Hyundai Card’s ongoing Culture Project series kicked off the year with 5 Nights, Seoul’s first large-scale concert event of the year.

A weeklong festival of live music, the company’s latest culture project promised rock-lovers five nights of performances. Originally scheduled to perform were Avenged Sevenfold, followed by Bastille, Starsailor, Rudimental and 22-year-old Icelandic folk singer-songwriter Asgeir, who wrapped up the festival with his solo show on Saturday.

However, the “five nights” suddenly became four, as Rudimental canceled its Friday show for undisclosed reasons. 

British rock band Starsailor, on the other hand, performed its second show in Korea in six months, after headlining at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. The group has four albums to its credit: “Love Is Here,” “Silence Is Easy,” “On the Outside” and “All the Plans,” the most recent released in 2009.

The band went on hiatus after its fourth album, before reforming last year.

“It felt like the right time (to reunite),” said Starsailor front man James Walsh in an email interview with The Korea Herald. “We can enjoy the band again because the pressure isn’t all on the band to bring success. We are more relaxed now and enjoying touring. You have to step away from something sometimes to truly appreciate how good it is.

“I think we are more emotional than some other artists,” he continued. “There’s a lot of competition, so we all have to prove ourselves to get anywhere.”

The members of Starsailor took to the Jamsil Sports Complex Culture Dome Stage on Wednesday, playing 17 songs including fan favorites “Silence is Easy,” “Love is Here” and “Four to the Floor.” Walsh said that after the band’s first performance in Korea, the musicians truly came to appreciate the attention and musical respect the local audience relayed to the band.

“Korean fans are very enthusiastic and passionate. I have noticed that they are very focused on the band when we play, which is great,” Walsh said. “In other places, going to a concert can be more of a social occasion to catch up with friends, so there can be a lot of talking in the crowd. ... We haven’t really experienced that with Korean audiences. Everyone is looking at the stage.”

Although the bandmates have had no official releases in nearly six years since their fourth studio album, Starsailor’s front man assured fans that the band had new material intended for release in the near future.

“We have been writing some new songs recently so hopefully we can get them recorded soon,” he concluded.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)