BAGUIO CITY—In the intimate venue of University of Baguio’s multipurpose hall early this month, I joined the youthful crowd in watching Cup of Joe, a local act and homegrown favorite. A technical delay tested our patience but when the five members of the band—Gian Bernardino, Rapha Ridao, CJ Fernandez, Gabriel Fernandez, and Xen Gareza—finally appeared, there were only cheers and screams, more so when they finally sang their songs.
The band—formed in 2018 when the five members (with a sixth, Raphael Severino, who quit in 2024) were senior high school students—caught nationwide attention with their elemental “Nag-iisang Muli,” whose earnest lyrics seem to breathe the very air of Baguio:
Kay lamig ng simoy ng hangin
Mga talang yumayakap sa akin
Kasabay ng aking pagpikit
Suminag ang pait, pag-asa’y ’di masilip.
The song, which caught fire on Spotify, helped land them a contract with Viva Records and marked their transition from a local high school band to a professional music group with national and global aspirations. In 2024, their single “Multo” was the runaway hit and set many records. They have since released new singles as well as an album, titled “Silakbo,” that gathers “Multo” and nine other tracks according to the five stages of grief, moving from tempestuous denial (“Bagyo” and “Wine”) to cathartic acceptance (“Hinga” and “Silakbo”).
Aesthetically and musically, Cup of Joe defy easy classification. They’re not really a boy band, but the influence of P-pop, perhaps SB19 in particular, is clear from the matching outfits to Gian and Rapha’s overall stage presence. Musically, their ebullient discography is also diverse, ranging from synth-pop ballads to songs with country/folk inflections. As Rapha said in a recent interview, “Right now, we’re in our pop-rock era, but that might not be the case next year. We’re not bounding ourselves to just [one genre]. We’re open to exploring.”
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The concert setlist hewed close to their sold-out, three-day run at Smart Araneta Coliseum last October, which was followed by a North America tour. They started strongly with “Silakbo” and “Sinderela,” and at one point, they devoted an entire section to songs “written when we were still in senior high.” The appearance of Janine Teñoso for “Tingin” was most welcome, but conspicuously absent was the violin that greatly animated songs like “Sagada” and “Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Pipiliin Ko,” the latter made even more ebullient with its pizzicatos.
As expected, they saved the best for last. The crowd’s energy had significantly flagged as the concert drew to a close, but the opening chords of “Multo” revived everyone, and Cup of Joe delivered with a stirring rendition of their now-classic. Aside from its emotional resonance and musical richness, it is, as my good friend and concert seat mate Antoinette Jadaone puts it, “very cinematic”—in other words, as vivid as it is deep:
Hindi na makalaya
Dinadalaw mo ’ko bawat gabi
Wala mang nakikita
Haplos mo’y ramdam pa rin sa dilim.
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As I walked back to Upper Session Road from the concert venue, I could not help but think of Baguio itself as the lifeworld that gave life to Cup of Joe and their music; read as odes to this beautiful city, the music is powerful, specially because of how it captures—albeit in ways that are hard to put into words—what Baguio has meant for both its residents and visitors. We may not be from Baguio, but for many of us the “City of Pines” is home to many memories, and Cup of Joe can bring us back to it specially if they stay true to their roots and somehow draw for more—while also helping build the arts and the music of this special place.
At the same time, I feel that Cup of Joe can reach for more stars.
The two vocalists, Gian and Rapha, are compelling enough with their complementary and contrasting personalities, but they can further maximize their partnership in the musical front by transposing this contrast in the way they sing their songs. That is to say, they are at their musical best when they sing together—either in different voicing or lyrics—much like IV of Spades’ Unique Salonga and Zild Benitez. Most of the time, however, they merely alternate parts and there’s no way to distinguish their vocal qualities: an effect compounded by the venue’s acoustic limits.
The concert direction and production, too, can be greatly improved. The mostly-English script was riddled with cliché, seemingly manufactured for Planet Ivory than specifically adapted for Baguio a week before Valentine’s Day; it was clearly not suited for Gian and Rapha either. The duo were at their most engaging and compelling when they were just being themselves, as when Gian opened up about missing Baguio and being emotional about performing in his (and Xen’s) alma mater. The three other members were mostly relegated to the background; I felt that they also deserved more attention, perhaps through a demonstration of their instrumental skills, as is typical of other bands.
Still, Cup of Joe finished the concert proving that they fully deserve the success and recognition—and I can only hope that beyond the peerless “Multo” and their impressive discography thus far, they will continue to animate the OPM landscape in the years to come. CS
Gideon Lasco is an anthropologist and physician currently serving as professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman and as Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. A Palanca Award-winning essayist and longtime commentator on health, culture and society, he is the author of five books, including “The Philippines Is Not a Small Country” (2020), a winner of the National Book Award.
