u/Serenski07

I’ve noticed that some people in hardcore/underground scenes love making fun of mainstream artists for being corny, baduy—especially during live performances. Like if an artist shows too much emotion or stage presence while playing simple guitar parts—suddenly it’s cringe.

Live performances aren’t just about technical difficulty. Performing is also theater — big gestures and stage presence are part of the experience.

So sila lang ba pwede gumalaw and mag act ng ganon?

Pero ano nga ba magagawa kung “cringe” ang na fi-feel nila. Ang akin lang, parang ang arogante na minsan. Like they really lean into expressing that sense of superiority.

Aren’t they also the ones who label and look down on ‘pogi rock’?

(This is about the last AMF)

I think that may be one of the reasons why Aurora Music Festival 2026 generated a smaller audience this year compared to last year. Most of the artists in this year’s lineup don’t really have highly active fan bases anymore.

Unlike last year’s lineup — Binii🌸, Cup of Joe, Maki, TJ Monterde, Arthur Nery, even Flow G and BGYO — most of them have active fandoms online. Nandon din si Rico Blanco. Kahit may edad na, we all know he still has headliner-level appeal.

Compared to this year, many of the artists are already legacy acts with less active fandoms, like Parokya ni Edgar, Kamikazee, Sarah Geronimo, SexBomb Girls, Armi Millare, and Kitchie Nadal. Even December Avenue doesn’t really have an active fandom although malakas sa casuals. I know, PNE and KMKZ are great at crowd engagement, but in terms of being crowd-pullers, parang mas may hatak pa si TJ Monterde, who could honestly headline too.

I get that some of them can still sell out concerts because of nostalgia and hype, but that’s different from having a consistently active fandom that follows artists’ activities.

And let’s also consider that most music festival goers today are Gen Z. Sure, there are still a lot of millennials attending festivals, but if a festival’s lineup is more aligned with Gen Z tastes and current online culture, there’s a bigger chance of attracting a larger audience.

Edit: I don’t believe na mabahong portalets yung dahilan ng mababang ticket sales, it could be a factor pero mas matimbang yung line-up. Kahit double headliners pa yan, pag hindi crowd pullers yung ibang artists sa line up, hindi pa din mabi-beat yung last year.