MANILA, Philippines - Himig Ng Bayan music festival held its grand finals in Dumaguete City last June 27.
The Dawn and Bamboo lent sparkle to an already highly-charged event.
The Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino (AMP) carried the torch for the festival from beginning to end. Their admiration for Himig ng Bayan’s concept has never dampened. The judges from AMP cited the “genuine-ness” and musical integrity of Himig ng Bayan and offered many ideas to make it even bigger in the future. They also vowed to play a bigger role in its future undertakings.
Rep. Josie Limkaichong of Dumaguete, who guested in the awarding ceremonies, was encouraged by the outpouring of musical artistry that she only has good words and a promise of support for the festival in the future.
Councilor Chiquiting Sagarbarria, chair of Dumaguete City’s Tourism Board, cites the topnotch stage and production value of the festival. She says, “This quality of production is way beyond that of the ‘smorgasbord concerts’ some networks do here on a regular basis!” She’s also thinking of making the festival international in scope for the future.
Val Victa, head of the Alt+Enter Productions which organized the event, says, “We are particularly proud of the program. It went smoothly and the audience stayed with us until the wee hours of the morning obviously enjoying themselves. We have to specifically cite The Dawn for its unending support because the band kept us company while ironing out some kinks in the production.”
Jayson Guinit of Dumaguete and Kitkat Delleva of Pasay City went home richer by P100,000 when they won the grand prize for the vocals and guitar competitions, respectively.
Runners-up brought home P10,000 each and Himig ng Bayan gift packs containing goodies from Tri Dharma.
Himig ng Bayan achieved what it first set out to do: Discover and free from obscurity probably the best musicians from the ranks of ordinary Filipinos, who can only dream of being heard before the festival came along.