&Friends Festival concluded its successful two-day music festival last June and is continuing to position itself as one of the region’s biggest EDM (Electronic Dance Music) festivals. Back for its second year, the team behind &Friends made sure to highlight Filipinos and the rise of EDM in the country and made way for more Filipino artists this time around.
Speaking with the media, Adriel Yong, the Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder of Clouted, the company behind &Friends Festival, expressed how it was intentional to let the Filipinos shine in the second year of the festival.
“If you look at the lineup and the number of stages we have, it’s very, very intentional. We want to make sure that the different emerging collectives, emerging DJs can have a chance to start getting into the festival circuit,” he expressed.
“I think it also stems from my cofounder, Justin’s, own experience–– he wanted to play a different kind of music and there wasn’t space for him to do that. That’s why he went on this whole adventure to start a festival and all that,” he added.
True enough, &Friends Festival saw a variety of Filipino DJs on all three stages–– the Main Stage, the Club Stage, and the Friendship Stage. The festival made sure to showcase Filipino talent and let the audience know the immense talent of the local acts.
They’ve also invited artists with Filipino heritage–– Alan Shirahama, Ian Asher, Seduza, and Tye Turner, among others. Local acts such as Orange Juice Asia, DJ Cupcakes, Ace Ramos, and Marc Marasigan, among others, showed the thousands in attendance what Filipino artistry looks like.
Seduza added at the same media conference that &Friends is making waves, attracting not only Filipinos but also everyone in the region.
“The fact that we get to host something so huge in the Philippines and hope the community discovers these artists from all around the globe — it’s like I get to bring the West Coast energy; you got people from Australia; you have everyone here getting to showcase themselves,” she said.
“The &Friends community and the team have been really lovely, showcasing and preparing us to have a platform to do that,” she ended.
More than just highlighting Filipino artistry, &Friends Festival has contributed to the growth of EDM festivals in the region. With &Friends Festival having another successful run this year, fans are already hungry for more–– a bigger and bolder festival in the coming years.