The September Fever Team had a busy, well, September, with the staging of Coast2Coast, an inter-regional tour aiming to bridge together independent music scenes in Visayas and Mindanao. After the success of their Coast2Coast CDO-Davao-Cebu tour, September Fever co-founders Gino Rosales and Karl Lucente flew to Bali to represent Cebu and the Philippines at the AXEAN Festival 2024. As of posting, the team are once again repping Cebu in South Korea for RTO365 bringing along the rest of the September Fever and Filla Killa crew. We finally caught hold of Karl Lucente to talk about September Fever, Coast2Coast and the Cebuano indie music community. On how Coast2Coast came to be, Karl shares, "Last year's September Fever was the first time that we invited other local production heads from Visayas and Mindanao for a roundtable session. It became a melting pot of perspectives, where representatives from various Philippine regions converged to discuss the opportunities and obstacles present within their unique musical landscapes. Through guided discussions, attendees identified common ground and potential areas for collaboration. This lead to the idea of a groundbreaking 'Coast2Coast' Tour."
The idea finally came to fruition when Coast2Coast kicked off in Cagayan de Oro, followed by the Davao Leg, and culminated in Cebu. The tour was done in partnership with Cagayan de Oro's Indie CDO; Davao’s Holodeck Productions; as well as Cebuano music collectives September Fever, Filla Killa, John Bottles, Rverb Cebu, and Baihaus. “We wanted to create a regional tour for artists, independent labels, and production teams to go beyond their small communities and share their music and stories across major cities in Visayas and Mindanao.”
Karl's trips and conversations with diverse groups of individuals here and abroad inspired him to create Coast2Coast's roundtable sessions. He also bounced tons of ideas off with his inner circle who are also part of September Fever and Filla Killa - Gino Rosales, Nikko Tan, and Bea Sagun. According to Kara Angan, "September Fever has always been about the community and Coast2Coast is their intentional attempt to create stronger links between Visayas and Mindanao. With Coast2Coast, it’s not just about inviting other artists from different parts of the region, but by collaborating with the local indie productions that are doing important work in their cities."
Coast2Coast and the Local Community and Music Scene
Karl and his team envisioned to create long-lasting connections with other production houses and artists in VisMin. Coast2Coast serves as an avenue where everyone can learn more about music together while supporting and celebrating talented independent artists.
September Fever: Coast2Coast is more grassroots curation and more on collaborating with other regions. Each of our partner productions (John Bottles Events, Rverb Cebu, Baihaus, and Filla Killa) curated their lineups. We wanted them to have an equal part in building what Coast2Coast is.
During the Coast2Coast tour, the team made it a point to include a music talk section where invited speakers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao shared their knowledge on important topics for independent artists — whether it’s through better understanding of how music licensing works, how to best maximize streaming platforms, artist branding, and more. "We believe that engaging with a local community is not just about providing entertainment, but also through education," adds Karl.
In terms of long-term goals for Coast2Coast, Kara Angan (September Fever & Filla Killa) shared "We hope that down the line, artists and audiences from all over the world get to see how diverse and vibrant Visayas and Mindanao are in terms of music. Beyond music, we want to continue creating avenues for knowledge sharing, especially when it comes to how independent artists can help develop their career. We’re also planning to launch an independent music publication titled Coast2Coast to translate and better document the VisMin music scene online and in print." Dreams do become reality with the publication going online very soon. For interested writers with a passion for VisMin music, you can check out bit.ly/C2C-Contributors or send an email to hello@coast2coast.ph.
Coast2Coast at the Axean Music Festival in Bali, Indonesia
Karl, Gino, and the rest of the September Fever team were invited to the Axean Festival in Bali to talk about Coast2Coast and VisMin music on an international stage. The festival is a music showcase that features talents from Southeast Asia and beyond while providing a place for global music industry professionals and artists to connect and network. We asked the boys to share their experience representing Cebu and the rest of the Philippines.
First of all, how awesome is it to be at AXEAN Festival? How do you feel? "It was our first time at a music showcase set-up, and at first it felt really intimidating. We were surrounded by some of the biggest festivals and labels in the world, and it was such a big learning process for all of us. We’re thankful for the opportunity to have this experience and we hope to share what we learned with the rest of the community here in Cebu.
What does it mean for you guys to be there, bringing September Fever to a bigger, international audience?
"It was a very humbling experience for all of us. After seven years of September Fever, there really are still so many opportunities for us to grow and improve our event. We’re excited to explore the ways that other international groups are organizing music festivals and we’re ready to continue pushing for Visayas and Mindanao on the international stage.3. How could it impact September Fever and the music community?
We hope that we can bridging Cebu – and by extension, the Visayas and Mindanao regions – with the rest of the world. Whether this be through promoting our artists, our music scenes, our cultures, or facilitating cultural exchanges with other countries, we hope that we can bring more support for VisMin artists. We also hope that in the future, we can bring more delegates and artists from all over VisMin to experience what we experienced in Bali."
What are your plans after the festival?
"We’re in the process of planning the lineup of events for 2025. We want to continue creating more live performances and opportunities for music education in the region. Hopefully, in the next September Fever, we’ll be able to bring in international acts and foster collaborations between artists from VisMin and the rest of the world."
And how could this impact future shows?
"We don’t know yet! But whatever happens, we want to continue supporting VisMin artists here at home and abroad."
Coast2Coast at the RTO365 <indie’s moment live: Anywhere, In Your Own Way> in South Korea
Things have not slowed down yet for Karl and his crew. Just recently, they were invited to talk about the independent music scene in Cebu diring their recent trip to South Korea where local acts, Mandaue Nights and Sansette played their first gig abroad. Karl's topic "“Connecting and Collaborating to Sustain the Local Music Scene in the Philippines” was an amazing opportunity to spread the word about Cebu music in another global setting.
"The Cebu indie music scene is still relatively small, so having the chance to talk about it on an international stage is a huge step forward. Here are some of the independent record labels I shared (though I wish I had explored them more deeply) that are keeping the Cebu scene alive and thriving despite the challenges. Cebu’s growing diversity across genres-independent production-studios are making the scene bigger and it’s an honor to share it with the rest of the world that we are still fighting."
Kudos to Karl, Gino, and the rest of the September Fever and Filla Killa family for keeping the Cebu indie music scene. Follow their Instagram pages for all the latest updates and upcoming gigs and events: @septemberfeverfest, @filla.killa, and https://www.facebook.com/coast2coast.ph.
All photos from the archives of Coast2Coast, September Fever, Karl Lucente, & Gino Rosales.
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