Cover One of the events of Pinoy Playlist Music Festival held at the Sun Life Amphitheater last 2024 (Photo: Pinoy Playlist Music Festival)
One of the events of Pinoy Playlist Music Festival held at the Sun Life Amphitheater last 2024 (Photo: Pinoy Playlist Music Festival)
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From heartfelt ballads, pop, to bold new sounds across all genres and generations, Pinoy Playlist Music Festival 2025 highlights how Filipino music continues to evolve while staying deeply rooted in Filipino stories and spirit
With the Filipino delicacy-inspired theme, “Halo-halo, Sapin-sapin, Sabay-sabay,” which conveys the organisers’ messaging of Original Pilipino Music’s (OPM) long and intricate heritage, this year’s Pinoy Playlist Music Festival aims to highlight various generations of artists from various genres that make up the distinctive DNA of our music history.
“Pinoy Music is first, a layered variety—halo-halo—of different flavours and sources; second, a spread of overlapping sheets of coloured influences and inspiration across time—sapin-sapin—and; third, that Pinoys are all imbued with a deep musical sense to welcome all these simultaneously—sabay-sabay,” writes the curators of Pinoy Playlist Music Festival, which includes National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, Moy Ortiz, Noel Ferrer, and Maria Isabel Garcia.
Read more: To our memories and future: in conversation with OPM icons Ryan Cayabyab and Moy Ortiz
Showcasing in three days and on three stages various genres and generations of Filipino artists, this year’s lineup includes Kiko “KIKX” Salaza and his band, Day One, Somatosonic, The Brat Pack, Gab Cabangon, The Bloomfields, Tres Marias, Trina Belarmide, Dingdong Avanzado, Bugoy, and many more timeless Pinoy music.
The Bloomfields
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This year’s Ryan Cayabyab Awardees are Homer Flores, Lorrie Ilustre, and the APO Hiking Society. Each of the awardees excelled in their contributions to the aspects of music that the National Artist for Music pursued, namely, composition, arrangement, or performance.
Flores is a highly respected and influential figure in the industry, celebrated as a versatile musician, composer and musical director. One of his longstanding stints is helming the ASAP Natin ’To. He also composed and arranged numerous songs for some of the biggest names in the industry. Notable among his compositions is Love Me Again, which served as the first single for Asia’s Songbird, Regine Velasquez. He is also credited for composing Just Say You Love Me for Pops Fernandez. His musical genius has earned him prestigious honours, including the first-ever George Canseco Memorial Award at the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
If everyone finds the “Manila Sound” distinct and iconic, credit is indeed due to Ilustre, whose work has been foundational to the development of OPM in the Seventies. He was an original band member and keyboardist for the influential band Hotdog, which is credited as a major influence and leading exponent of the “Manila Sound” phenomenon. Ilustre was also the first musical arranger for the legendary disco group VST & Company, which had enduring hits like Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko and Ipagpatawad Mo, all thanks to Ilustre. He served as the musical director for the APO Hiking Society, a fellow awardee, when the group was just starting in the Seventies. He was also instrumental to the success of the hits made by Rey Valera, Sharon Cuneta and Martin Nievera, as well as acclaimed films by Mike de Leon.
APO Hiking Society
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The APO Hiking Society, or simply APO, is one of the most enduring and influential musical groups in the history of OPM. Composed of the trio Danny Javier (+), Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo, the group’s legacy spans over four decades, marking them as icons whose music has become the soundtrack for multiple generations of Filipinos.
APO released over 27 albums and created a massive catalogue of timeless hits. Their songs masterfully blended pop, folk, and soft rock with clever, relatable and socially relevant lyrics that covered themes from love and friendship to social commentary. Paredes composed the iconic anthem Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo, which was recorded by 15 Filipino artists and served as the unofficial anthem of artists during the 1986 EDSA People Power. The group pioneered in bringing Filipino music to the international stage, being the first Filipino pop group to perform a live concert in Saudi Arabia and the first to be recorded on a compact disc. In 1987, they performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York.
At this year’s Pinoy Playlist Music Festival, special performances by Zsa Zsa Padilla, Nicole Asencio, The Itchyworms and more will grace the night to honour the beloved awardees. There will also be a special segment, Musik-A-laala, remembering legends National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor and Pilita Corrales with special tribute performances.
Read more: Celebrating the life and legacy of the one and only “Superstar” Nora Aunor
One of the events of Pinoy Playlist Music Festival last 2024 (Photo: Pinoy Playlist Music Festival)
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This year’s festival will also feature “PPMF Conversations” that will be candid and enlightening forums where the topics this year will be on “Outliving the Uso” with musical icons Zsa Zsa Padilla and Cayabyab, who will share their insights on what it takes to live through the highs and lows of a life in music; “Music as Medicine” with medical students and researchers Justine Regala and Kasandra Tan, with science writer Maria Isabel Garcia, as we explore the role of NeuroArts in healing our bodies and souls; and “Musikastorya: 3 OPM Books in focus” a heralding of support for books on the history of Pinoy music and music icons, featuring books by Paredes, Krina Cayabyab and Susan Claire Agbayani.
All of these are happening at the 3 stages of BGC Arts Center: the Globe Auditorium, Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall, and Sun Life Amphitheater.
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About
Before assuming the Art and Culture Editor position, Franz has always had a penchant for visual and performing arts. He is passionate about exploring and writing about the local cultural scene and rediscovering the country’s storied past and rich heritage. Besides working on this luxury lifestyle magazine, Franz is an avid book reader, local traveller, museum-goer, chorister, and community theatre playwright.
Work
Franz earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas. He writes about local visual and performing artists and their craft; drinks wines, liquors, and spirits and talks about the creativity of their respective winemakers and master blenders; tries to learn more about business and investments; respects the tradition and artistry that go behind the making of watches and jewellery; and appreciates the genius of architecture and creative design.
As head of Tatler Philippines’ pool of writers, he helps them bring impactful and socially relevant stories to light.
For any leads, you may reach him through @franzsorillaiv on Instagram or franz@tatlerphilippines.com via email.
