The Concerts Lighting Up Manila This Summer

From K-pop arenas to OPM legends and Mitski's first Manila show, here is the summer concert calendar worth planning your weekends around.

Summer in Manila has a soundtrack this year, and it is a loud one. Between June and August the big rooms at the SM Mall of Asia Arena and the Smart Araneta Coliseum barely cool down between shows. K-pop arenas, OPM legends, an indie debut a lot of people have waited years for, and a farewell tour that will leave people in tears. If you like planning ahead, here is the marquee calendar in date order, so you can pick your nights, sort out tickets early, and beat the rush for the good tiers.

A quick note on one term you will see a lot here. OPM means Original Pilipino Music, the local pop scene, and this summer it stands shoulder to shoulder with the international touring acts. Some of the most exciting nights on this list are homegrown.

June: festival energy and a homecoming

June opens with Ella Mai on 2 June at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao, a more intimate room than the arenas and a good fit for her slow burning R&B (rhythm and blues, the soulful side of pop). Tickets run ₱2,700 to ₱4,300. If you have only been to arena shows, the New Frontier is a nice change of scale.

The dance crowd gets its weekend on 19 to 20 June with the &FRIENDS Festival at Okada Manila, headlined by Galantis and Porter Robinson. It is a two day pass priced ₱8,250 to ₱13,750 for both days, so treat it as a full weekend out near the bay rather than a single night.

Then comes the homecoming. BINI, the P-pop group that has owned the last two years, plays the MOA Arena on 20 June with tickets from ₱1,550 all the way to ₱10,800. The cheaper tiers for a hometown show like this go fast, so move early if you want in without paying for the floor.

June closes on 26 June with Nescafe Fusion out in Filinvest City, Alabang, bringing together IV of Spades and BGYO. Tickets start around ₱2,500. It sits a little south of the usual circuit, so factor in the drive if you are coming from the north or from Bonifacio Global City.

July: the K-pop month, and one quiet giant

July is when the K-pop calendar really lands, and almost all of it runs through the MOA Arena.

EXO open the month with two nights, 4 to 5 July, at the MOA Arena, tickets ₱4,500 to ₱16,000. ITZY follow on 11 July, same venue, ₱3,000 to ₱14,500. Then XG close the run on 22 July at the MOA Arena, ₱3,500 to ₱16,500. If you are buying for any of these, the mid tiers tend to clear quickly while the highest and lowest ends linger, so check the seat map before you commit.

The night a lot of people circled months ago is 14 July. Mitski plays her first ever Manila show at the MOA Arena, with tickets from ₱3,000. Her crowd is patient and devoted, and a debut like this is the kind of show people talk about for years. Expect it to feel different from the pop nights around it, quieter and heavier in the best way.

There is also Daya on 15 July at the SM North EDSA Skydome, ₱3,500 to ₱6,500, a smaller and easier room if you are coming from the north and want to skip the bay traffic.

August: an OPM heavyweight, a farewell, and a milestone

August leans local and emotional. IV of Spades headline their own night at the MOA Arena on 2 August, a band that has become a genuine OPM heavyweight and a reliably great live act. Tier pricing was still being finalised at the time of writing, so confirm current rates when tickets go live.

On 10 August, Kodaline bring their farewell tour to the MOA Arena, tickets ₱6,250 to ₱8,500. This is the band's final run, so if those singalong choruses meant something to you over the last decade, this is the last chance to hear them in a room full of people doing the same.

The summer signs off on 28 August with Yeng Constantino marking her 20th anniversary at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, tickets ₱3,200 to ₱8,600. Two decades of OPM in one set, in the room that has hosted the genre's biggest nights, is a fitting close to the season.

How to read this by what you love

If you came here for K-pop, July is your month: EXO, ITZY and XG, all at the MOA Arena, plus BINI's P-pop homecoming on 20 June.

If you live for OPM, build your summer around IV of Spades on 2 August, Yeng Constantino's anniversary on 28 August, and the IV of Spades and BGYO bill at Nescafe Fusion in late June.

If you lean indie, Mitski on 14 July is the one, with Daya the week after for a poppier, lighter night.

For R&B, Ella Mai opens the season on 2 June. And if you just want to dance, the &FRIENDS Festival weekend with Galantis and Porter Robinson is your two day plan.

Where to buy tickets

Most of the big arena shows sell through two platforms, and the good tiers tend to go early, so set a reminder for the on sale time rather than browsing later in the week. SM Tickets handles the MOA Arena and most SM venue shows, including the K-pop nights and Mitski. TicketNet covers the Smart Araneta Coliseum and several other rooms, useful for the Yeng Constantino anniversary.

For the festival weekends and a few special bills, check the venue's own channel too, since presales and bundle passes sometimes open there first.

Good to know

The MOA Arena sits right on the bay in Pasay, which means lovely sunsets and rough traffic on show nights. Leave early, especially on a Friday or a weekend, and budget extra time for the parking and entry queues. If you are coming from Bonifacio Global City or Makati, the drive is short on paper but can crawl once the crowd builds, so aim to arrive well before doors. For the Cubao shows at the New Frontier and the Araneta, the LRT-2 Araneta-Cubao station drops you almost at the door, which is often the fastest way in.

Want the full month by month picture, including the smaller gigs, gallery openings and food events around each of these nights? See our roundups for June, July and August.

Plan it

• SM Tickets: MOA Arena and SM venue shows, including the K-pop nights and Mitski.
• TicketNet: Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Yeng Constantino anniversary.
• Full monthly guides: June, July, August.