MANILA, Philippines – Audiophiles, rejoice!
Music, arts, and culture festival Fête de la Musique Philippines is returning more massive than ever with its “multi-stage, multi-genre, and multi-day celebration.”
An annual and free event, Fête de la Musique originated in France in 1982, making its debut in the Philippines 14 years later. The festival is currently celebrated in over 1,000 cities worldwide.
For most, Fête de la Musique is a jam-packed musical affair with lineups that’s as diverse as its attendees. But during the festival’s media launch held on Thursday, June 6, event organizers revealed that its 30th edition is seeking to surpass previous years in both production scale and social impact – a treat for long-time festival goers and first-timers alike.
Excited? Here’s what you can expect from the biggest Fête de la Musique PH yet.
Bigger and better
In celebration of three decades of Fête de la Musique in the Philippines, the music festival will be treating attendees to over 40 pocket stages and 70 destination stages this year.
First incorporated into Fête de la Musique PH in 2011, pocket stages are curated lineups that showcase both established and promising talent within a myriad of subcultures. This year’s pocket stages will be held simultaneously on June 28 within and around Makati City.
However, festival goers will mostly find themselves flocking towards the city’s lively Poblacion district for most of these pocket stages, which also happen to take place just in time for Poblacion’s barangay fiesta.
The event guarantees pocket stages that any genre of music fan could enjoy. From blue soul funk, emo, reggae, Latin, New Wave, ska, rock, and more, pocket stages are an opportunity for both aficionados and curious ears to bask in the music and its community.
Fête de la Musique PH went regional in 2017 as it launched its destination stages in Baguio and Palawan, spotlighting its budding music scenes. This year, the music festival will bring all the fun to even more parts of the Philippines this June 21 to 29, with some destinations even holding their own subculture-specific pocket stages.
Luzon’s destination stages include El Nido, Naga, Baguio, Pampanga, Puerto Galera, Baler, Los Baños, Albay, Zambales, Laguna, Marikina, Cavite, Bacoor, and Masbate. Cebu and Siquijor were announced as Visayas’ two destination stage venues, while Cagayan De Oro, Davao, Siargao, and South Cotabato are Mindanao’s.
Strike a chord
In line with its advocacy of upholding music as a means to “revel in the unifying and healing power of sound, culture, and art,” Fête de la Musique PH will kick off its string of events with the immersive Pre-Fete Sunset Gathering: A Medicine Music Circle + Ecstatic Dance + Sound Bath.
Happening on June 16 at the Ayala Triangle Gardens, the event seeks to highlight the “healing frequencies of music” – a more zen contrast to the rest of Fête de la Musique’s more high-energy offerings.
Fête de la Musique is also reprising its partnership with SONIK Philippines for a sequel to SONIK SESSIONS FETE, an industry-focused conference that caters to both businesses and artists in discussing music’s broader role in cultural cooperation, environmental change, and sustainability. The SONIK SOIREE is slated for June 22 at The Astbury in Poblacion, Makati City.
Star power
Up-and-coming names in the local music scene as well as other Fête de la Musique PH favorites will grace the festival’s pocket and destination stages around the country. Artists like Janine, Leanne & Naara, Kate Torralba, Syd Hartha, Cheats, and Unique Salonga were announced as some of the exciting acts to look forward to.
But for the main event, Fête de la Musique PH will return to the Greenbelt 3 Park in Makati City on June 21 for its much-awaited Main Stage in celebration of World Music Day.
Local artists set to perform on the Main Stage are SHANNi, dwta, Jewelmer Jazz Band, Any Name’s Okay, Morobeats, Autotelic, and Dilaw, along with electrifying collaborations courtesy of Jason Dhakal x Lustbass and Sinosikat x Jose Miguel.
French electronica duo Pfel & Greem of C2C will also be joining the Filipino lineup on the Main Stage as the biggest French act to perform at Fête de la Musique PH yet.
But at its core, Fête de la Musique also underpins the relevance and strength of Franco-Filipino relations by promoting both countries’ shared love for music and live performance.
“It’s that authentic connection between French and Filipino cultures. It celebrates music, friendship, generosity, and the honoring of musical talent,” said Cebuana singer-songwriter Kate Torralba at the festival’s media launch.
Beyond the fellowship between France and the Philippines, R&B singer August Wahh carries a particular fondness for the event as an opportunity to catch up with her fellow Filipino artists.
“I love it because it’s a community. A lot of the time, musicians don’t get to watch each other because we’re usually playing in the same circuit, at the same time,” she explained, adding that most artists tend to “drown in their own music” in pursuit of self-promotion. Fête de la Musique, then, is a helpful platform for musicians to witness their contemporaries at their craft.
Fête de la Musique PH is presented by the Alliance Française de Manille in partnership with the Embassy of France to the Philippines, B-Side Productions, and Funkybeat Entertainment. – Rappler.com