FOR a long time, people had to suffer in their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to go out and experience life as many knew it for months. Many public events were taken away from the masses, and concerts were no survivor of the restrictions brought forth by lockdown and social distancing.
While people continued to find ways to enjoy music with one another, such as through live Zoom concerts and Spotify listening parties, nothing compared to the feeling of being at a concert: the rhythm thumping through your chest in a sea of sweaty, endorphin-filled bodies is something that can’t be experienced through a screen.
Thankfully, as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, artists from all over the world started visiting the Philippines once more to share their talent and connect with their fans. Finally, the wait of the Filipino concertgoer is over.
For those who are a little disoriented about the number of artists coming to the Philippines within the year, here is a list of some of them that we’re sure you’ll want to keep an eye out for.
- Sabrina Carpenter – July 25
Some may know Sabrina Carpenter from her previous acting stint on Disney as Maya Hart in Girl Meets World. You may also recognize her as Harper, the beauty queen sister of Jodi Kreyman in the Netflix film Tall Girl, or as the privileged Hailey from George Tillman Jr.’s The Hate U Give.
Or if you’re more versed in the world of gossip rather than film, Carpenter’s name may be familiar in relation to the controversy with Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. She stirred up quite a storm after she was thought to be the blonde girl mentioned in Rodrigo’s song within her debut album, Sour.
Aside from the drama and the movies, though, what some may not know about Carpenter is that she’s an extremely talented musician. Most famously known is her song Because I Liked A Boy, which many believe to be a response to the whole situation between Rodrigo and Basset.
Her song Nonsense has also made its rounds on TikTok, proving that no matter what others may say about her, Carpenter continues to just mind her own business and slay no matter what.
Carpenter will be coming to the Philippines at the New Frontier Theatre this July 25, 2023, with her ticket prices ranging from P1,775 to P8,275 PHP. Tickets for her concert can be purchased via Ticketnet Online now.
- TXT – August 13
When BTS’s record label Big Hit Music first announced that it would be putting together another boy group, many were quick to think that it would be just another clone of the former. But since the group’s first release, Crown, Tomorrow X Together – more commonly known as TXT – has proved people wrong over and over again.
Made up of five members, TXT has made waves for how talented its members are, often rivaling the energy of veterans in the K-Pop industry despite only being teenagers when they first started, with the youngest member (Hueningkai) being 16 and the oldest (Yeonjun) being 19 at the time of their debut.
Since their first release, they’ve continuously topped the charts in South Korea’s music industry. They’ve also shown themselves to be close with the members of BTS, quickly prompting fans to make videos of them being chaotic with one another or even just supporting each other in their respective ventures.
TXT’s concert in the Philippines will be happening on August 13 in Bulacan at the Philippine Arena, with prices for tickets selling for as low as P3,750 PHP and as high as P17,750 for VIP Soundcheck. Tickets are available for purchase on Live Nation PH, but be quick, because they’re selling out fast.
- RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World – September 3
When RuPaul’s Drag Race’s first-ever season premiered back in 2009, the world was changed forever.
Full of campy outfits and drag queens with loud but loving personalities, as well as nail-biting challenges and sentimental moments that express the hardships queer people go through daily, it’s hard not to find at least one thing to love about the show when you first watch it.
And when Drag Race Philippines was later on released in the Philippines back in 2022, its ratings showed just how much people loved it, regardless of if they’ve been long-time fans of the show or just started watching it for the first time. Tweets talking about the show were in the hundred thousands even before it was aired, and these digits only rose as more episodes were released to the public.
Now, RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World is coming to the Philippines this September at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. Some of the queens included in the lineup are Aquaria, Kmi Chi, Naomi Smalls, Plastique Tiara, Angeria, Rosé, Kandy Muse, as well as Yvie Oddly.
Tickets for RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World happening on September 3 are currently available at SM Tickets online, with prices ranging from P3 730 to P10,740 depending on whether you want to be seated or standing.
- Twice – September 30
First debuting back in 2015 with its song Like OOH-AHH, the K-Pop girl group had already managed to win the hearts of people both in Korea and the rest of the world given that they’d been a part of the survival show Sixteen, where they were first discovered and formed.
This show, created by JYP Entertainment, would choose from a number of female JYP trainees who they feel would best become a girl group. The girls now in Twice served as the last survivors for the final line-up.
Twice has released no flops thus far, each song seeming to perform even better than the last. Back in 2017, it was even labeled the Nation’s Girl Group by numerous news outlets, achieving such a prestigious title only two years after their debut.
Currently, the group is beloved by its fans – ONCE, they call themselves – both nationally and internationally. They are especially beloved in the Philippines, as seen in the fact that the Philippines is the third biggest market of the group on Spotify.
Tickets for Twice’s Ready To Be tour coming to the Philippines this September 30th and October 1st range from P1,750 up to P17,500. Both concerts will be held in Bulacan at the Philippine Arena, with tickets available on Live Nation and selling out faster than the speed of light.
- Mayday Parade – October 27
Rise, fellow emos! Mayday Parade is coming to the Philippines this October 27.
The alt-rock band, perhaps known best for its bangers from 2012 like Stay and Oh Well, Oh Well, is one whose name never disappears when it comes to discussing bands that were a part of the childhood of many Gen Z emo kids.
Often paired with groups like All Time Low, You Me at Six, and Pierce the Veil back in the mid-2000s, the band was first formed back in 2005, with its first debut album A Lesson in Romantics immediately showing the members’ talent and capabilities as a rock band back in 2007. At present, they continue to release songs akin to their original sound, such as their most recent music video release More Like A Crash.
Reminiscent of a time when long hair, side fringes, and Ray-Bans were all the rage, attending a Mayday Parade show will surely bring concert goers back to a time when all their worries could be wiped away by simply headbanging to Jamie All Over.
Tickets for the band’s Welcome to Sunnyland tour are priced at P1,590 to P6,360 PHP and will be available for purchase at Ticketnet Online.
