Tanaw was a gathering of six of the most influential female vocalists from top OPM bands of the 90s-00s to create a one night-only magical music experience.
Tanaw marks the very first time the OPM rock queens – Acel Bisa, Aia de Leon, Barbie Almalbis, Hannah Romawac-Olives, Kitchie Nadal, and Lougee Basabas, share the stage together as solo artists to perform their top hits. Emotions ran high as each of them recall memories from their heyday, share a peek of their journey into motherhood, their hopes for OPM, and the effort they make to sustain making music in this age.
Acel Bișa-van Ommen of Moonstar 88
An emotional Acel opened the night with heartfelt gratitude and recollections of how she started her musical journey at the tender age of 18. She shared that the night was extra special as it marked the first time her parents was able to watch her perform live despite being in the industry for more than 20 years. Her dad at 90 years of age and mom at 80, finally were able to join the crowd due to Solarie’s seated setup unlike the sweaty and packed crowd of Mayrics and Club Dredd.
Acel’s set started with the Moonstar 88 hit Sulat.
Acel then sang a new song titled Buhangin followed by her first single as a soloist, a cover of One Love. OPM nostalgia accelerated as she sang her rendition of Rico Blanco’s Your Universe.
Acel ended her set with the song most associated with the band Moonstar 88 – Torete.
Hannah Romawac-Olives of Session Road
Hannah entered the stage like a bright ball of life and energy but was unable to fight back tears as she went through her set. She was even handed tissues as she shed tears when it was her turn to share stories with the audience. Hannah later introduced her daughter on stage and shared inspiring words about chasing dreams regardless of age.
Hanna opened strong with a back-to-back performance of Session Road’s hit singles Leaving You and Blanko.
After a few tears and stories in between, Hanna sang Cool off.
Hannah ended her set with the song that made Session Road a household name – Suntok sa Buwan.
Aia de Leon of Imago
Aia made the most out of her set and sang the most number of songs among the ladies. She sang four out of the many popular Imago songs and an unreleased single she performed for the very first time.
She started with a the melancholic Imago hit, Akap.
Unstoppable Aia followed up with a special arrangement of Sundo – arguably Imago’s biggest single. She shared that she had written Sundo years ago alone in her room and is proud of what the song has since become. She also mentioned that she is at a point in her life where she could confidently sing the best version of the tune that night.
Aia followed it up with the new song Tao Lang, followed by the upbeat earworm Taralets.
Aia ended her set with Imago’s official rendition of the Eraserheads’ hit Spolarium.
Barbie Almalbis-Honasan of Hungry Young Poets and Barbie’s Cradle
It was a family affair for Barbie as she had a constant stream of thank-yous and shoutouts for her relatives and in-laws in the crowd throughout the show. In jest, she shared that the night was indeed special as it was the very first time her youngest brother bought a ticket to watch her perform live in her 25-year career. She thanked her mother-in-law for being her stylist of the night and other relatives for flying from the province to watch perform again. Like Hannah, Barbie introduced her kids and husband on stage and shared the limelight with her brother-in-law who played bass during her set.
Barbie opened with Torpe, a hit from her Hungry Young Poets’ (HYP) days. She then followed it up with the soundtrack of the 90s teen TV favorite Tabing Ilog from her band Barbie’s Cradle. She then cut to the present and sang two new songs Say Goodbye and Days are Long.
Barbie proved to be the most proficient guitarist of the pack and demonstrated her talent with a number of guitar solos during her set and even at the encore.
Kitchie Nadal-Lopez of Mojofly
Kitchie flew from Spain, solely to perform for Tanaw, where she has been living a quiet life away from the spotlight after marrying her Spanish husband. After a quick soundcheck, Kitchie shared how happy she was singing to a Filipino crowd again. A video of her son and husband showing their support was played as a background at the end of the show.
Kitchie opened her set with the song Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin which cemented her star power and defined her as a soloist after leaving the band Mojofly. She sang portions of Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin in Spanish as she jokingly shared this too much time in Spain allowed her to do translations of a number of her songs.
Kitchie followed up with Same Ground.
Kitchie then sang a newer single titled Para Lang Sa’yo which was the only song she performed outside her debut album. She ended her set with Bulong.
Lougee Basabas-Alejandro of Mojofly
Lougee was the last to do the solo performances of the night and kept the crowd alive with her powerful voice. She showed her musical prowess not only through her singing but also by playing guitars and performing a drum duo with her husband and bandmate Ali Alejandro – the son of Haji Alejandro and Rio Diaz, and Rachel Alejandro’s brother.
Lougee opened her set with a lively new song Rally.
She then asked the audience to sing with her as she performed a slow version of Tumatakbo, a well-loved anthem for those who are looking for love.
Lougee kept the nostalgia on high gears when she asked the audience to sing with her a medley of popular 90s hit Alapaap by Eraserheads, 214 by Rivermaya, and Harana by Parokya ni Edgar.
Lougee then sang a slow version of Mata, the single that introduced and cemented her status as the new front woman of Mojofly after Kitchie’s departure.
A welcome surprise of the night was when Lougee called Kitchie to join her on stage to share stories and show her gratitude. Lougee would not have been a part of Mojofly’s story if Kitchie had not gone solo.
Both wooed the crowd with an homage to the band Mojofly. The power duo sang Another Day – the song that that propelled Mojofly into the consciousness of the OPM audience nationwide.
Tanaw Collaborations: Special One-Night Only Performances
Short interview clips were shown before each of their sets where they answered the same group of questions. A common theme in each of their story is about transitioning from being rockstars to rocking moms. All are in agreement about how alive and kicking the local music industry is now through the many talented young filipino musicians pushing to make OPM relevant in the digital age. They are also hopeful about the future of OPM and the revival of live music after the pandemic.
The ladies returned on-stage for special duets and memorable collaborations.
Hannah, Aia, and Lougee performed a mashup of two unlikely songs that amazingly went well together – Sheryl Crow’s ballad Strong Enough and Imago’s debut single Rain Song.
Barbie and Acel then took the stage to sing Soon from the Fil-am band Moonpools and Caterpillars, where Acel not only played guitars but also the song’s iconic harmonica rifts.
Tanaw Encore: OPM all-women supergroup encore
An unlikely supergroup was formed on stage as all six ladies delivered a high octane performance to make the night extra memorable for the crowd. Hannah on drums, Acel on keyboards, with Aia, Kitchie, Lougee, and Barbie on guitars.
The group opened their encore set with an homage to Sampaguita by performing the OPM classic Nosi Balasi.
The ladies of Tanaw then performed a rendition of Francis M’s Kaleidoscope World.
After two hard hitting songs, the group transitioned to a sit down performance of Dixie Chick’s version of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide.
The night was set to end with Landslide but the audience was pumped and chanted the usual “more, more, more” to which the ladies gladly said yes to. They ended the set with their rendition of Rivermaya’s Panahon Nanaman.
Tanaw capped the night with heartfelt thank yous to the audience as they hugged each other and called on their loved ones on stage.
Tanaw received an overwhelming positive response from the audience. Requests for a repeat performance was red hot on social media even days after the concert. And due to this insistent public demand, a thanksgiving and listening party has since been scheduled on Dec. 14, 2022 at 123 Block in Mandaluyong.
What a ride it has been for these ladies that started with a simple get together lunch. Now that public events are gaining momentum post covid, we can all look forward for more concerts and live performances.
