Only kulintang fest in North America is back

HOUSE OF GONGS

SAN FRANCISCO – Gongster’s Paradise, House of Gong’s biennial Kulintang Music Festival, is back in its third year, this time centered around the theme of healing and rebuilding hope for better days.

With the current global pandemic, the festival of indigenous-inspired Filipino music and dance will have a virtual format.

When the late master musician Danongan “Danny” Kalanduyan passed in 2016, his long-time student, Ron Querian, and the latter’s wife, Lydia Querian, founded the House of Gongs, putting together a gathering to honor the ripples of kulintang music that Kalanduyan started as an immigrant artist in the late ’70s.

With the first two years’ success, Gongster’s Paradise will return for a third year to continue to honor Guro Danny and the many Master Artists. They have perpetuated the tradition and allowed artists in the diaspora to embody kulintang music in their work.

Gongster’s Paradise festival will be on May 4, 2021, 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST / 2:30 pm HNL / May 5, 8:30 a.m. Manila Time. The festival’s virtual format can be experienced in two ways. People who make a donation can view the event in a private Zoom session and can directly interact with the artists. General public viewers can view the festival on any of the multiple streaming platforms such as Kumu, Twitch, and Facebook at no cost. The decision to go virtual was made to limit in-door gatherings.

Donors also get access to promotions from the festival’s sponsors including apparel brands KINdom, Vinta Gallery, Daily Malong, Bayani Art, and Ginto Seeds, live-streaming platform Kumu, cultural organization CulturAid, and illustrator Studio Sari-Sari.

Gongster’s Paradise will be featuring artists from the Philippines and North America using kulintang in genres including traditional, jazz, pop, and electronic :

Philippines Line Up:

Magui Master Artist Ensemble, Cotabato City Datu Piang Kulintang Ensemble, Datu Piang Tusa Montes, Manila
Bayang Barrios + Niliyagan Band, Quezon City

North America Line Up:

DATU, Toronto
Pantayo, Toronto
Susie Ibarra, New York
Kulintronica, Honolulu
Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble, Southern California Parangal Dance Company, San Francisco Autonomous Region, San Francisco
Conrad Benedicto
Kim Requesto
Jae Tioseco
Nathan David, Los Angeles
Ginto Seeds

Each featured artist will perform two to three songs and share narratives as a kulintang artist. The interactive festival will also allow the audience to ask the artist any questions.

For more information, visit the House of Gongs website www.houseofgongs.com and on Instagram and Facebook @houseofgongs.