Stray Kids’ dominATE London Concert Review: Chaos, Cult Energy & Cinema Tears

It’s been about a week since Stray Kids dropped their 4th album Karma, and while the commotion and TikTok edits haven’t died down, and probably won't for some time, I’m still reeling from their UK tour dates back in July.

If you don’t know, Stray Kids are an eight member K-pop group formed by JYP Entertainment in 2018 after a survival show of the same name. Since then, they’ve carved out a space as one of the most innovative groups in the industry, writing and producing the majority of their own songs, blending rap, EDM, and rock into something entirely their own. They’ve sold out stadiums across the world, topped Billboard charts, and built a fanbase (STAYs, hey, me!) so passionate that even people who “aren’t into K-pop” eventually find themselves googling which member just made their knees weak with his elf like beauty - spoiler alert, it's Felix.

I’ve been a Super STAY for about two years now, and if seeing Stray Kids live at BST Festival wasn’t enough, their very own dominATE World Tour stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 18 July 2025 just blew me away in every way, shape, and form.

A K-pop concert is something everyone needs to experience once in their lifetime. But when it’s a K-pop group you’re quite sure might be a cult and you’ve been lured in by one man’s ridiculously deep voice? That’s not just a concert. That’s full blown indoctrination. And I went willingly.

The Energy; Non Stop from Start to Finish

From the second the opening VCR rolled and the boys launched into Mountains and Thunderous, the stadium shifted into another dimension. The production was cinematic, fire cannons, lighting that made 62,000 people scream on cue, and choreography so sharp it made my own joints ache in sympathy.

Unlike a lot of usual concerts where the crowd peaks and dips, the energy never let up. Each song was a full body assault, the live band brought grit, the members’ stamina was superhuman, and the crowd met every beat with chants, fanchants, and lightsticks that turned the stadium into a galaxy.

My Emotional Undoing

I thought I was holding it together pretty well, until Lee Know and Seungmin performed “CINEMA.”

Something about that duet, the tenderness in Seungmin’s vocals, Lee Know’s poise, the intimacy on screens, just absolutely wrecked me. Tears. Everywhere, and just FYI this is where my mother, not even a baby STAY at this point, fell hard for Seungmin. Seungmins' beautifully articulated introduction to the credits on screen rolling 60,000+ names of everyone who attended that night along with glittering fireworks felt like the most heartwarming show of love i'd ever seen.

And if that wasn’t enough, my personal favourite tracks, “Lonely Street,” that led into Cover Me was just another gut punch.

The crowd swayed with banners we’d been handed on the way in (a complete surprise to the boys, from what we could tell).

Tens of thousands of us holding up messages in unison while singing along, it was pure goosebumps and one of the most beautiful examples of audience participation I’ve ever experienced. Genuinely. I don't think i've ever cried as much at a concert before.

The STAY Experience

If you’ve never been to a K-pop show, let me explain something, the fans are next level. From the moment we queued for food, fellow STAYs were handing out freebies.

We’re talking handmade Stray Kids jewellery, Photocards (like currency in the k-pop world by the way), sweets and little stickers and notes that just said “have the best night”

It felt less like waiting for a concert and more like being welcomed into a community. And honestly? I loved it. Coming from an elder emo who is so far only used to being thrown around in sweaty mosh pits, this was just beautiful.

By the end of the night, even my 60 year old mother was a full on converted STAY. 

She walked in curious, she walked out humming God’s Menu.

Special Stages & Highlights

Every Stray Kids concert has its “how are they human?” moments, but London’s dominATE stop gave us, The Desperately awaited Unit Stages:

• Truman (Han & Felix) - my bias and door opener sharing a stage giving full on hip hop

• ESCAPE (Bang Chan & Hyunjin) - sexual tension, chemistry, sheer theatre.

• Burnin’ Tires (Changbin & I.N) - pure chaos and humour

• CINEMA (Lee Know & Seungmin) - my personal emotional demolition.

  
  

The best crowd interaction I've ever been a part of:

The boys jumped into carts and paraded around the stadium followed by the hugest SKZOO balloons, making sure every corner of the stadium got a moment of eye contact (or at least the illusion of it). Numerous intervals of stage banter which at one point got so loud that it sparked viral videos from people sitting outside miles away from the venue.

A full on party Finale:

STAYs screaming none stop until their voices cracked, streamers, confetti and SKZ closing with MIROH like it was still 2019, then straight into the festival version of Chk Chk Boom was the closest i'll ever get to a rave - not mad at it.

Full Set List - Stray Kids dominATE London (18 July 2025, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)

1. SKZ Anthem (intro)

2. MOUNTAINS

3. Thunderous

4. JJAM

5. District 9

6. Back Door

7. Team SKZ Dance Medley (Hellevator / Easy / S-Class / Walkin on Water / Charmer / VENOM / Hall of Fame)

8. Chk Chk Boom

9. DOMINO

10. God’s Menu

11. Truman (HAN & Felix)

12. Burnin’ Tires (Changbin & I.N)

13. ESCAPE (Bang Chan & Hyunjin)

14. CINEMA (Lee Know & Seungmin)

15. GIANT (Korean ver.)

16. Walkin on Water

17. S-Class (VMA ver.)

18. Lonely St.

19. Cover Me

20. TOPLINE

21. Social Path (Korean ver.) Encore: SUPER BOARD / I Like It / My Pace / Stray Kids / MIROH
    

Not gonna lie, you will find most of these songs recurring on my monthly Spotify List.

Final Thoughts

This wasn’t just a concert for me. The scale of the production, the intimacy of the unit stages, the unrelenting energy, the banners, the freebies, the SKZOO balloons, and the fact that my mum is now looking up Seungmin fancams on YouTube… it all felt historic.

Over the two nights, Stray Kids became the first K-pop group ever to headline Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, selling out both shows. And trust me they didn’t just fill the seats. They filled hearts, throats, and phone storage across North London.

If you ever get the chance to see Stray Kids live, don’t hesitate. It’s more than music, it’s chaos, catharsis, and community all rolled into one.

And if you’re just here for the set list, bookmark this, because you’ll probably need it when you spiral back into a Lonely Street loop at 2am.

Next up in the Music section: my survival guide to attending a K-pop concert as a thirty something