Summer Noise was possibly one of the best concert nights of my life thus far. A night filled with great music, good company, and a close experience with some of the artists – what more could I ask for?
In the midst of my stressful, final academic week for this semester, I set out to Greenfield District at Mandaluyong City last Saturday to cover this year’s Summer Noise. I would be lying if I said that I was a true-blue fan of every single performer there because honestly, I only knew a couple of the songs that most of them played. Still, I wanted to discover new music and thus, I signed up for the event.
The concert began at 4PM with local band “Uprising” leading the way. Their set was pretty good and it was definitely a great way to kickstart the event. Other local artists that performed included Cynthia Alexander, Sheila and the Insects, tide/edit and the Ringmaster, Up Dharma Down, and She’s Only Sixteen. This year’s headliners were Japanese Breakfast and Turnover (both from the US), Last Dinosaurs from Australia, and Phum Viphurit from Thailand, who is such a sweetheart in real life.
They were joined by other international acts such as Taiwan’s Manic Sheep and 仙樂隊 SEN, Singapore’s Sobs and Subsonic Eye, and Norway’s Jakob Ogawa. The entire music festival lasted roughly 10 hours, but I did not even feel like I had already been standing for that long.
On top of all of the great artistry that I witnessed during this concert, what stood out the most about Summer Noise was the diversity that it embodied. This was the only festival that I personally witnessed with acts and headliners not predominantly from the West.
As the years have gone by, Eastern artists have started to dominate the music scene, thanks to the continuous efforts of fans promoting their insane talent. Concerts and events like this are great avenues for artists to show the world their capabilities. It is also a great way to reach a wider audience.
Another thing that I liked about Summer Noise was that it promoted the local music scene and placed it on the same pedestal as the international acts. Unfortunately, colonial mentality is still rampant among Filipinos and it still plays a huge role in people’s preferences.
Events like this are not just limited to music, either, but also to visual art forms. They contribute to the advocacy of empowering local artists and showing others that we can match the skills of those abroad because Filipino talent is certainly world-class.
Lastly, I would like to commend the Summer Noise staff and production team who all worked together in making the whole thing possible.
There were a couple of conflicts and unexpected circumstances that happened, but everything turned out fine because of the efforts that they made in assuring the fans that they would all have a good and memorable time. The cheerful guards and bouncers were an added bonus because they did a great job in making the concert-goers feel safe and secured.
I can 100% say that not a single cent was wasted on this event because everything was spot-on and the staff delivered far more than what was expected of them. I also want to point out that the concert ticket prices were actually such a steal because 300 pesos already entitled us to a meet-and-greet with five of the performers. Where else do you see fans scoring deals like that?
I could go on and on about my whole Summer Noise 2019 experience as someone who is new to this type of music scene, but overall, attending was definitely an experience to remember and I do not regret going even though I am already drowning in a lot of school requirements. I genuinely hope that this won’t be the last and if it is not, you’ll definitely see me at the next one again.
The Rest is Noise
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