POP rock band Lily celebrated their 1st anniversary with their new vocalist Joshua Bulot via a solid performance in Anonas, Quezon City.
Lily brings to the table a touch of the classics from their Callalily days, to their new sound which rocked their fans at The 70s Bistro.
Aside from commemorating the band’s whole 17-year history, this year marks the first anniversary of changing their name from “Callalily” to “Lily.”
The band’s new name represents a new beginning, a new period, and the band’s rebirth. They choose to stay close to their original name since they believe Callalily is still a part of them.
NEW BEGINNING
Joshua Bulot, the band’s new lead vocalist, fronts Lily. Lem Belaro, Aaron Ricafrente, Nathan Reyes, and Alden Acosta are the other members of the band.
In an interview with RepublicAsia, the band expressed their delight at the new team’s progress over the previous year, following the band’s rebranding and the addition of a new frontman in Joshua Bulot.
“It’s a good time to grow together, and it’s a learning experience. Within the year we just got better and better, tighter and tighter. It’s really off to a great start,” guitarist Alden Acosta said.
According to Joshua Bulot, the band’s new vocalist, the experience of establishing a strong bond right away while joining an established band surprised him.
“Actually, akala ko rin na parang mahihirapan kami, back to start talaga, pero hindi naman kasi once na pumasok ako dito sa Lily, mayroon na kaming bond agad,” he explained.
On a more technical level, it was difficult to figure out how they would discover new methods to creatively perform and project themselves as a band at first.
Joshua’s vocal abilities, on the other hand, allowed them to broaden and adjust Lily’s branding without abandoning the skills and experiences they’d gathered over the years.
NEW NAME, NEW MUSIC
As Lem Belaro noted, the band is also experimenting with different approaches to write songs and is now incorporating different components into their music to make it seem more modern.
Despite having to diversify, the band continues to perform their previous hit tunes. This time, it is modified based on Joshua’s musical ability.
Joshua, who has already been with the band for a year, is still in disbelief that he is actually a member of it. “Actually, nandito ako sa star-struck parin eh, feeling na parang, ako na pala ang nanalo,” he said with delight.
Getting into the band gave him a nostalgic sense as he got to reflect on the fact that his current bandmates were his high school idols.
Joshua expressed his gratitude for being a part of their band and stated that he will continue to remind himself to constantly grow and be better than the previous version of Callalily.
“Noong una kasi marami ring bashers eh, hindi naman mawawala yan, hanggang ngayon naman eh. I mean, singing the songs of Callalily, laging may comparisons,” he added.
FOCUSING ON THE MUSIC
Despite the distractions from their bashers, Joshua is focused on the individuals who back them up. Lily concluded the interview by thanking their fans for their unwavering support.
“Sa mga supporters namin, kayo ang dahilan kung bakit nandito parin sila, at nagpapatuloy parin kami sa music namin. Sainyo lang kami nakafocus, kaya para sainyo lahat ng ginagawa namin!”
Fans were treated to special performances by guest bands such as Aling Vicky, Autotelic, The Grid, Paraluman, and the celebrant, Lily.
Tulak and Stars 2.0, two of the band’s hit singles, were performed. Along with several other tracks, including Ex and Magbalik, their old songs. They also debuted two new songs, Higa (working title) and Sinayang, which will be released in January.
They also said that the fans can anticipate more performances, albums, and songs.
Lily has already shared that Magbalik 2.0 will be released this year, and that they will begin publishing their own songs and albums in January 2024.
