Singer-songwriter Kim Dong-ryul has announced that he will hold a concert without an orchestra for the first time since his debut, scheduled for this coming October.

On August 25, Kim Dong-ryul shared the news directly through his social media channels regarding his solo concert titled "2026 Kim Dong-ryul Concert Old Songs", expressing his unique sentiments.

He began by stating, "This performance will be the first in my concert history, including my days in Exhibition, where I am preparing a stage without an orchestra." He continued, "It was my dream to hold a concert with a full orchestration arrangement, and I was able to make that dream come true after returning from studying abroad. As I repeated performances, the rich orchestra sound became a signature of my shows. I still love this kind of grandiose, magnificent epic-style music and performances, but even so, I wanted to try a somewhat minimalist configuration performance that breaks away from my typical concert style at least once."

In this concert, Kim Dong-ryul will perform with a band, excluding the orchestra. He explained, "This might actually be a more difficult challenge for me, like stepping onto a battlefield without a sword or a shield." He added, "Among my songs, there are quite a few minor-style tracks. I wanted to dust off and sing songs that I haven't been able to share often on stage for a long time. I also wanted to try various stage direction techniques that would be physically impossible if the stage were completely filled with instrumentalists."

Finally, Kim Dong-ryul expressed his confidence, saying, "For some people, this might feel a bit unfamiliar and awkward, while for others, it might be a concert that hits right in their taste. If you are someone who usually preferred the tracks that were sidelined in albums over my hit songs, or if you enjoyed the 2019 concert 'Old Songs', you can look forward to this performance."

Meanwhile, Kim Dong-ryul, who has set new standards for the domestic performance culture, has met audiences spanning generations since the 2000s through various concerts such as "Invitation", "Monologue", "Thanks", "2015 KIMDONGRYUL THE CONCERT", "Old Songs", "Melody", and "Stroll".

In particular, his 2023 concert "Melody" drew approximately 60,000 audience members across six shows, and his 2025 concert "Stroll" mobilized about 70,000 attendees over seven shows, proving his top-tier ticket power in the country.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)