A NIGHT WITH THE ROSE IN TORONTO FOR ONCE UPON A WRLD TOUR
BY BRENESSA ROACH | JULY 14, 2025
On July 10, 2025, South Korean alt-pop indie band The Rose (더 로즈) performed at The Great Canadian Theatre in Toronto as part of their Once Upon a WRLD Tour. The tour follows the release of their latest album, WRLD, which dropped on May 30, 2025. This marks The Rose’s fifth overall tour, their fourth time performing in Toronto, and the 13th stop on their 29-city run.
In 2023, they took the stage at HISTORY for their Heal Together Tour, and in 2024, they performed at the Coca-Cola Coliseum for their Dawn to Dusk Tour, which we had the opportunity to cover as well.
The Rose is a four-member band consisting of Woosung (vocalist/guitarist), Dojoon (vocalist/multi-instrumentalist), Taegyeom (bassist), and Hajoon (drummer). They made their official debut on August 3, 2017, with the single “Sorry.”
Around 8:20 PM, an audio announcement introduced the tour which was a nice touch that built anticipation as the crowd waited for The Rose to take the stage. At 8:30 PM, the band entered, taking their seats on stools to perform a beautiful acoustic set featuring: “Ticket To The Sky”, “Childhood”, our personal favourite “Definition of ugly is”, “She’s In The Rain”, and “Tomorrow”.
As longtime fans of The Rose, this was our third time seeing them live, but the first time we experienced an acoustic session like this. The mellow vibe was refreshing, and hearing “Definition of ugly is” stripped down was so beautiful and different from their usual performance.
After the acoustic set, the band briefly went backstage while the crew removed the kabuki and reset the stage. When The Rose returned, they kicked off the full-band portion with “Nebula”, one of our favourite tracks from their no-skip album WRLD.
The rest of the setlist was a perfect blend of emotional and high-energy performances, featuring fan favourites like “Sorry”, “RED”, “Back To Me”, and “Sour”. The stage design this time had a cozy bedroom and studio feel, reflecting how The Rose creates their music. We especially loved the little details like the hand drawn illustrations on each member’s instrument.
The ments (talking segments) were sweet and heartfelt, as always. It’s clear how much Toronto means to The Rose, and hearing them speak about their journey as a group always makes us feel so warm.
The show wrapped up with beautiful performances of “Cosmo” and “O”, which had a confetti finale. Before leaving the stage, the members continued their tradition of handing out roses to lucky fans in the front rows.
We’re so happy The Rose came back to Toronto and we already can’t wait for the next time.
Huge thanks to Platform PR, The Rose, and their team for providing us with a media pass for this beautiful night.
Follow The Rose:
THE ROSE GALLERY
Photography by Brenessa Roach [@brenessaroach]
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