After its sold-out concert on Friday night, Oct. 2, BenandBen is still processing how it was able to mount such a humongous crowd at one of the country’s biggest concert stages, much more, to last almost a decade in this fickle entertainment industry.
The indie folk-pop band celebrated nine years of music, friendship, and growth with ‘Saranggola: The Concert,’ taking Liwanag fans through the band’s three-album discography while marking the end of its nine-piece era at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The concert was also a surprise for fans who came without a prior setlist released. Rather than focusing solely on songs from its recent ‘Nine’ anthology album, the band revisited music from The Traveller Across Dimensions, Pebble House, and Limasawa Street, allowing the audience to look back on the different chapters of BenandBen’s career alongside the members themselves.
The band also performed reimagined versions of classic hits ‘Lifetime’, ‘Autumn,’ and ‘Leaves’ alongside new releases from 2026, bringing both familiar favorites and newer material into the celebration.
The nine-piece lineup – Paolo and Miguel Benjamin Guico, Poch Barretto, Jam Villanueva, Agnes Reoma, Patricia Lasaten, Toni Muñoz, Andrew de Pano, and Keifer Cabugao – opened the show with ‘Ride Home,’ ‘Paninindigan Kita,’ and ‘Sunrise,’ immediately setting a celebratory tone inside the Big Dome.
Milestones
The show was divided into segments dedicated to each of the band’s three albums. Between performances, the members shared stories from their years together, reflecting on career milestones, personal experiences, and how their relationship had grown beyond simply being bandmates.
BenandBen’s history as friends and chosen family became one of the concert’s central themes. Instead of treating its nine-year journey as a straightforward retrospective, ‘Saranggola’ gave each member room to revisit the moments that shaped them and the music they created together.
Departure
The concert, however, carried a bittersweet undertone. Last year, drummer Villanueva announced in a video posted on BenandBen’s social media accounts that 2026 would be her final year with the group. Her departure was also linked to an arm injury that has affected her ability to continue performing as a drummer.
In one segment, the band gave the audience the chance to request songs, selecting three from the suggestions: the perennial ber-month favorite ‘Bibingka,’ along with ‘Dahilan’ and ‘Courage.’
The members later introduced themselves one by one as a nine-piece band for the last time, before launching into ‘Araw-Araw.’ More than an introduction, the moment marked the final time fans would see the nine-piece lineup take the stage together.
Towards the end, Villanueva took the stage for a heartfelt message to her bandmates and the fans who had been part of her journey with BenandBen. She shared that she would not be the person she is today if it were not for her bandmates, thanking them for the years they had spent growing and making music together. The emotion in her words was felt across the stage as her fellow band members shed tears.
BenandBen then closed the concert with ‘Maybe the Night’ and ‘Saranggola.’ During the latter, Villanueva took to the drums for one final performance with her bandmates. After the song, the nine-piece lineup took its final bow together, marking the end of an era for the band.