MANILA, Philippines – Music fans will have to dig deep into their pockets once again with the deluge of foreign artists who are set to sizzle the concert stage as early as the first quarter of the year.
The torrent of foreign concerts remain unstoppable despite earlier calls of homegrown talents, such as singer Kuh Ledesma, for the regulation of these shows especially during the Valentine season.
The first month of the year brings pop-punk act Simple Plan (“Welcome To My Life”) for the third time in the country with their “Get Your Heart On!” concert tour on Jan. 12 at the Araneta Coliseum. Another returning artist is Katy Perry, who will rock the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds on Jan. 22 for her “California Dreams” tour.
Old souls, meanwhile, might dig vocal group The Stylistics, who popularized the song “Betcha By Golly Wow.” The quartet will perform on Jan. 26 also at the Big Dome.
The February calendar will also be marked with one foreign act after another. Avril Lavigne will revisit her Filipino fans on Feb. 16 at the Araneta Coliseum for her “Black Star” tour. Singer-songwriters Taylor Dayne (“Love Will Lead You Back”) and Edwin McCain (“I’ll Be”) will hold back-to-back shows on Feb. 15 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Cebu City, and Feb. 17 at the World Trade Center, Manila.
Meanwhile, British pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck (“Release Me”) and Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams (“Heaven”) will take fans in memory lane with the former’s shows on Feb. 12, 14, and 15 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu, Manila Hotel, and Araneta Coliseum, respectively, and the latter’s concert on Feb. 18 also at the Araneta.
Rock band Evanescence (“My Immortal”) will perform for the first time in the country on Feb. 19 with Bush. Boy bands Blue (“Best In Me”) and A1 (“Like A Rose”) and Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees (“I Do (Cherish You)”) will share the stage on Feb. 25 for their “Greatest Hits” tour. Both concerts will be at the Big Dome.
Come March, Cobra Starship (“Good Girls Go Bad”) and Dashboard Confessional (“Stolen”) will return to Manila with first-timers The Cab and The Used for the “Smash Project” on March 8 at the Araneta Coliseum. Romantic balladeer Brian McKnight will hold his “Back with Brian McKnight” concert in the same venue on March 16.
Cyndi Lauper (“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”), one of VH1’s greatest women of rock and roll, will land on the Philippine shores for her March 17 concert at the Big Dome.
Hit pop-rock band Hanson (“MMMBop”) will close the first quarter of 2012 with shows on March 30 (Araneta) and 31 (Waterfront Hotel, Cebu) for their “Shout It Out” tour.
The line-up of concerts both by foreign and local acts may be long, but the choice remains in the hands of the fans, the music lovers themselves