A sense of community at Fête De La Musique Cebu 2024

CEBU, Philippines — Fête De La Musique Cebu 2024’s line-up of performers showcased the best of the local music scene with a diverse slate ranging from pop-rock to hip-hop.

Organized by Melt Records and Alliance Française de Cebu, this year’s Fête took place on two dates: June 21 at La Parisienne during World Music Day and June 30 at The Terraces of Ayala Center Cebu.

“These acts represent various communities in the Cebu music scene. We made sure that they fit the vibe of the venues and the festival,” said Melt Records founder Dexter Sy during the event’s press conference.

La Parisienne provided a perfect spot for up-and-coming artists to showcase their talents, while The Terraces served as an ideal venue for established acts to perform in a traditional festival setting. Regardless of the size of the venues, a sense of community from the Cebu music scene was palpable throughout the festivities.

Day 1

Acts on the first day at La Parisienne were dominantly female, capturing the intimate crowd with their catchy and diverse pop sound.

Liana San Diego brought soul to her set, IIICCCYYY matched her hyper-pop sound with her lively stage presence, SUGARKISS elicited fierce and empowered attitudes from her audience, while ZOYA closed the night by making the crowd move with her energetic set list.

IIICCCYYY and SUGARKISS made their Fête debut as solo acts this year after having performed at the music festival with their respective duos Sepia Times and Alice Who.

“When you’re working on your music, you are just in your world, so it feels nice that I am on the right track with what I am doing right now, especially since I debuted this year,” IIICCCYYY told The FREEMAN after her gig.

Shared SUGARKISS, “It’s nice for Fête to witness another portion of my life as an artist. It feels like I am growing with Fête as I have watched them before as an audience member. To be one of the people to celebrate something so important in the Cebu music scene is such an honor.”

Luigi Balazo, one-half of Sepia Times, who also performed at the Fête Ayala stage with his band The Sundown, said, “One thing I like about Fête every year is the new artists coming up. It’s good to see the organizers putting up fresh names that we have yet to see in past Fête events.”

The male performers that night also brought their A-game. MASTERMIL started the show with his DJ set featuring catchy and chill French music, Hollywood Folk Hogan captured the crowd with their unique folk-rock sound, and Cebuano hip-hop duo ELEMINO & DŒZA briefly turned the small French restaurant into a nightclub.

Day 2

Fête Cebu at Ayala Terraces felt like a traditional music festival, taking advantage of the mall’s open area that made it ideal for fans and curious onlookers to enjoy the performances.

“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to play for Fête and share our music. They are putting up events in accessible venues for free. It works both ways. A lot of people can converge and watch the show, while it exposes them to new, local, independent music which helps the bands,” said Bobbi Olvido of Kubra Commander, which kicked off the second day of Fête Cebu.

Following Kubra Commander was The Qings, a band of the Quibranza brothers led by frontman Luis, who explained each song they performed to the audience. Sansette’s summer vibes fit perfectly with the atmosphere, and Coloura showcased their unique pop-rock sound influenced by post-grunge and new wave.

Closing the night were Mandaue Nights and The Sundown, whose music matched the evening vibe as the event drew to a close. Both bands engaged in light banter with the audience, especially The Sundown, who kept congratulating their member Balazo who recently graduated from college.

A unique program for this year’s Fête Cebu was the breakdance segment by Breaking-Cebu at the Ayala stage sponsored by French sports retailer Decathlon. This is to commemorate the dance form’s official debut as an Olympic sport in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris next month.

“We are grateful that they invited us back. In the past, the French Consulate invited some French crews to do workshops and bond with the Cebu breakdancing community,” said Jorell Jaob, a member of Breaking-Cebu.

Breaking-Cebu’s gig at Fête was also their first performance as a full group in over a year. “This event paved the way for us to get back together. Our practice areas are usually quite far, like in Consolacion, Lapu-Lapu City, and Carcar City, so this event is a great avenue for us to bond again,” Jaob added. — (FREEMAN)