Bobapalooza, the Year's First Big Local Music Fest, Brings Giant OPM Artists Together

It’s 2020. You’ve gotten used to watching live concerts of your favorite artists online and you keep asking yourself “Really? Is this how it’s going to be?” Mercifully in 2023, thousands of OPM fans got to wake up from that nightmare on Saturday (February 25) in what was probably the first major music event not to require masks at the Bobapalooza Art and Music Festival at Globe Circuit Grounds in Makati City. 

Throngs of music-loving, live event-hungry fans turned up for more than eight hours to watch live art demonstrations from Blic, Meowinism, Ju Lia, Chno, Cel and BLTK as well as music from an incredible lineup of OPM artists such as CHNDTR, Underclass, Criminal Cinema, Nemic, ABCD, Zarckaroo, Join The Club, and Tanya Markova.

But of course, most of the attendees went to see the OPM legends, who were clearly sooo over playing music through cameras and smartphones. 

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Nice weather, better crowd

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

Urbandub blessing the crowd

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

  

Franco turning the afternoon into a rock fest

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

  

Jugs of Itchyworms had to take a photo of the amazing crowd after years of online shows

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

Everybody was waiting for Mayonnaise’s Jopay

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

Sign of the times

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

December Avenue worked the crowd with their hits

Photo by Cyrian Agujo 

 

A couple of concertgoers won a life-changing prize: a business franchise

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

 

The OPM heavy-hitters really started really pouring it on at around 8 p.m, with Ebe Dancel leading the way

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

  

Crowd singing to Ebe’s "Bawat Daan"

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

Girl power was alive and well with the night’s surprise artist Kitchie Nadal

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

  

Kitchie Nadal even brought Zild Benitez with her

Photo by Cyrian Agujo. 

 

As usual, even though it was an open field, Kamikazee blew the roof off the place with its electrifying performance

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

The night ended fittingly with OPM royalty Parokya ni Edgar

Photo by Cyrian Agujo.

 

Even though the event started a little after 12 noon and ended at midnight, everyone was still “bitin” and wanted more. Way more. But if this signals the start of the return to the music festivals of old that we oh so love, well, we’re definitely all for it.