LANI MISALUCHA: STILL LANI at The Theatre at SOLAIRE

Our love for Asia's Nightingale Ms. Lani Misalucha will become even stronger as Backstage Entertainment stages a concert at The Theatre at SOLAIRE on August 21st this year. 

This concert is directed by Calvin Neria with Musical Direction by Toma Cayabyab (son of National Artist Ryan). Backstage Entertainment is under Backstage Manila that had done a lot of events and is creative agency.

Atty. Nate Quijano of Backstage Manila says "Our company is in the events industry and now we are venturing into production and entertainment. We want to set trends, a different kind of creativity, to show support to up and coming and already established artists. I'm excited with this new venture, and this is our jumping point, our first concert STILL LANI."

Chris Mananquil the producer adds "I am lead creative for this show and this is a very important activity, we are excited for the new combination, but we hope to give something new for the fans of Ms. Lani Misalucha. We have Toma Cayabyab to be our Musical Director, something new, an inter generational combination. We may play hits, but most of it is something new. We don't want to spoil things, thank you!"

Ms. Lani says "I really like life in the US because it's simple, but a little hard. We are empty nesters, they have their own life and family. I still do shows in America but not like when I had a residency in Las Vegas. I just choose the kind of shows that I want to do. Between shows, I do laundry, clean my home, work never stops. You can't call people to fix because it's expensive, my husband is a handyman which I am so lucky about. I eat a lot, I am the backbone of his operations. I know all the tools, that's aside from playing with my grandchildren. In the Philippines we don't have help, we do the same."

She adds "When we got sick in 2020, we had bacterial meningitis. The effect was deafness, you get dizzy, vision was blurry, a ton of things. It was a really difficult time for me, especially when I'm hard of hearing. I got depressed, I didn't want to move. I also didn't want to socialize, it was painful because I could only hear if they are high pitched. It got better around to decipher voice but the hearing really didn't go back. It affected my singing because I struggled in 2021 and I had to train myself again like a child. My kids are not kids anymore, I have 6 grandkids now. They are doing good, thankfully. About the concert, it will be beautiful, but one surprise is I have a special guest, you will know by June or July because it's too early. I now have international released songs, but this time I'd be able to sing them in the concert. I admire singers who sing my song, they have to be creative to do it again and compose songs, they're really great. Having a hit song is power, people will remember you for the rest of their lives."

Here's the full media conference on video:

Again, STILL, LANI will be at the Theatre at Solaire. Make sure you get tickets to the show before August 21st. She is world class and she is STILL LANI. The one and only Asia's Nightingale. There's no comparison!

ELLA MAY SAISON and SOUTH BORDER To Bring 80's-90's Hits at Soundtrip Sessions Vol. 3 Concert

I would have wanted to start this article with a little story about ME but that would be funny. See, I sing quite often in Karaoke places and part of my repertoire would actually include very iconic female singers, with so much gusto in fact, I'd be doing it in every session I could take myself to. I'm a big guy, so it is unbecoming for someone who looks like this to have a voice too high pitched for comfort. Enough about me. 

See, I was told a few nights ago about this chance to actually interview two artists. The first being Jay Durias of the famous band South Border, and two, the iconic vocalist, Ms. Ella May Saison. Just thinking about it made my jaw drop, and guess what, I was super late because of a prior event (kahiya!). They patiently waited for us, it was really so nice of them to do that.

The concert is entitled Soundtrip Sessions Volume 3. The previous Soundtrip Sessions had artists like Luke Mejares, Jinky Vidal (for Volume 1), Nyoy Volante and Juris Fernandez (for Volume 2). This time, it'll be their turn (on November 9th!).

Ms. Ella May and Jay are actually not new to the band scene, it was something that was common to both of them. Back in the days, Ms. Ella May was part of Artstart Band, it was something she did because she's one of the few who could excellently do all the hits, whether it's jazz, blues, and RnB. She left the band and got a lot of hit songs in the airwaves later on, cementing her status in the music industry then, and now. She went to the states and had the pleasure of working with some of the greatest singers, music producers, musicians our generation has ever known. She had a shot at a career in the US and took it. She's now back singing the way she did, even better in 2024. 

Jay on the other hand could do pop, ballads, and also RnB. They both could also write songs, legibly produce it, much of which have become hits for other artists (i.e. MAPA of SB19 and more). You wept to his songs "Kahit Kailan", sang along with "Rainbow", wished for one in "Love of My Life" and a few more in his repertoire. He told us how much of a dream this is because once he got a call from the producer and heard the name Ella May Saison, he immediately said YES without hesitation. Jay told us about the first time she saw Ms. Ella May, where she described him as a "genius!". Here's our interview with them that evening:

They are making history just by being seen together in this concert. What to expect? All their hit songs, some of which will be sung in duets. Imagine Jay singing Ms. Ella May's songs, and the other way around. Wouldn't that be a sight for sore eyes? Aside from that, they have a few songs up their sleeves which will be revolving around the 80's and the 90's music. An added plus to this is that they're performing at The Theatre at Solaire which houses some of the country's best acoustics, I think it is the perfect venue for it. This will also be a family affair for Ms. Ella May Saison as she will be with her sisters and her brother Elhmir Saison who will be directing music for the show. I am as excited as you. This will be one epic musical night!

As for this fan boy, he got his wish!

Tickets can be purchased at Ticketnet.com.ph or at the Solaire Box Office. Prices are SSVIP 8755, SVIP 7210, VIP 6695, Gold 5150, Silver 3605 and Bronze 2060. This is produced by Dragon Arc Events Management who did the previous Soundtrip Sessions. Again, November 9th at The Theatre at Solaire!

Don't miss this one, it'll be good!

JR De Guzman in Manila to do LATER THAT EVENING in June

MYX is bringing Filipino American comedian JR De Guzman at the Theatre at Solaire this coming June. You've been with him all throughout the pandemic and also to through different social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok. He has entertained a LOT of people in the US and different countries, and this is a good time to do it in the Philippines.

JR De Guzman says "I'm a comedian and I think I have the greatest fans especially after the show when the Titas set me up with their daughters. They'll show me the pictures and when I say I have a girlfriend, they'll just say.. that's okay! then proceeds to hit on me themselves!"

 

He mentions one of his most viral songs about interracial babies, and says it was about a friend who owns a comedy bar, she had a kid who's African American and White. A lot of people connected with it because they are in the situation. There will be several people opening for him too like his friends Ryan Puno and Red Ollero, who also did their share of Tita encounters during the mediacon.

 

JR adds "Experiencing comedy in different countries means doing what you know in local context. Having music is helpful because it's very universal. You just have to do shows there, that's how you adapt, you have to travel.That time I bombed a set, I blame Alex, he was really good. I wanted to erase that story, but I kept on mentioning it. That was a valentines day, they asked Alex to come back to the stage because I bombed it. I know I could do it well, hopefully to make it to the end of my set. I built my base online during the pandemic, I think it was digitally good, but I need to do live, when I did it, I got COVID, it was just God punishing me. At that time, it was a silver lining, I learned how to edit, get a camera, that was the good part of it."

If you want to see the sexy guy do his stuff on stage, head on to ticketworld.com.ph and secure them seats now. It's surely going to be one heck of a funny evening!