There’s certainly no stopping breakout star Gigi de Lana spreading good vibes in the music industry. De Lana and the Gigi Vibes band are in the thick of rehearsals for their upcoming concert, billed as G Rules, scheduled to rock The Theatre at Solaire this Saturday night, February 18.
With the renewed confidence brought about by the success of their “Domination” world concert tour last year that regaled music fans in the United States and the Middle East, De Lana and bandmates are looking forward to entertain their local fans and followers for this special post-Valentine show.
“We are all in agreement that this concert should be as intimate as possible, that we should be one with our audience in enjoying the music as we perform the songs for them,” shared De Lana during a chat with select members of the media a few days ago. “My band and I are excited to share our repertoire which will hopefully allow our audience to experience a full range of human emotions in one night through songs and music.”
These bandmates who have become close friends to De Lana include musical director Jon Cruz who also plays the keyboards, bassist Jake Manalo, guitarist Julius Traqueña, and drummer Romeo Marquez.
De Lana shifted her musical gear to full speed just last year, after her self-titled debut album reached around 4 million streams on Spotify. The songs “Sakalam” and “O Bakit Ba” became the signature hit songs of the beautiful newcomer.
Star Records, her music label, also included the songs “Akin Ka Na Lang,” “Sa Dulo” and “Nasa’yo Ako” as part of the soundtrack of different drama series of ABS-CBN. Also, part of the album is her version of the Roselle Nava original hit “Bakit Nga Ba Mahal Kita,” which became the official theme song of Hello Heart, where De Lana tried a bit of acting, alongside Gerald Anderson.
For the concert this weekend, De Lana, who recently cut her hair very short, is dedicating the show to her mother, who is suffering from Stage 4 breast cancer.
“I want to be part of my mother’s journey, the many ups and downs that cancer patients go through. Cutting my hair short is not a big deal compared to what she goes through, fighting the dreaded disease and losing her hair after every chemo session. I just simply want to let her know that I am one with her as she fights the disease,” she intoned.
De Lana is glad that her bandmates have become her extended family members. “I’ve known them for a long time now, and they know me very well. They share my joys and understand my frustrations. We definitely got each others’ backs and we will continue to do so. I tried going solo in the past but it didn’t work out very well, and my bandmates never once judged me. Being well compensated is a perk, but more than the tangible things we get out of performing, it is the camaraderie, our common goals of giving the audience the best value of entertainment and the high we get as performance artists that truly matter.”
Gigi de Lana and her Gigi Vibes band are still in disbelief that they will be performing at the posh performance venue of Solaire. “There’s always a first time for everything, and we are feeling the good vibes more as concert night approaches!” she added.