The band’s major Cebu show will celebrate friendship, memories, and the road ahead with their Liwanag.
Fresh from a sold-out show at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Ben&Ben is taking Saranggola: The Concert to Cebu.
The multi-awarded folk-pop band will bring the special concert to SM Seaside Cebu Arena on April 10, 2027, marking their first performance at the newly opened venue and coming just a month before they celebrate their 10th anniversary.
The Cebu show will give the band’s Liwanag another chance to experience Saranggola, a concert concept shaped by months of looking back on Ben&Ben’s nine-year journey — from playing intimate gigs in small bars to filling arenas and bringing their music to audiences around the world.
“We are truly excited to go back to Cebu for yet another major show. Saranggola: The Concert is very special to us, so we would like to share its magic with as many Liwanag as we possibly can,” Ben&Ben said.
The announcement comes on the heels of the band’s three-hour Araneta show, where they performed more than 30 songs in a career-spanning set that moved backward through their discography, from 2024’s The Traveller Across Dimensions to Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno and Limasawa Street. The band also surprised fans with a setlist not revealed ahead of the show, along with a fan-request segment.
Rather than ending the night with their usual closer, “Ride Home,” Ben&Ben opened the concert with “Ride Home (Reimagined),” making their way through the center aisle of the packed arena before taking the stage.
The show also carried a more personal significance for the band as it served as a sendoff for drummer Jam Villanueva, who is set to leave Ben&Ben at the end of 2026. Villanueva announced her departure last year after De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis, also known as Drummer’s Wrist, affected her ability to play the drums.
In an emotional message to the audience, Villanueva reflected on the years she had spent with the band and the fans who had grown alongside them.
“We love you. We love every single one of you,” she told the crowd, thanking them for spending the night with the band and describing the concert as a celebration not only of their music, but also of their friendship.
She also turned to her bandmates to express her gratitude for their support throughout the years, making the moment one of the night’s most poignant reminders of the relationships at the heart of Ben&Ben’s story.
The concert eventually closed with “Saranggola,” with Villanueva leaving her percussion setup to take the drum kit for an extended performance of the song — her final time playing drums at a major Ben&Ben concert. She will continue fulfilling the band’s remaining commitments through the end of the year.
That sense of looking back while moving forward is at the heart of Saranggola: The Concert. As Ben&Ben approaches its 10th anniversary, the Cebu show offers another opportunity to celebrate everything the band and its fans have built together, while turning toward whatever comes next.
For Cebu’s Liwanag, the April 10 concert will mark a new chapter in that journey — this time on the stage of SM Seaside Cebu Arena, which opened in June and can accommodate up to 25,000 guests.
Saranggola: The Concert in Cebu is presented by Karpos Multimedia and Sony Music Philippines. Tickets will be announced soon.
Leave a Reply