Entertainment
10 Upcoming Concerts You Can Catch This Year in PH
But concerts and live events are finally back (with safety precautions involved, of course!) In the second half of the year, arenas, stages, and concert halls are being booked left and right for famous and upcoming artists who will step into the Philippine soil and give the Filipinos a show to remember. (File: Roger Harris/Unsplash)
Better save up because live concerts are back!
It hasn’t been long since the world was brought to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic and halted every social activity allowed; postponing all of the arranged trips, social gatherings, holidays, and even music festivals and concerts.
But concerts and live events are finally back (with safety precautions involved, of course!) In the second half of the year, arenas, stages, and concert halls are being booked left and right for famous and upcoming artists who will step into the Philippine soil and give the Filipinos a show to remember.
Just recently, multiple Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish graced the Philippine stage for the first time for her “Happier Than Ever, The World Tour” stop. The Ocean Eyes singer was supposed to visit the country in September 2020 for her “Where Do We Go? World Tour” but was postponed due to the pandemic.
Fans of the American Rock band All Time Low were also in for a good time during their recent visit to perform in the SM Mall of Asia Arena after 5 years since their last show in the country. All Time Low Guitarist Alex Gaskarth was delighted by their fans and shared on his Instagram Story that the Manila crowd was “the loudest crowd we’ve played for in a minute.”
Last July, members of Kpop group GOT7 began returning to the country as soloists, with Youngjae being the first one to hold a concert, followed by Bambam. This Friday, August 19, it will be Yugyeom’s turn to meet Filipino Ahgases at the New Frontier Theater for his first solo concert.
With all the exciting concerts to look forward to, concert-goers can’t wait to dive back into the mosh pit and jam along to their favorite tunes in front of their favorite artists. If you still can’t decide which concert to go to this year, here’s a list of upcoming concerts you can look forward to:
The Maine
American emo rock band The Maine will be coming to the shores of Manila, particularly to the northern side as they will be rocking the stage at the SM North EDSA Skydome for their 15th anniversary on August 27 and you are invited!
Aside from their anniversary, the band will be playing new songs for their fans from their new album XOXO: From Love and Anxiety in Real Time released last July 2021. Tickets for The Maine BACK IN MANILA are available from ₱2,650 to ₱3,150 at SM Tickets.
Ben&Ben
Filipino folk-pop act Ben&Ben are taking over the Cultural Center of the Philippines Open Grounds for their biggest stage yet, as they play fan favorites “Kathang Isip,” “Paninindigan Kita,” “Leaves,” “Make It With You,” and more for their send-off concert before kick-starting their US tour.
The band, who recently won the Awit Award for Record of the Year, will be playing live for the first time since their last online concert held in December 2021 at the Araneta Coliseum. Catch the send-off concert on September 3 and get your tickets via Ovation Productions and TicketNet. Price ranges from ₱500 – ₱2,500.
NCT 127
Get your lightsticks ready, NCTzens, as members of Kpop group NCT 127 are bringing the NEO CITY: THE LINK tour to Manila! Concert organizer PULP Live World confirmed this last August 12 after much speculation from the fans, announcing that the NCT subunit will be performing at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Mark your calendars now as tickets will be on sale on August 21 at 12 PM at all SM Ticket outlets nationwide and online, with prices ranging from ₱3,500 to ₱12,000. Fans may now be preparing themselves to ‘Kick It’ with the members with only a few weeks left before the concert on September 4 at 5 PM.
(G)I-dle
Another K-pop act to look forward to is Oh My God hitmaker (G)I-dle who will be coming to Manila for their Just Me World Tour. The girl group will be performing at the New Frontier Theater on September 11.
This will be their first time performing in the Philippines after their scheduled appearance in Manila last June 2020 as part of the ‘I-LAND: WHO AM I’ world tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Script
Who hasn’t grown up listening to The Man Who Can’t Be Moved by Irish pop-rock band The Script? The band will be returning to the SM Mall of Asia Arena as part of their ‘Greatest Hits Tour 2022’ on September 23.
The tour is part of their celebration for their compilation album ‘Tales from The Script,’ which includes some of their greatest hits like “Breakeven,” “For The First Time,” “Science and Faith,” “Hall of Fame,” and more.
