Thousands of fans of the Asian collective music company 88rising will descend upon SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque this December 9 and 10, coming together for the inaugural Head in the Clouds (HITC) music and arts festival.
Presented by Globe and sponsored by GCash, HITC has been making its name as the "Asian Coachella” for bringing together some of the best Asian artists to the international arena like never before.
The Philippines’ very own Ylona Garcia alongside other OPM artists are included in the Manila leg’s line up, which is headlined by some of today’s biggest Asian artists, such as Joji, NIKI, Jackson Wang, Rich Brian, eaJ and YOASOBI. Grammy-winning hitmaker and producer ZEDD is also set to take the stage as a special guest.
Head in the Clouds shows post-pandemic way
Like most people in the creative industry, musicians suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, as gigs and concerts got cancelled or postponed indefinitely. The forced distancing even saw some bands break up. Which is why it’s somewhat miraculous how some managed to survive and still shine, and some even rose from obscurity during such a troubling time.
It’s essentially the type of crisis 88rising was established for, with a focus on uplifting Asian representation in music.
"The whole mindset with 88 is that we recognize that there is an existing gap between minorities and mainstream media," Indonesian songstress Niki told Paper Magazine in 2019, explaining the collective’s mission to uplift Asian artists in a global stage dominated by Western artists.
"Past efforts to bridge the two have been plagued with lots of sacrifice and misunderstanding. Our whole goal and mission is to represent the Asian minority and fight under-representation or misrepresentation,” she added.
The spotlight is on Asian artists
Against pandemic odds, 88rising worked to uplift Asian Americans and other artists of Asian descent, beginning in the United States, where the community suffered heightened racism and violence during the health crisis. After a two-year hiatus, music festivals are returning to their pre-pandemic glory.
But Head in the Clouds, which is only getting started, has only the future to look forward to. Apart from Ylona Garcia, local artists like SB19, Zack Tabudlo, and Denise Julia will be representing OPM at this weekend’s fete. Filipino-Canadian duo MANILA GREY and Filipino-American DJ Manila Killa will also be performing.
Head in the Clouds Manila, presented by Globe with Gcash as major sponsor, is also brought to audiences by Live MNL. For the full lineup and ticket details, head to MNL.HITCFESTIVAL.COM.
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This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Candymag.com editors.
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