Fast-rising duos Honne, Joan charm Filipino fans in their series of Ayala Mall shows

Synth-pop goodness at Ayala Malls Manila Bay

Honne, comprised of singer Andy and producer James, alongside Alan and Steven of Joan performs in front of their hundreds of devout Filipino fans in their series of Ayala Malls which happened from November 7 to November 13.

Team Manila Concert Junkies was lucky to have witnessed a chill and united fans enjoying a whole set of their most adored songs in a breezy Wednesday night at the newly-open Ayala Malls Manila Bay.

The Show Proper

Indie duo Joan showcased their undeniably good musicality and opened up an evening full of synth-pop music.

Hailing from Arkansas, Joan is composed of Alan Thomas and Steven Rutherford, and has penned songs worthy of listening to, such as “I Loved You First”, "Take Me On", “Tokyo”, “Drive All Night”. and "Love Somebody Like You.”

More About Honne

Rewind to March 2019 when Honne was part of the incredible Wanderland line up. Fast-forward this week, Honne has now embarked on a one-week mall shows in Manila and met their loyal Filipino fans, who are now louder than ever, singing their songs by heart.

From meeting at a university, Andy shared that their friendship bonded over a mutual love for Radiohead, and then followed by days when they started writing music together.

“We're both from the west country – Andy's near Yeovil and I'm from near Salisbury. So in places so small, it felt like no one else liked that same music,” shares James.

Andy also shared that a lot of time was spent on trial and error and learning how to do stuff and working on their production and songwriting skills.” 

The crowd who came swayed and sang along to some songs such as “Me&You”, “I Got You”, “Warm On A Cold Night”, and “306.” The crowd sounded good as they sing along with other hypnotic tracks such as “Feels So Good”, “Good Together” and sudden transition to the feel-good song “Location Unknown.”

Another highlight of the show was when Beka joined the lads and shows off her impeccable vocals on ­'Crying Over You.’ The show finished off on a high note their upbeat song, “ Day 1”, wherein they mention in their past interviews that the song is fundamentally about loyalty, and being with someone right from the beginning.

It was a refreshing sight to see how Honne created a setlist to cater to both their new and longtime fans. With great rapport with their fans, they made everyone sing along and wanting for more.

Honne and Joan is made possible through the joined efforts of Karpos Live and Ayala Malls. Here’s to many more shows in the future. Special thanks to Ms. Jacky Ong of Ayala Malls Manila Bay for the opportunity to cover.

Photos courtesy of Patrick Lasanas for Manila Concert Junkies