Seventeen
Filipino Carats are definitely winning as the 13-member Kpop boy group Seventeen will be performing in the Philippines for two days! The concert will be part of their ‘Be The Sun’ world tour with Manila in their Asian slate among other countries such as Jakarta, Bangkok, and Singapore.
The Kpop group will be performing at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on October 8 and 9. The battle for reserving tickets started on July 13. Tickets range from ₱2,900 to ₱18,450. However, just hours after opening the ticket sales, LiveNation announced that the concert had already sold out. Talk about the Carat power!
Justin Bieber
It was on May 25 when concert organizer Ovation Productions announced that Canadian superstar Justin Bieber will be flying to the Philippines for his Justice Asian leg tour. Recently, the singer made known to the public that he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome which caused paralysis in his face. Postponement of some of his scheduled tours in North America then came after the disclosure, but by July, it was announced that Bieber will be resuming his concert schedule in Italy and in other countries.
As of writing, there are no changes in the schedule on his website for his Manila concert that is set to happen on October 29 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Open Grounds. Beliebers may finally witness the Canadian singer in the flesh, after his Purpose world tour in Manila did not push through in 2017.
Avril Lavigne
The punk-rock princess is back to her musical roots and will be making her way to Manila soil for her comeback concert. After dropping her new album Love Sux, the Complicated singer will be headbanging on the stages of the Araneta Coliseum on November 3 for her Head Above Water Manila stop.
The singer was originally scheduled to perform in May 2022 but the said concert was pushed back to a later date due to conflicts in the schedule of her Asian tour and the coronavirus pandemic. Fans who have already purchased tickets for the May schedule will still be valid and honored at the upcoming concert.
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 fans will surely be making great ‘Memories’ this coming December 8 as they will be returning to Manila for their Maroon 5 World Tour at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The six-piece pop-rock band, who popularized several songs such as “Sugar,” “Payphone,” “She Will Be Loved,” “Won’t Go Home Without You,” and “Never Gonna Leave This Bed,” will be performing again in the country after three years since their last tour.
Tickets are available via SM Tickets website and all outlets, with prices ranging from ₱2,500 to ₱23,500. The band will also be performing in Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, and Bangkok for their Asian leg tour.
88rising’s Head In The Clouds
88rising stans rise! The music recording company announced on August 9 that they will be bringing the ‘Head In The Clouds’ music and arts festival to Manila. While the ticket selling has already started on August 11, the lineup for Head In The Clouds Manila is still being kept under wraps. But who knows? Maybe you get to see your favorite artists like Keshi, Jackson Wang, Jay Park, Chungha, Rich Brian, BIBI, and Ylona Garcia, who are included in the lineup of headliners for the HITC festival in California.
Get ready for the two-day ‘Asian Coachella’ festival as tickets are up for grabs at SMTickets.net. General Admission tickets cost ₱9,888 while VIP tickets are sold for ₱12,888. Make sure to bring your water bottles and don’t lose your friends as this will surely be a jam-packed festival on December 9 and 10 at the SM Festival Grounds, Paranaque City.
With all the government restrictions loosening up and live concerts and social events finally being allowed, concert-goers must still observe strict health regulations at all times to prevent the COVID-19 cases from increasing further. We don’t want to go back to just watching concerts online and being locked up in our homes, right?
Irene Velozo
August 19, 2022 at 9:44 AM
Though were on a new normal now and restrictions are getting low, we must be vigilant pa rin as covid 19 virus are still present and are ready to strike anytime, anywhere. We are all missing the live concerts but then let us all not forget safety and prevention are always better than cure. Mas masaya manood ng live concert kung wala ng risks na pwede tayo makakuha ng virus. Take care always!
Abundio Mendoza
August 19, 2022 at 11:15 AM
Yay! Ben & Ben excited na ako.Nag iipon na nga ako.Patunay lang ito na unti-unti ng bumabangon ang entertainment industry
pero wag din natin kalimutan na mag-ingat kung manonood tayo dahil anjan parin ang covid.magpa booster tayo para mas Magkaroon ng proteksyon sa virus.