MANILA, Philippines — In the two decades that the group, 3rd Avenue, has been around, they were never out of the music scene. Even if they never went mainstream, they did more of live events — weddings, parties and corporate gigs — that kept them constantly around.
For artists in the live events industry, 3rd Avenue is undeniably the most in-demand musical group, offering unparalleled entertainment to almost all types of joyous events.
On Sept. 26, 3rd Avenue will celebrate a big milestone, their 20th anniversary, with a forward-looking concert, “3rd Aveinte,” at the Music Museum.
“It is such an exciting time for 3rd Avenue 20 years into what we’re doing,” said vocalist, founder and concert director Paolo Ledesma. “We are still looking forward to how the group will evolve and offer something new to our partners, fans and supporters.”
In the two decades that 3rd Avenue has been together, they inevitably changed their members. Originally, they started as an acoustic trio, while Paolo and Beng Gatmaitan finished their Interdisciplinary Studies major in Spanish at the College of Saint Benilde (CSB).
“When we finished college, we were still idealistic,” said Paolo. “We all ended up doing corporate jobs.” But not for long.
They were discovered in a wedding in 2007 when they released an album, 3rd Avenue in Time, produced by Barnyard Music. The album got an Awit Award for Best Performance by a New Group.
“At present, we have a total of 12 singers, not including the band,” offered Paolo. “We have packages that start from only two singers. The biggest group has five singers, excluding the band. We have 20 musicians on rotation.”
“For the rhythm section, we tapped only the core members of 3rd Avenue for the concert. But we will feature all singers in a production number,” added he.
They started when they were still in school at the CSB. “I was a fan of the a cappella trio, III of a Kind. I wanted to form a group that had number three or trio in its name,” shared Paolo.
“So, I thought of Third and our school was in Taft (Avenue), so I thought of 3rd Avenue. That was how we coined the name.”
“3rd Aveinte,” the concert, promises to give the public a glimpse of the future of the band’s 20-year journey and the exciting things that will come everyone’s way.
Paolo added this is also the team’s way of expressing gratitude to everyone who has helped propel the band to being the foremost musical group in the live events realm amid numerous challenges.
“It will be a great night of music, celebration of partnership and friendship,” promised drummer and co-founder Beng.
“With signature sound of the band, punctuated with impressive vocal harmonies, the concert will be one unforgettable night of music.”
3rd Avenue will be doing its original songs in the concert. “All the other songs are most requested from 3rd Avenue,” informed Beng.
“The songs that we do best and at the same time, we also pay tribute to our idols who are OPM artists. We’ll make the repertoire into a journey. That will be broad. There will be classics, new hits, wedding segment and modern songs.”
There will be classic Original Pilipino Music (OPM) songs, to Taylor Swift hits for the Swifties. They also have the part called “3rd Avenue Reimagined.”
“We will transform unusual songs to a bridal march, since we often sing in weddings,” Paolo added.
The concert will be a rollercoaster of emotions lasting for two and a half hours. “We will play different tunes for the audience,” Paolo said. “We will make sure the audience will not get bored.”
3rd Avenue will launch two original songs in the concert coming from their soon-to-be-released album. “The two songs will be part of the 20 original tunes that 3rd Avenue will release in the coming months on Spotify and other platforms,” informed Paolo. “That’s in celebration of our 20th year — all written and composed by Beng.”
3rd Avenue is composed of Paolo, who is the concert director and writer is his wife, Nina Ledesma, Joy Reyes, Muriel de la Paz, Alchris Ramirez on vocals, rhythm section led by musical director Migs Nuñez on keys, co-musical director Gino Madrid on guitar.
Gian Yap on bass guitar, Lester Cerda on saxophone, Anthony Dio on drums/percussion and composer/songwriter Beng on drums/percussion.
“This is a family affair,” said Paolo about “3rd Aveinte” concert. “But we also tapped friends who help us, especially on the production side and the event management side. This is also our thanksgiving for reaching 20 years.”
“Over the years, we have developed friends from the event industry who are willing to help us, support us and are really excited for us. The concert will be a rollercoaster ride. The audience will feel different kinds of emotions,” shared he.
The concert will showcase 3rd Avenue’s evolving talent as the group performs a refreshing and exciting repertoire with DJ Toons, “Asian Cutie” Albert Nicolas and Aia De Leon (formerly of Imago) as special guests.
The forthcoming concert will introduce new singers in the 3rd Avenue brood. They are also launching the string section of 3rd Avenue with inclusive packages.
The group is also coming up with an idea of offering a band with the DJ who can collaborate with groups, ideal for live events and parties that the younger generation is now used to.
“We thought of combining the DJ with the band, so we can offer the best of both worlds,” Paolo said. “We are in partnership with a few DJs and we will be featuring one in the concert.”
“We never stop of thinking of new ways, more innovations to come in the next 20 years. We always listen to what the customers like and what’s the trend. We revisit our strategy every time we plan. We align and make sure everybody is still on the same boat,” he concluded.
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