A Space Manila hosts an emotional Acoustic stage for Fête de la Musique 2014
Fête de la Musique returned this year, and Metro Manila came alive as music lovers converged in three main stages and 19 pocket stages across two cities to celebrate musical culture with French, Indian and Filipino musicians. Lovers of the unpretentious sound of acoustic guitars and singer-songwriters headed to A Space Manila located across Greenbelt 5 in Makati City, the first stage to open on Saturday.
Labelled A_SPACE_ASCOUSTIC, the line-up was curated by A Spur of the Moment Project and Generic Mawmaw, and included Isha Abubakar, LM Cancio, Library Kids, Manskee, Reese & Vica, TheSunManager, Where’s the Sheep?, Toni B, Bullet Dumas, The Voice’s Lee Grane, Rizza Cabrera, Tao Aves, Inky De Dios, BP Valenzuela, Johnoy Danao, and special guests, Aia de Leon and Kitchie Nadal. It included a retrospective of previous Fete events as curated by French photographer, Romaine Rivierre.
Top guitar act Johnoy Danao captivated the audience with his gut-wrenching guitar riffs and soulful voice. Danao, who sat cross-legged on the floor, also paid tribute to singer-songwriter Aia de Leon with a sublime rendition of one of her hit songs, “Sundo” who was brought to tears as the audience joined in with the chorus.
De Leon’s set touched hearts as she shared her nervousness about performing as a solo artist, with a sneak preview of new material from her forthcoming album. The audience took to Twitter to praise her openness and passionate vocals. And de Leon shared the stage with equally respected, Kitchie Nadal, who held the gaze of everyone with her own music. As a treat for the audience, she also swapped songs, with Kitchie leading in a beautiful version of “Akap”, one of de Leon’s classics with her former band, Imago.
“A Space Manila is the perfect venue for the acoustic stage. Performers loved how intimate and comfortable the venue is that they likened it to casual jamming sessions with friends,” said Li Perez from A Spur of the Moment project.
A Space Manila is the largest co-working space in the city and offers memberships for its private offices and business lounges. It also has a multi-purpose events space, gallery and café.
The event was free of charge, as it has always been since its inception in 1994. Guests at the acoustic stage enjoyed free-flowing brewed local coffee, a staple at the co-working space, along with pizza and a few craft beers.
For more information about A Space Manila, please visit www.facebook.com/aspacemanila or www.aspacemanila.com.
