Women of Pinoy Rock come together

SIX women in Pinoy Rock are coming together for a one-night concert titled TANAW on Nov. 26 at The Theatre at Solaire.

TANAW will feature five Filipino singer-songwriters who used to be the lead vocalists of top local bands: Acel Bisa, the former vocalist of Moonstar88; Aia de Leon who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of Imago; Barbie Almalbis, who was the lead vocalist of Hungry Young Poets and Barbie’s Cradle; and Kitchie Nadal and Lougee Basabas, both of whom were lead vocalists of the band Mojofly — Ms. Nadal from 1998 to 2003, and Ms. Basabas from 2003 to 2007, then again from 2015 to the present. Also performing is Hannah Romawac of sessiOnroad. The concert marks the first time that the six will be performing together in a concert.

The idea for the concert started over lunch. The singers were catching up for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

“It’s been a while since we last saw each other in gigs,” Ms. De Leon said during a press conference at The Theater at Solaire in Parañaque City. “We were just talking about music and life. And we posted a photo of [the lunch] online,” Ms. Almalbis added.

The lunch opened the opportunity to collaborate and perform in a concert.

The show’s title, TANAW, the musicians said, has a dual meaning — both reminiscing and looking ahead.

“At this stage in our careers, ang dami na naming pinagdaan at ang dami ng to be grateful for (we have been through a lot and there are many things to be grateful for),” Ms. Almalbis said of the concert’s title.

Meanwhile, Kitchie Nadal, who is in Spain, will be coming home in time for the concert.

“The girls have been very encouraging. They know it will not be very easy for me to say ‘yes’ since I’ll be coming all the way from Spain. However, it would be a good time for me to break a routine and be with people who are like-minded and I could really learn from,” Ms. Nadal said in a video shown at the press conference, adding that the audience is to expect “nostalgic songs and a new single.”

It is never a bore to play the same song over again, said the singers.

“It’s still always so much fun and there is always room to play with the arrangement,” Ms. Almalbis said. To which Hannah Romawac added: “You never play it the same way.”

The event is produced by GNN Entertainment and co-presented by The Theatre at Solaire. Tickets to TANAW are available via TicketWorld (https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/Show.aspx?sh=TANAW22). Ticket prices range from P1,300 to P4,600. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman