2026-08-11 BTS Army Invades Baltimore
Happiness in Charm City
Good morning, this is The Smoke Eater for Wednesday, August 12, 2026, there are no words…
NOTE: The Smoker Eater is 100% free because super awesome readers pay for original journalism. Consider tipping, subscribe to my Patreon, or buy some photos!
Leading up to the BTS shows in Baltimore, MD on August 10 and 11, conservative-owned local news outlets were doing a great fear mongering about Korea’s most popular boy band. Warnings about street closures, gridlock, overcrowded clubs, bars and restaurants were pinned to homepages. People were encouraged not to go anywhere near the M&T Bank Stadium, lest they face the wrath of tens of thousands of (mostly) women and girls who make up the “BTS ARMY.”
On Monday, the first night, a massive thunderstorm and tornado warning threatened to shutdown the concert. Fans waiting in line around the stadium were quickly hurried inside by the staff in order to get them to shelter. The concert wasn’t delayed, but some people got a little wet.
On Tuesday, the second day, NOAA was forecasting the threat of another round of storms in the early afternoon, but they never materialized. Instead, there was just an intense heat radiating off Baltimore’s brick buildings, sidewalks and pockmarked streets.
Arguably one of the largest musical acts on the planet right now, BTS have “officially” been on a hiatus to work on solo projects (though the timing just happened to coincide with members’ compulsory military/civil service). Upon announcing a new album and world tour, tickets for some shows sold out so quickly that at least one government official, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, formally requested additional tour dates. Since launching in April, and now on their second US leg, the tour has been posting dominating numbers for much of the summer, particularly in American markets.
Over by the Baltimore Convention Center, people were waiting in line to pick up t-shirts, hoodies, glow-wands, and other merch they’d already bought. This way, a young girl explained, they didn’t have to carry it around armfuls of $30 plushies and trinkets, $60 hats, jerseys and t-shirts, and/or a $120 hoodie all night. They could get their stuff and bring it back to the hotel. Or cars.
Then, she explained, they change into the new shirt of the band they were going to go see.
It’s a common practice among BTS fans to make their own tchotchkes. Fans will give and trade them out at shows - even if they don’t have a ticket. It’s been adopted, to some extent, by fans of other pop artists, like Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan, but, I’m told, it’s nowhere near as extensive as it is for BTS.
Gillian Breeden, 23, of Morgantown, WV was standing outside the convention center with her friend, Shayla Mitchell, 26. Despite only having tickets to the first show on Monday, the two were spending their Tuesday morning happily passing out little cards featuring members of the band that Breeden had drawn. She said it must have taken her 32 hours to make the drawings, get them printed to poster board, cut them out and put them in little plastic sleeves...
“That’s the fandom,” Breeden said as she and Mitchell passed out card after card.
“You can feel the emotion through the song, even without the lyrics,” Breeden said. “The energy they put in? You can just feel it. It’s very positive. People are so excited...I could care less about the rain.”
Like all pop music, historically speaking, K-Pop is not without faults and scandals. The pipeline to stardom is so incredibly competitive that the corporatized exploitation of artists tends to be overlooked. As does the sexism and misogyny faced by female artists, and criticisms for racism and cultural appropriation. Entertainment companies and record labels behind some of the biggest K-Pop acts have been accused of exploiting artists, denying them creative control over their music and lives, basic copyright protections and fundamental human rights. It’s an aspect even BTS criticized in 2022 when, in announcing their hiatus, BTS band leader RM said, “The problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that don’t give you time to mature.”
BTS have been vocal advocates and supporters of social justice movements. In 2018 they worked with UNICEF on a campaign to stop bullying, violence, abuse and to promote a positive self-esteem in young people. In 2020, they donated a $1 million (US) to the Black Lives Matter movement, prompting fans to independently match the donation within 24 hours. In 2022, they were invited to the White House by former Pres. Joe Biden, and held a press briefing in the Brady Room to speak out against Asian hate crimes.
Earlier this year, after the Grammy’s announced the creation of a new Asian Pop category, BTS said they would not submit their critically acclaimed new album,
”Arirang,” and would instead boycott the award. In a posted on social media, the band said, “We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
At 1:00 pm, merchants in the the band’s custom-wrapped trailers outside the stadium were already selling glow wands, t-shirts and tour merch. Signs posted around the stadium said lines would not officially start until 2:45 pm, but eager fans were already sitting at various entrances, and gathering beneath the shade of the MLK Blvd overpass.
At one shop, a woman quickly produced a credit card and spent spent $120 for two t-shirts. One for her, and one for her daughter. People were already walking around with armfuls of stuff though the doors wouldn’t open until 1800 (weather permitting).
“You’re press, but you can still take a cookie, dear,” said a woman from behind me. She stuck a plastic purple Oreo cookie in my hand and laughed.
BTS had their own brand of Oreos, a group of women explained to me me. “Brown Sugar Pancake Flavor Creme.” The cookies are dyed purple, a band signature, and stamped with various phrases, like, “The Biggest Love;” “Our Biggest Voice;” “Our Happiness;” “Dear BTS Army;” “Every Twist;” “Leads to us.”
One girl pulled out an entire box of the cookies to show me. She and the plastic cookie woman, Jerry Nell, of Raleigh, NC, posed for a photo.
Nell said she 3-D printed around 2000 cookies. It took her two weeks to print them in three different parts, and snap them all together.
Nantz, Nell and two other friends had already seen the bands first two US shows Tampa, FL. They weren’t able to get tickets to the third show that was announced after overwhelming demand. All four women would be seeing both Baltimore shows. Later, they’ll head to Chicago for two more shows.
“We’ll go to more, if we can,” says Nell’s friend, Wendi Nantz.
Their fondness for the band and the music allowed the women to meet, become friends, travel and become part of a community, Nantz explained.
“BTS makes us happy,” Nantz said.
OK, Here’s Your Cute Critter Video!
The Smoke Eater is 100% human, ad-free and needs your support!
Consider tipping me on Ko-Fi, the Cash App, Venmo or PayPal.
Hate Substack? Subscribe to my Patreon. There’s more photos, and stickers!
Want to buy a photo? Send me an e-mail, or check out my portfolio.
You can also buy my fancy photobook, “Boots on the Ground.”