Fête de la Musique Cebu '25 features 8 stages and over 50 performers

The 2024 lineup at Fête de la Musique Cebu was an ideal one for festival director Dexter Sy, who praised the global festival as a major opportunity for Cebuano artists and a reflection of the local scene's diversity.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

This year, Sy gets to execute a bigger vision for his fourth edition of Fête Cebu, which will take place in eight locations seven of which will be held on the same day and feature over 50 performers.

Happening on the last two Saturdays of June, the Main Stage of Fête Cebu will be held at Ayala Malls Central Bloc's Corte Garden on June 21. The pocket stages will follow on June 28 across six Cebu City venues: Atúa Midtown, Casa Gorordo Museum, Draft Punk, La Parisienne, Cebu Making Space, and Unity Coffee and Vinyl, plus one in Mandaue City at Handuraw Pizza.

"One of our goals is to showcase the best of contemporary Cebu, and Fête de la Musique has been a good platform for us to highlight what the Cebuano music scene has to offer," said Sy at a June 9 press conference at Alliance Française de Cebu.

Fête de la Musique, which means World Music Day in English, has taken place annually in France every June since 1982, encouraging people to enjoy music in the streets as summer begins. It has since expanded to over 120 countries. The Philippines, now celebrating its 31st year of participation, hosts the largest celebration in Southeast Asia.

"This year's edition is a massive step forward for Fête Cebu because it embodies the spirit of the original Fête in France, where people can walk downtown from one stage to another," said Alliance Française de Cebu Director Gauthier Carol. "It also embraces various genres of music, which is great. We are delighted that Fête continues to create bridges between the French and Filipino cultures."

Aside from its Cebu leg, this year's Fête Philippines will also be held in Manila, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Siquijor, Davao, Bukidnon, and Siargao.

Diversity at the Bloc