Emotive Band Eddie and the Bricks Wins 2026 Rookies on the BU-ROCK

[Financial News] The Busan International Rock Festival's emerging-band discovery project, 2026 Rookies on the BU-ROCK, came to an end on the 4th after three days of intense competition. The winner was Eddie and the Bricks, a Britpop rock band that debuted two years ago. The competition was held at the Daesun Distilling Hidden Stage in Samnak Eco Park in Busan.
Rookies on the BU-ROCK is a competition organized by the Busan International Rock Festival to discover emerging artists and provide them with opportunities to perform on larger stages. Since 2023, it has operated under its current name after being renamed from the emerging-band development program BU-ROCK Battle. This year, 289 bands entered the preliminary rounds—about 50 more than last year—and 15 bands made it through the fierce competition to perform on the Busan International Rock Festival's finals stage.
The judges were Ok Yo-han, vocalist of Pia, one of Busan's first-generation well-known bands; Park Cheon-bin, a music performance planner and professor at Kyungsung University's Glocal College; and Kim Do-heon, a member of the Korean Music Awards selection committee. The president of Nuno, a global curator company from Taiwan, also joined the judging panel.
This year's top prize went to Eddie and the Bricks, a band that delivers rock music infused with a nostalgic sensibility over a Britpop-based band sound.
The first-place team will receive KRW 5 million and an opportunity to perform next year on the Samnak Stage, the main stage of the Busan International Rock Festival. It will also be eligible to participate in one of the overseas music festivals held as part of the Busan Culture and Tourism Festival Organizing Committee's international exchange program, with related expenses covered.

The second-place team will receive KRW 3 million and an opportunity to perform on next year's Green Stage. The runner-up will also have a chance to participate in the international exchange program. The third-place team will receive KRW 1 million and an opportunity to perform on next year's River Stage.
Eddie, the frontman (vocalist and leader) of Eddie and the Bricks, the winning team of 2026 Rookies on the BU-ROCK, said, "When we came down to Busan, I said, 'Of course we have to take first place~,' but honestly, just making it to the finals stage was enough for me. I'm still stunned that we unexpectedly won after joking about it. I was also moved when I saw the audience responding, jumping around and enjoying themselves with us." He added, "The prize money will definitely be our top priority for making music. Our band is also very active in visual and video content, so we will prepare to use it for that as well."
TheyNeverChange, an emotive modern rock band that offers comfort to young people, took second place. Asadal, which explores crossovers between various genres and musical experimentation with a rock-based sound, claimed third place.
Kwon Yoongoo, the frontman (vocalist and guitarist) of TheyNeverChange, said, "Actually, we also entered this competition last year. We didn't manage to win an award at the time, but we had a great time performing and went home happy." He continued, "Looking back, we came last year filled with the passion to show as much as we could, but this year we arrived feeling more at ease after experiencing so much over the past year. We focused on creating good memories through the performance itself, and I think the result turned out well because we enjoyed performing. I'm grateful to the fans who supported us and to everyone who loves the band."
Hyeonsan Kim, the leader (vocalist and guitarist) of Asadal, said, "We came down carrying the heaviest load we have ever brought to an Asadal performance. That shows how sincerely we prepared for this stage." He added, "When the audience's response erupted during our performance, it was an unforgettable day—moving enough to bring us close to tears as well. We want to continue singing about what we create under our own name and make music that captures, in an enjoyable way, the emotions we experience in our daily lives—music that everyone can sing together."


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