10 Wanderland 2023 Moments to Feed Your FOMO

(SPOT.ph) Wanderland Music and Arts Festival finally came back on March 4 to 5 at Filinvest City Event Grounds in Muntinlupa. For those who attended the two-day extravaganza, we're sure you're still on a post-concert high. For those who weren't able to make it, don't worry, we've got you covered. We fill you in on some of the best (and not so erm, best) moments, both planned and unplanned, that really made the Wanderland weekend one for the books. Check out what went down at Wanderland 2023: The Comeback below. 

Also read:
Here's What You Should Know About Wanderland: The Comeback
10 Tracks From Wanderland’s Artist Lineup to Get You Into the Music Festival Spirit

Check out the 10 biggest surprises from Wanderland 2023 The Comeback:

Early ticket selling for Wanderland 2024

The surprises began a day before the comeback event. In a first for Wanderland, the music festival had a Loyal Wanderer Pre-Sale exclusive for Day 1 and Day 2 attendees at the festival grounds. That’s not all—there was an additional 30% off you paid with GCash. This meant that 2023 attendees got access to price tags of just P5,930 for a 2-Day Star Wanderer ticket, P3,725 for a 2-Day Regular Wanderer ticket, and P2,255 for a 1-Day Regular Wanderer ticket for next year's run. That’s more than half of the price slashed when compared to the standard price of P15,000 and P8,500 for regular and star. It was an offer no one could refuse, as exhibited by the long lines at the Wanderland ticketing counter.

Carly Rae Jepsen's concert-level set

Day 1 headliner Carly Rae Jepsen ended the first Wanderland night with a bang. Jepsen rocked the festival grounds with a two-hour setlist featuring her greatest hits like "Call Me Maybe," "I Really Like You," "Cut to the Feeling," and many more. She sang twice as many songs as the others, and despite her performance’s late schedule, she still managed to hype the audience up enough to a partying mood.

But vocal prowess aside, the entire performance was a masterclass in production. From top-notch audio to stunning visuals, Jepsen’s Wanderland set was as much of a feast for the eyes as it was for the ears. With random bursts of smoke clouds, colorful confetti showers, and sudden outfit changes, Jepsen gave the Manila crowd a night to remember.

Raveena performs an all-Hindi track

It’s no question that Indian-American singer-songwriter Raveena is stunning, and her music is just as hypnotic as her beauty. As a first-timer in Manila, Raveena was surprised at the warm reception she received from Filipino fans. Her soulful and calming music was a welcome deviation from the high-energy performances that came before her, but that’s not to say her set was boring. Nope, it was the complete opposite. Raveena played to her strengths and delivered her usual mix of experimental R&B and pop, but what the audience didn’t expect was Raveena performing an entirely Hindi track. TBH, the song was such a vibe we didn’t even notice it wasn’t in English.

iKON's Bobby's last-minute cancellation

In the early morning of Wanderland’s second day, K-Pop fans were met with devastating news. iKON’s Bobby was no longer going to perform as scheduled. There were no additional details pertaining to the reason behind the cancellation, much to the dismay of fans. Lots of K-Pop stans were disappointed by the news, with some even going as far as requesting refunds for their tickets, which Wanderland’s management allowed.

But as they say in show business, the show must go on.

HYBS charmed the crowd

It’s HYBS’ first time in Manila, but it didn’t seem like it at all. The connection between artist and fan came so naturally for them. The Thai duo had a lot of fun interacting with the crowd, having them harmonize on high and low notes at their instruction. For one song, they also had the audience sing “Mabuhay” to replace the original lyrics. More than entertaining, they managed to hype up the crowd with the same love and energy they brought to the stage. Alyn Wee and Karn Kasidej had even shared a brief bromance moment, swaying while side-hugging during the performance of their most romantic song, "Prettiest to Me."

Rico Blanco proves OPM is as enduring as ever

It’s normal for the last acts to have the most fans in Wanderland—that’s the point of headliners, after all. However, last night’s Rico Blanco performance changed this status quo.

Rico Blanco was the fourth to the last performer for Day 2, but he managed to gather hyped-up crowds similar to that of other headliners Carly Rae Jepsen and Phoenix. Everyone was up on their feet, so much so that he had to stop halfway through his performance because someone in the crowd was in need of a medic. The enduring power of OPM has never been more apparent on Wanderland grounds.

Dashboard Confessional is (now) a fan of Rico Blanco

As if the love from his Filipino fans weren't enough, Rico Blanco found himself a new fan in Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba. In several instances, during Dashboard Confessional's set, Carrabba made several references expressing how "awesome" Blanco's set was. Safe to say, Rico Blanco really brought his A-game enough to warrant the admiration of his fellow performers.

FKJ brought out (((o))) to the stage

For a music festival junkie, there are few things in life better than seeing two separate artists take over the stage together.

Everyone’s favorite multi-instrumentalist surprised the crowd with a surprise (or expected?) appearance of his Filipina wife and co-performer ((( O ))), otherwise known as June Marieezy. The two have collaborated on many songs together, so it’s only natural for him to feature her on stage with the hit track “Vibin’ Out.” ((( O )))’s spiritual and sensual presence coupled with FKJ’s command of sound make for the best chemistry-filled performance of the entire music festival.

Phoenix's lead singer crowd surfed

Phoenix knows how to put on a good show, especially after nearly 30 years of experience working together as a band. What better way to show showmanship as a performer than to facilitate a crowd surf? Lead singer Thomas Mars had fans in a frenzy when he jumped off the stage and squeezed himself into the crowd. He was almost all the way up to the Wanderland tech booth as he was propped up by the audience, crowd-surfing his way back to the stage safely before calling it a night. It was a quick but memorable 30 seconds, especially for fans who got to have brief physical contact with the Phoenix lead singer.

Bonus performances from Michael Seyer, CRWN, Sogumm, and Chunyan

Wanderland was already a who's who of the music scene both locally and internationally. But if you think the announced line up was already poppin', there were also surprise performances from artists like CRWN who performed with August Wahh, Michael Seyer who brought his own flavor to Sunset Rollercoaster's set, Sogumm who kept pace with Balming Tiger, and Chunyan who shared the stage with Leo Wang.

For more information, visit Wanderland's Facebook page.

Also read: Don't Miss These International Acts Coming to the PH in 2023

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