CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — A year ago, Cup of Joe took their Cebuano fans (collectively known as Joewahs) through a forest of feelings during their “Silakbo Concert Tour.” Almost a year after their last stop on that tour, the OPM band returned to the here on March 28, this time taking their Joewahs on a cosmic journey with their “Stardust Tour.”
In an interview with the band the day before their show at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Gian Bernardino said that they are excited to bring their current headlining tour to Cebu at a bigger venue. Their “Silakbo” stop was held at the IEC Convention Center. “Cebuano Joewahs are our most loyal listeners, and we are excited to perform for them again,” he said.
During the show, the band couldn’t stress enough how grateful they were for their Joewahs in Cebu, recalling that they were among their top listeners when they started in 2018. But what sealed the band’s special relationship with their Cebuano fans was during their appearance at the “Fusion Cebu” music festival last October when their set was canceled due to a downpour.
“We were surprised to see that our Cebuano Joewahs stayed,” Bernardino recalled during one of their spiels. To make up for their canceled set, the band stood onstage to sing “Multo.”
“Even without a working sound system, the fans sang along with us,” he continued. “That’s when we realized that we mean so much to them, and we want them to know that they mean so much to us as well.”
Cebu City was the latest stop of their “Stardust Tour,” which started on Oct. 10 and 11 at the Araneta Coliseum. With 2025 being the year they became a household name, the band placed their shared journey at the center of the tour’s concept — framing the concert as an interstellar voyage that mirrors their growth as artists and their increasing fanbase.
“This concert is not just a celebration of our recent achievements, but a celebration of our brotherhood, our music, and our love for all of you in this universe that we are in together,” Rapha Ridao said during the show.
Led by Bernardino and Ridao as lead vocalists, Cup of Joe is composed of Xen Gareza on keyboards; Gab Fernandez on lead guitar; and CJ Fernandez on rhythm guitar.
“Stardust” is divided into five segments, each representing a planet based on a particular mood.
The show started light with the Planet Crimson and Planet Ivory segments, featuring their light and upbeat tracks like “Silakbo,” “Sinderela,” “Wag Na Lang,” “Mananatili,” “Ikaw Pa Rin ang Pipiliin Ko,” and “Misteryoso.”
While performing “Tingin,” Janine Tenoso made an appearance to loud applause. Her part in last year’s “Silakbo” Cebu show was covered by Cebuana singer Sheena Belarmino.
In the Pink Planet segment, Cup of Joe took their fans back to their roots as they covered two of the three songs that shaped their love for music and the kind of band they wanted to be.
They asked three fans, each representing a song choice, to deliver their best budots dance. In the end, a male fan representing Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” got the most applause, leading the band to perform the song.
Due to chants from the audience for one more cover, they ended up performing “Night Changes” by One Direction as well. The third option would have been “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls.
Throughout these covers, Bernardino and Ridao took a backseat as they let the other members sing their parts — each met with enthusiasm from fans.
The show then took on a more vulnerable and melancholic turn as they reached Planet Emerald and Planet Azure, where the band performed sentimental tracks like “Hinga,” “Kabilang Mata,” “Bubog,” “Pahina,” and “Bagyo.”
Keanna Mag, the girlfriend of Ridao, joined them on stage as the second guest, singing her part in “Lahat ng Bukas.”
In their final numbers, the band performed their latest single, “Sandali,” before closing the show with their signature hit “Multo” — the audience’s most anticipated song and a fitting finale to the “Stardust” concert.
Other special guests appeared in the introduction and intermission videos, including Senator Kiko Pangilinan, who tasked the band with saving the planets; Kapamilya comedian Melai Cantiveros as the queen of Planet Ivory; and Cebuano content creator Zeke Abella, who pulled double duty as the ruler of Pink Planet and its translator, communicating only through laughter.
While the band is known for their humor during shows and on social media, they leaned into it even more during the concert, including its more serious moments. One funny instance was when Bernardino jokingly shared that someone backstage told him that “yawa” means “God bless.”
During another spiel, he asked the audience to do a “Maja Salvador keratin” moment by repeating certain English words, such as “chaos,” “adversity,” and “hindrances.”
Before closing the show, the band thanked their fans for being part of their journey — from a campus band in Baguio to one of the leading OPM acts of this generation — a story mirrored in the concert’s narrative.
“We started this journey not knowing where it would take us. Planet after planet, we faced the light, the chaos, and eventually the healing,” Bernardino said.
“This journey belongs to all of you: everyone who believes in us, who shows up, who can shine even if life gets heavy. Kayo ang tunay na bituin sa bawat planeta ng aming kalawakan,” Ridao said, before Gian interjected: “In English, that means you’re the stars in our black hole,” prompting laughter from the audience.
Cup of Joe’s performance at Waterfront Lahug was an upgrade from last year’s venue at IEC, where the barebones acoustics made the crowd louder than the band. At the hotel’s Grand Pacific Ballroom, even with fans singing along enthusiastically, the audience could clearly hear the members perform, thanks to an improved sound system.
| Written by Januar Junior Aguja/VAB
