Three emo bands rock Manila in May 2025

Pioneers of the 2000s emo and alt-rock scene are set to pump up the stage as one on 8 May 2025 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay.

Just in time for National Emo Day, Playback Music Festival announced on their social media handles that Secondhand Serenade, The Click Five and Boys Like Girls will be returning for a one-night show.

“Experience the Playback Punk Rock and Emo Music Festival this 2025. Secure your tickets on 21 December, 11 a.m. through www.ticketmelon.com.”

“Sing along to the soundtracks of our youth with Secondhand Serenade, The Click Five, and Boys Like Girls all in one epic night! Happening on 8 May 2025 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.”

Organized by Super Awesome Productions, the event also doubles as a festival extension where crowds can snag some Playback and official artists’ merchandise, goof around in the photo booth, and explore various food items and products at the food booths and pop-up bars.

Fans can pick from standing and seated options, whatever makes the most out of this night a.k.a. a trip down memory lane. Prices are Platinum (reserved seats) for P10,000, Platinum mosh pit for P9,000, Gold for P7,950 and Silver for P4,500. Tickets go on sale on 29 December, 11 a.m., exclusively on ticketmelon.com.

Last 29 to 30 August, Secondhand Serenade, fronted by John Vesely, wooed audiences’ emo alter egos at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao, Quezon City a sold-out concert. The previous show is the solo act’s second visit to the Philippines after its 2012 performance at the North Edsa Skydome.

Two is truly better than one but a third time is soon to be a charm for Boys Like Girls next year. Prior to the band’s upcoming set, they successfully struck crowds with reverberating thunder in their April 2024 show at the Smart Araneta Colliseum and in 2022 with back-to-back two-night performances at the New Frontier Theater and at the Sky Hall Seaside in Cebu.

The upcoming Playback show marks The Click Five’s post-hiatus comeback, and 16 years since its first appearance in the Manila concert scene at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

In 2019, as a soloist, member Kyle Patrick returned to Manila for a secret show. Nonetheless, the band is still as cool as they once came with their fan-favorite hits “Just the Girl,” “Jenny” and “Angel to You, Devil to Me.”

Fans did not hesitate to express their delight and excitement for this once-in-a-lifetime, nostalgic spectacle.

“Click Five disbanded 10 years ago. Does this mean a reunion ?!,” one fan said.

A commenter posted, “Hello po, OG fans are 90s kids. Masakit na tuhod namin.”

“OMG my favorite people in one place.”

The Playback Music Festival revealed the lineup for the event last 14 December, a week after teasing the date, which met a flood of commenters guessing whether the acts would be K-pop performers or rock and alternative household names.