There’s a particular kind of quiet that happens in a small bar right before Waltz gets to the chorus of his new single, “Alitaptap” — the band pulling back, the room leaning in, everyone waiting on the same line before it lands.
It’s not staged. It’s not choreographed. It’s what happens when a room that already knows the words gets ready to sing them back.
Waltz — the OPM singer-songwriter behind “Marahuyo” and “100 Dahilan” — is bringing “Alitaptap,” out now under Ant Savvy Artist Management (AS Creatives & Entertainment Inc.) and distributed via Symphonic, to a run of acoustic-bar dates across Metro Manila starting later this month. Anyone who caught his 2024 Marahuyo bar and mall tour knows what to expect: a small room, a tight band, and a setlist built to close on exactly the kind of moment “Alitaptap” was written for.
The song is placed deliberately as the set-closer, not the opener — a decision Waltz says comes from experience. “Doon lumalabas nang buo ang kanta — kapag kasama mo yung tao,” he explains, an instinct sharpened over stops at Circus Music Festival and Coke Studio’s Kadayawan and MassKara legs, and in the smaller, more intimate bars where a room’s energy is harder to fake or force.
That instinct, he’s quick to add, isn’t something he built alone. Behind him on every stop is the same band that’s carried “Alitaptap” from a rough idea into something he can actually perform: Kenneth Solomon on keyboards, Mikee Mendoza on bass, Miko Emanuel on guitar, and RJ Alfafara on drums, alongside longtime producer Henry Alburo, his tandem behind the boards on both “Alitaptap” and previous releases.
“Sila yung pumapayag sa lahat ng ideas ko, kahit gaano pa ‘yon kakomplikado o kahirap gawin,” Waltz says. “Grateful ako na nakilala ko sila, at naging bahagi sila ng journey ko. Talagang tine-treasure ko sila.”
Each stop on the tour will be captured on video — less a highlight reel, more a running record of every room the song has passed through.
Venue and dates will be posted to @waltzmusicofficial’s Facebook event pages as each stop is confirmed. Fans who RSVP early get first word on setlist and timing.
Stream “Alitaptap” by Waltz, out now on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major streaming platforms.