Barbie celebrates 25th anniversary with concert
Filipino alt-rock icon Barbie Almalbis reunites with her former bands, Hungry Young Poets and Barbie’s, for a 25th Anniversary concert aptly titled Firewoman: 25 Years of Barbie Almalbis. The award-winning singer-songwriter will perform some of the most notable hits of her career in three separate sets: as a frontwoman of the aforementioned bands, and as a solo artist who managed to make a name for herself. “While this is truly a dream for me, it was GNN Entertainment Productions who first believed it could happen and conceptualized the show,” the Tabing Ilog hitmaker said in a statement. “We reached out Ricci Gurango, Franklin Benitez, Rommel de la Cruz, Wendell Garcia, and Kakoy Legaspi, and we’re delighted that they were all excited to do it too. Ricci, who now lives in the US, is coming home to the Philippines for the show.” The concert is set to take place at 123 Block in Mandala Park on March 11, from 2 p.m. onwards. It will also feature performances by Sandwich, Gab Alipe of Urbandub, Clara Benin, I Belong To The Zoo, Kai del Rio, and Bird, among others. Tickets to the show are now available for purchase via TicketMelon.
Gigi De Lana live
SINGER Gigi De Lana and the Gigi Vibes band are headlining a concert called G Rules at The Theatre at Solaire on Feb. 18, 8 p.m. After the success of their Domination concert tour last year in Manila, the Middle East, and the US, Ms. De Lana and her bandmates — Jon Cruz (musical director, keyboard), Jake Manalo (bass), Julius Traqueña (guitar), and Romeo Marquez (drums) — will perform their original songs and song covers. Presented by ABS-CBN Events and Solaire Resort Entertainment City, ticket prices range from P1,620 to P6,480. Available on ticketworld.com.ph and the Solaire Box Office.
Artifract, Ely Buendia to launch music NFTs
THE country’s first tokenization and fractionalization platform, Artifract, has expanded its collection from art pieces to music with its partnership with Ely Buendia. This will enable fans and music lovers to own pieces of the latter’s music through the blockchain. Artifract signed a partnership agreement with Mr. Buendia, WEU Event Management Services, and Dvent Productions to bring Buendia’s musical collection into the metaverse. Under this collaboration, Mr. Buendia will be releasing an exclusive musical non-fungible token or NFT titled Flamed Lullaby, with a self-composed original song called “Hele.” The accompanying artwork is inspired by the Eraserhead’s 2008 reunion concert, where the Sticker Happy Piano was burned and smashed during their final performance of Ang Huling El Bimbo.This one-of-a-kind musical art piece will be heard by not more than 1,000 owners of the NFT, at a base price of P50,000 per fractional NFT, with exclusive royalty rights and printed version of the Artwork plus Certificate of Authenticity, along with trade on the secondary NFT market once the 1,000 pieces are sold out. A joint venture between UBX, the open finance platform in the Philippines, and art-tech startup Unit 256 Ventures Inc., Artifract utilizes proprietary “token factory technology,” which tokenizes real-world or digital assets.
Farm to Table celebrates two years
THE culinary adventure never stops as GTV’s Farm to Table marks its two years of discovering sustainable farms and sharing healthy food options by Filipino chef JR Royol. As part of the anniversary celebration, the program will air four special episodes beginning Feb. 19, 7 p.m. Mr. Royol will visit his ancestral home in Barlig, Mountain Province. Together with his wife, son, and relatives, he will commemorate the traditions of their Igorot clan and explores the strong farm-to-table culture of the Barlig communities. The episode will show how to prepare tapuey (the traditional Igorot rice wine), and etag, and pinikpikan, and perform the pattong, an expression of thanksgiving through gongs and dances. Catch the four special episodes every Sunday on GVT at 7 p.m.
Young Cocoa releases new single
FILIPINO rapper-producer Young Cocoa revisits his experiences of growing up in Jakarta on “J-TOWN (PM)” — his new single via pan-regional label, OFFMUTE. According to the young artist in a statement, “The song is about how I feel about Jakarta. It’s not so much a nostalgic visit as it is one where I express how much of an impact the city has had on me.” The song will be included on Young Cocoa’s debut mixtape, Sari Sari, to be released in the coming months. The soon-to-be-released EP contains a collaboration with an Asian artist he met last year at a music festival, as well as some bops. “J-TOWN (PM)” is now available on all digital music platforms.
Honne to perform in the PHL
Alternative pop duo Honne has announced an Asian concert tour in May, with stops at Quezon City’s Araneta Coliseum on May 10, the University of Southeastern Philippines Davao on May 12, and Waterfront Cebu on May 14. Local tickets pre-sale starts at 10 a.m. on Feb. 14 until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 16. The general ticket sale will start on Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. The Asia will also make stops at Taipei, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. “South East Asia is our second home,” said the duo in a statement. “We love visiting and playing shows there so, so much. That’s why we are incredibly excited to announce our May 2023 Asia tour. It’s been too long so this will be a really special one. Loads of music you’ve not heard live yet and obviously your old favorites too. Can’t wait to see you soon.” Promoted by AEG Presents Asia and Ovation Productions, tickets to the Philippine concerts start at P850 via ticketnet.com.ph (Manila) and smtickets.com (Davao and Cebu).
