FROM calm acoustic sessions and guitar-driven bangers to lowkey DJ sets and danceable tunes, the free music event from France now celebrated globally every June is exploring a deeper cause.
This year, the Philippine edition of Fête De La Musique, known simply as FDLM or Fête PH, is using its live celebrations across 43 stages from June 16 to 24 to bring awareness to ocean conservation.
“I was wondering the whole night why this year’s Fête is called ‘Mersea.’ At one of the stages an organizer said it’s a mix of mer (sea) and merci (thank you) in French, showing both gratitude and the goal of supporting ocean conservation. I found that really cool!” said Diane, a 24-year-old roaming the scattered pocket stages in Makati City on June 17.
She added that, as an avid fan of many local music acts who shifted focus towards “more important causes over the pandemic,” it made total sense for Fête PH to be more intentional with their influence.
“I’m huge on the swaying and bopping and headbanging, but it feels way better knowing that it’s all for something, too,” she added.
Since June is also World Environment Month, the festival partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for coastal clean-up and tree-planting in Metro Manila, Siargao, and Cebu.
Xavier Leroux, executive director of Alliançe Française de Manille, told reporters at a media briefing that the challenge this year was “to make [FDLM] more purposeful, to connect culture with advocacy.”
They also partnered with ScarletBox.io for a fundraising campaign for the Philippine seas. The platform is featuring 1,000 NFT (non-fungible tokens) art pieces by 10 renowned photographers taken in La Union, Palawan, and Siargao.
The photographers whose works will be sold to raise funds are Chino Neri, Mike Eijansantos, Lancer Salva, Camille Robiou du Pont, Terence Ver Angsioco, Kat Jack, A Decade, Ganden Medved Po, ADAM, and Archie Geotina.
The art sale starts on June 19.
Giselle Tomimbang, president of B-Side Productions and co-producer of Fête de la Musique, told BusinessWorld that the festival’s attendee record in the country so far was set in 2019, with about 40,000 audience members.
However, the pandemic has “put things into perspective,” with last year’s 14,000 attendees now being the reasonable number to beat, and quality of events now the priority rather than quantity.
“We used to have Manila-centric Fêtes, but during the pandemic, many [people] moved elsewhere like to the islands or started putting more value in mother nature,” she added. “I think that’s really influenced how we view the world and how we use the platforms we have.”
THE LIVE MUSICOn June 23, the main stage for Fête de la Musique 2023 will be in Greenbelt 3, Makati, and will feature performances from Blaster & the Celestial Klownz, Lola Amour, She’s Only Sixteen, Cheats, Ena Mori, and Uncle Bob’s Funky Seven Club.
“My friends and I treat the pocket stages as kind of a warm-up for the main stage next week,” Diane told BusinessWorld while walking to her fifth stage for the night.
Like many other Millennial to Gen Z attendees, who make up the brunt of the Filipinos going to Fête, she’s spoiled for choice — there were 31 pocket stages in Makati that weekend, which provided a wide range of genres.
The participating venues included H&J Sports Bar & Restaurant, A’toda Madre, Mang Rudy’s Tuna Grill And Papaitan, Social House, saGuijo Cafe, Alamat Filipino Cuisine, Boogie MNL, Enzo’s View Bar at Jade Hotel and Suites Makati, Nokal, Kampai, The Spirits Library, Bourbon New Orleans PH, The Apartment, Sarisari Cocktails, Apotheka, Ugly Duck, Justin Alonte Studio, White Banana, Bagnet 8065, Kuya Boby’s Restobar, Seltsam, Mansion Sports Bar & Lounge, La Colina, Coyote Ribs & BBQ, Dear Adam Sweet Lucy, Kosumosu PH, Commune, Balcony Music House, Futur:st, and Keepers Poblacion.
“I’ve been to four, now on my way to the fifth, and hoping to visit at least eight! We’re all just so hungry for live music,” said Diane.
“I’m also glad there’s stages in other cities, because I have friends in Baguio, Laguna, and Siargao who can have their own experiences too.”
Fête PH 2023, in partnership with the Department of Tourism, will have destination stages in Albay, Baguio, Baler in Quezon Province, Cebu, El Nido in Palawan, Laguna, Pampanga, Siargao in Surigao, Tagaytay in Cavite, and Zambales. Almost all performances will be held on June 24 while Siargao is hosting its stage on June 21.
French jazz act Rémi Panossian Trio will also be flying in from France to perform on June 21 at the Raffles Makati and on June 22 at the Alliance Française de Manille.
For the lineup of events, visit Fête de la Musique PH Facebook.
Fête de la Musique in the Philippines 2022 is presented in partnership with the Embassy of France and B Side Productions. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
