The outdoor stage at CHIJMES had to face rain – a lot of it – yesterday, as Music Matters Live entered its second day on Sunday. Surprisingly, and encouragingly, people still turned up during the evening to see the bands play and while the crowd would have been undoubtedly larger had the weather been better, the crowd the artists had in attendance remained enthusiastic and down for whatever was going to be doled out on stage.
Over at Canvas, the big Hip Hop Cookout kicked off earlier in the afternoon, hosting the likes of Taiwan’s Poetek, Canadian artist Dizzy and Singapore’s own, MAS1A. Back at CHIJMES, the winner of the inaugural ‘Artist That Matters’ award (launched by Apple Music and Music Matters Live) was announced – Thailand’s Tor Saksit. Performing as the rain continued to come down, the winner of the ‘Favourite Artist Award’ at the MTV Asia Awards dominated their short 20 minute slot.
Highlight artist had to be Filipino R&B singer Kiana Valenciano, who had people lined up afterward for photos and generally wanting a piece of her when her set had finished. She made her debut at Music Matters Live, following on from fellow Filipino artist Ben&Ben, joined by rapper Curtismith. The Tarsier Records signee took the crowd through her tunes “Does She Know” and “Misfits”, both of which were received brilliantly. The young singer displayed great potential and the response her set was met with was indicative that others felt the same way.
With the CHIJMES Stage headlined by Singapore’s M1LDL1FE, the Sunday night program of Music Matters Live continued to prove its worth and, with the full conference kicking off on Monday, they’ve demonstrated that they’re only getting started.
Music Matters Live continues until Wednesday, September 13th.
Lead photo by Dawn Chua.
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