MANILA, Philippines — Spotlight Media Entertainment top honcho Pen “Miss M” de Leon Manahan announced that Arnel Pineda and Bamboo are set to perform together for the first time in a series of concerts in the US.
Titled First Light, the concert will be held on Sept. 17, 8 p.m. at Sams Town Center Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas; Sept. 25, 7 p.m., San Jose Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose, California; and Oct. 1, 8 p.m., Snoqualmie Casino in Seattle.
According to Miss M, now that the concert business is now open after more than a year of pandemic-related disruptions, their office has been swamped with phone calls and e-mails for tickets to Arnel and Bamboo’s shows. Tickets are selling like hotcakes, she said.
“And almost everyone wanted to be in the front row, VIP (seats), and we couldn’t accommodate them all. So, ang ginagawa ng iba ay kumukuha ng tickets for the three venues,” the show producer added.
Nevertheless, one aspect of in-person experience that must be observed is the list of health and safety guidelines.
“I think this is the best time for us to start some kind of entertainment for everybody,” she said. “But, of course, we still have to follow the health and safety protocols to make sure that everybody is safe. We already planned what we’re going to do before we let people inside the venue. Although they really don’t need to wear masks anymore since they were already vaccinated, it’s still important to follow the health mandate.”
Miss M is mum about the show concept so as not to ruin the element of surprise. “Basta, this is their first tandem. It’s never been done before,” she remarked.
Show promoter IStar of Bojie Yangco, Miss Pen said, is in charge of the overall stage production. “It was Bojie who invited us if we would like to produce the show at kinuha ko nga ‘yung three cities. I know that Bamboo is already here. He’s one of the fan favorites here while we know Arnel is also famous and I already met him.”
The lady producer expressed her admiration for Arnel’s pleasant personality. She shared, “Arnel is a very down-to-earth person. We invited him over to my house at talagang very low key; wala kang makita sa kanya (ere) na kahit sikat s’ya as the lead singer of Journey. When he’s with you, he’s just like an ordinary person like us.”
Part of the proceeds of First Light will go to Miss M’s foundation that extends assistance to the less fortunate kababayan in the Philippines. “Our next project is to provide eyeglasses and eye check-ups to those who need a helping hand.”
For those not familiar, Miss M has been in the business of producing entertainment events in the US for over 22 years now. Her initial project was the Angeline Quinto-K Brosas show in Palm Springs that took place before the pandemic hit globally.
“I’ve always been passionate about bringing great entertainment to everyone while giving opportunities to Filipino artists to showcase their incomparable talents here in the US and growing my business at the same time,” she said and added that Rey Valera and Joey Generoso were supposed to do a concert last year but the plan was cancelled due to the coronavirus breakout.
During the last quarter of 2020, Miss M also launched Spotlight Media Magazine to connect the local community and the whole world virtually.
“You always need a backup plan. We couldn’t do live concerts in 2020, so my family and I had to think outside the box. And you can’t go wrong with a multimedia platform. This way, community partners, organizations and other entrepreneurs may still have a voice using the magazine,” said Miss M, whose businesses mainly focus on behavioral management, health and mental care.
Miss M also hopes to do shows for more Filipino performers like Bugoy Drilon, Michael Pangilinan and Daryl Ong in the future.