The UP Industrial Engineering Club is back to host its annual benefit concert in its 11th edition entitled: Rock In Focus 2019: #SoulTrip. Beginning in 2008, Rock In Focus (RIF) served as an avenue to celebrate local music and art, which is actually how the event got its name originally. The word “rock” pertained to the genre of music that was prevalent in the indie scene we featured and supported during the time, while the word “focus” hinted at cameras (e.g. camera focus) as RIF was also a photography contest. Through the course of multiple years, many current big names in the OPM industry today were once featured as small indie bands in RIF, and we hope to continue being part of the journey of other growing local artists.
Beyond all the lights and tunes, RIF is a fundraiser event that supports the education of its beneficiaries. For the longest time, the money raised during the event goes to UP IE Club’s scholarship fund, which helped UP student beneficiaries pay for their tuition. However, in light of the recent free tuition in UP, there hasn’t been a need for the scholarship fund. Instead, RIF’s new beneficiary is the club’s Tulong Eskwela program, which is a school development fund that aims to partner with schools in need and help them through various donations and projects. Our current partner beneficiary this year is the Bakwit schools of the lumad people from Mindanao, and we aim to be able to raise a substantial amount in order to help address their needs.
Fresh from its 10th anniversary, RIF this year hopes to mark the start of a bigger and more successful batch of concerts for another decade. RIF 2019 will be held on November 16, featuring eight amazing performers, and combining with an estimated number of 1000 attendees, to create a night to be remembered. We hope to see you there!
