Stray Kids announced as Rock In Rio’s first-ever K-pop headliners

Stray Kids have made history as the first-ever K-pop act to headline Brazil’s famous Rock In Rio festival – find out more below.

• READ MORE: Stray Kids live in London: K-pop boyband conquer with fierce, flawless set

Earlier this week, the long-running Brazilian festival announced that Stray Kids have been confirmed to perform the September 11 2026 edition. This makes them the first K-pop act to headline Rock In Rio, as well as the first K-pop act to perform at the festival.

The festival wrote on social media (translated to English): “For the first time in history, K-pop comes to Rock City And who opens this new era is one of the biggest groups in the world: @realstraykids. The beat that conquered the planet will echo on the World Stage”

See the post below.

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So far, only one of the remaining Rock In Rio 2026 headliners has been revealed: Elton John.

Rock in Rio made its debut all the way back in 1985 in Rio de Janeiro and has in the past been headlined by the likes of Queen, Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Metallica and more.

The newly announced headline slot is just another feather in Stray Kids’ hat – they previously performed at Lollapalooza Paris in July 2023, BST Hyde Park last year and Lollapalooza Chicago in 2024.

NME last caught Stray Kids at their historic BST Hyde Park 2024 headline show. Rhian Daly wrote of their performance in a glowing five-star review for NME: “It’s been five years since Stray Kids last performed in the UK with a show at O2 Academy Brixton, which feels tiny compared to tonight. “Back then, there was some uncertainty – we didn’t know whether we had fans in the UK,” Lee Know admits backstage. Although they’re much more comfortable in that knowledge these days, their London fans make sure to make their presence felt tonight. They bellow back every word, even before the group first appear on stage, and come close to matching Stray Kids’ intense energy… as they finally make their exit, London well and truly conquered.”

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