Filipino music lives!

Over a hundred artists will be performing to bring to the public the depth and breadth of Filipino-made music cutting across age groups and preferences

Photo from http://www.whatshappening.com.ph

Once again, the BGC (Bonifacio Global City) Arts Center, with Sun Life Foundation, will celebrate Filipino-made music in many genres and across generations at the Pinoy Playlist Music Festival (PPMF) 2019.

Pinoy Playlist Music Festival will be held on 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19 and 20 October. For six nights and at three performance spaces at the BGC Arts Center — the Globe Auditorium, the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall and the Sun Life Amphitheater — over a hundred artists will be performing to bring to the public the depth and breadth of Filipino-made music cutting across age groups and preferences.

PPMF is the brainchild of singer/songwriter/producer Moy Ortiz. His idea strongly resonated with the advocacy of talent manager/writer Noel Ferrer and of National Artist for music Ryan Cayabyab. They approached the non-profit foundation Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc (BAFI) that runs the BGC Arts Center, which agreed to work with them. Thus, PPMF was conceived as a festival of Filipino-made music, curated by Cayabyab, Ferrer and Ortiz and managed by the Bonifacio Art Foundation represented by its managing director, Maria Isabel Garcia.

“We loved working up ideas and inviting artists for PPMF because we believe in the power of music to awaken our senses. There is so much innovation going on in Filipino music-making and you just have to hear them. We also had so much fun last year and we wanted to do it again this year and this time, with a twist,” Cayabyab said.

“Mr. C is referring to the collaborations that we have this year in a good portion of the performances. PPMF is a creative force to push Filipino music to flourish in these changing times,” added Ferrer.

Ortiz summed up the truth about music and what binds us all: “Filipino musicians are weavers of culture. We cannot live without music.”

Garcia paid tribute to the PPMF curators and the artists and the production staff: “We owe artists the way we negotiate our everyday lives, not just joy and tragedy, but the larger and immeasurable in-betweens of our emotions. PPMF is animated by Filipino artists who give us those vital gifts to change the quality of our days and nights.”

This year, we will experience an exciting dimension as almost a third of the slots are shared or collaborations among various artists. This year, honorees will also be given a token of gratitude for their contribution to Filipino music especially in music education and the 2019 Ryan Cayabyab Award for Musical Excellence will be conferred to one chosen artist this year, namely, Basil Valdez.

The PPMF vision is to elevate the Filipino public’s consciousness that our own homegrown music goes beyond being a mere form of entertainment but a living tradition — the binding “glue” that forms, strengthens and positively moves the Filipino community, thus rendering it vital and essential to keep on making and supporting Filipino-made music.