Jonathan Tal Placido and Daniel Aguilar have been Instagram mutuals since the pandemic. Tal Placido owns Toothless Studio — a production house responsible for spearheading music videos and live concert productions for high-profile artists such as SB19, KAIA, Zack Tabudlo, Jayda, and James Reid. Aguilar co-founded a video production crew called Lunchbox, creating music videos for mainstream and independent artists like Zild, dwta, Morrisette, and Toneejay, just to name a few.
As their taste in music and visuals developed, a plan to set up a live performance and documentation project came to fruition this year. To them, it was now or never because they knew that when an idea begins to brew, there are chances that, when they reach their thirties — they are now age 27 — all plans will merely become ambitions as other priorities get in the way.
Thus, Backyard Live’s pilot event will take place this January 26 as an intimate live experience. The gist is if you buy a ticket to Backyard Live, the organizers will email the venue’s secret location a few days before the event. All you have to do is bring your own headphones. “Mas trip namin ‘yong raw na dating niya versus ‘yong very professional at very technical, para mas intimate ‘yong experience,” Aguilar says as he recalls the intimacy of artists sharing intimate moments with their audiences in programs like KEXP in Seattle, Audiotree in Chicago, or National Public Radio’s “Tiny Desk.”
This air of mystery not only offers a sense of unpredictability, but a jam-packed bill of leftfield and mainstream artists is anticipated. There’s ena mori, who is expected to pull off her signature art-pop melodies; Toneejay is set to croon over indie-rock sensibilities; while P-Pop group KAIA will dish out their fare of dance music.
“Our approach namin ni Daniel is sino ‘yong mga ka-work naming artists, like sino ‘yong mga naniniwala kaagad [sa] vision namin,” Tal Placido says. “Our dream is to share fans with other genres.”
What started in December 2024 as a gathering of Christian groups performing live music together became the seed for Tal Placido to experiment with his own pursuits. For him, Backyard has become a playground in a figurative and a literal sense. “‘Yong nag-fuel ng project ay passion and friendship.” Tal Placido says, “Woah, sobrang cliche. Pero ‘yan ang reality.”
You can follow Backyard Live on Facebook. Tickets for the first Backyard Live are available via Google Forms