Rolling Girlz and Rose Quartz, hence, "Rolling Quartz." They really began to branch out online during the pandemic which led to multiple US tours and even appearances at conventions like Otakon in 2022.  The quintet consists of a Vo-Gt-Gt-Ba-Dr setup.  Vocalist Ja Young is fluent in both English and Korean which allows her to interact with the crowd, something that is sadly missing by a lot of international acts when they visit America. The blue-highlighted Hyun Jung and red-haired Iree are on guitar with bassist Arem rounding out the trio, and all three were at the forefront of the stage throughout the show, trading off time in the spotlight. Last but not least, drummer Yeong Eun shines brightly even tucked behind the drum set to the rear of the stage.

Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart" was the lead-off song for the night and Rolling Quartz's rendition did it justice. Much like the name of the song, this got the night started off fast.  This particular cover was released right before the US and Canada tour began so this tour is the first time anyone has seen it live.  The band followed this with a few of their original songs including "Higher" and "Rock'n'roll Paradise" from their 2021 EP, Fighting, and their debut single "Blaze" from 2020. Fellow South Korean musician Maya got a shout out with the band's cover of her hit song "Azalea."  The band then returned to Fighting with the songs "Holler" and "Delight."

The set list for the night was a combination of the band's own songs as well as a heavy dose of covers (approximately half the set's worth). Even if you may have not heard much of the band before this point, the covers guaranteed that you would still have something you recognized.  After all, covers posted on media sites like YouTube was a large part of why Rolling Quartz grew to be so popular across the world.  That's a task easier said than done for many a band out there, and for a band this young to have gained such a global fanbase means they are doing something right.  Rolling Quartz shows they have a penchant for transforming songs and putting their spin on it, and this was evident as they went through multiple genres like Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to South Korean punk band Crying Nut's "Sing Your Heart Out."

The band's most recent EP is 2024's Victory and they played the titular track along with "Stand Up."  Their most recent original release from January of this year, "RE.BOLD," made an appearance towards the end of the set.

For one last burst the band returned to some of the covers that helped bring them to popularity, namely Nickelback's "Burn It to the Ground," a Blackpink/BTS mashup of "Pink Venom" and "MIC Drop," and Crying Nut's "Sing Your Heart Out."  After a short break, the encore song for the night was a cover of My Chemical Romance's "Helena" (and who will also be going on tour later this year, for those of you who want to relive your early 2000s).

And thus, back to work for me. I had ducked out for a couple of hours just for the show.  All in all, quite a fun night.  If there's one thing you'll notice throughout my photos, it's that there is a smile on every member's face.  They're really having fun out there.  This is a band you should keep your eye on and ears open for.  I've seen a lot of bands over the years and right now, Rolling Quartz are at the top of their game.  They're a lot less heavy compared to a lot of the music I listen to, but sometimes music is about pure enjoyment for the sake of it, and that's what I think Rolling Quartz really does well at.