‘7107’ organizers promise a Red Hot 90-minute set

RED HOT Chili Peppers

Quelling concerns that Red Hot Chili Peppers—main act for the coming 7107 International Music Festival— was to play only a few songs, event organizers have announced that the iconic US rock band would perform a 90-minute set.

“Red Hot Chili Peppers will play a full show. I’m not sure how many songs, but their target is 90 minutes, give or take,” producer Mike Pio Roda told the Philippine Daily Inquirer at a recent press con.

The music fest—slated Feb. 22 and 23 at the Global Logistics Gateway City in Clark, Pampanga—will feature 11 other foreign acts, including DJ/record producer Kaskade, hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar, alternative rock group Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and electro-synth pop duo Empire of the Sun.

“Kaskade and Kendrick Lamar will each play 75-minute sets; the rest, 60 minutes,” Roda said.

The two-day outdoor event likewise boasts an expansive roster of around 40 local bands and artists led by Up Dharma Down, Sponge Cola, Radioactive Sago Project, Itchyworms, Rocksteddy, Taken by Cars, She’s Only Sixteen, Yolanda Moon, Loonie and Abra.

KASKADE

Roda assured fans that the possibility of big acts backing out last-minute was unlikely. He pointed out, “They’ve all been announcing their participation in social media—Twitter, Facebook…”

Diverse genres

Executive producer Conchitina Herrera added that most of the bands had already been paid in full, “Otherwise they wouldn’t have given us materials for promotion.” The veteran events producer is also behind Philippine Fashion Week.

Herrera said “7107” was patterned after the annual Coachella Valley (California) Music and Arts Festival. The goal for the Philippine event, she said, was to create a full festival experience not limited to a few music genres. “We didn’t want to offer just one genre; we have a little bit of everything that the audience can enjoy—rap, hip-hop, R&B, electronic, dance rock and indies.”

To help them mount “7107,” organizers hired an international festival management team from Los Angeles, who had been involved in Coachella, Ultra Music Festival Miami and the Electric Daisy Carnival, among other events.

“We didn’t want to do this by ourselves, though we had the option and the experience to do so,” Herrera said. “These guys produce about 60 festivals a year.”

KENDRICK Lamar

Herrera envisions “7107” to become an annual “global music platform” that will “represent the best of the Philippines” and, hopefully, boost tourism. She said her team tied up with the Department of Tourism to help with the promotion.

“We’re relying on the global acts to help us [generate] attention for the Philippines. One tweet or one Instagram picture from the foreign artists will give their fan bases a glimpse of what it’s like here,” Herrera pointed out. “But it’s also about individual experiences—how people will talk about it after.”

Part of the festival’s proceeds will fund rehabilitation and relief projects for Supertyphoon “Yolanda” survivors through Help PH and EJ Litton Foundation, said Herrera. “We want ‘7107’ to remind our countrymen that music moves, and that help is on the way.”

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