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Time flies so quickly.
I can’t believe it’s been 6 years since we put the site up.
In those 6 years, we’ve undergone a lot of changes, suffered through a pandemic and came out triumphant at the end, slowly picking up the pieces and getting the Davao music scene back to its normal, vibrant self.
A lot of artists have come and gone.
Others have persevered.
And then there are those successes that makes you so proud that they belong to the same music scene as you regardless of their genre.
Today, we’re talking about RJ Manulid, a singer/songwriter/music producer who is known for his genre-blending sound and emotionally honest songwriting.
Since debuting as a solo artist in 2016, he has self-produced three full-length albums: Reassurance (2018), Phases (2021), and Looking Up (2023).
This guy has so many successes throughout his career that I’ll just list it at the bottom so that we won’t take away the most recent exciting news about his career.
He’s going to Japan to perform a few shows.
And he needs our support.
RJ Manulid to perform in Japan in November 2025
RJ Manulid is heading to Tokyo this November for ‘The Looking Up Tour’. The genre-hopping Davao-based music artist will be performing his original songs at 3 venues. The first show will be an acoustic piano set, and the other 2 shows will be electronic sets.
He added, “As an independent artist for the past 11 years, I’m excited by this opportunity to showcase original Filipino music on a global stage. Thank you to everyone who has supported the music to get to this point. I hope I can make you all proud.”
This Japan tour comes after three full-length albums and previous international collaborations. RJ Manulid released ‘Reassurance’ in 2018, ‘Phases’ in 2021, and ‘Looking Up’, the tour namesake, in 2023. RJ Manulid released ‘Win Somehow’ with Japanese artist WAZGOGG in 2022. RJ Manulid represented the Philippines at the 2023 Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship, performing traditional Eastern Javanese music and dances in Jakarta and Banyuwangi.
Japan-based organization Inter Idoru Artist Management is handling the Japan tour, while Holodeck Productions is providing support for both The Looking Up Tour and a series of fundraiser shows in Davao City.
Check out the list of shows for the Japan fundraiser and The Looking Up Tour below:
Fundraiser Shows:
October 15, 2025 (Wednesday) – Davao City – The Commons at Matina Town Square (with TYNA, manheaven, and The Curve)
October 17, 2025 (Friday) – Davao City – D’Basement Davao (with Gregory Neil, Cosmoselle, Das, Anne Mendoza, and Chud Festejo)
The Looking Up Tour:
November 1, 2025 (Saturday) – Shimokitazawa – Artist
November 3, 2025 (Monday) – Nakano – MELODIA Tokyo
November 4, 2025 (Tuesday) – Koenji – Club ROOTS!
For more updates on The Looking Up Tour, follow RJ Manulid, Holodeck Productions, and Inter Idoru Artist Management on social media.
See the poster of The Looking Up Tour below:
So… let’s try to do our part and support RJ Manulid’s musical journey by going to his fundraising shows and get him to Japan with enough change in his pocket.
At a time when there’s a lot of trouble in the country, we need this as a win for Davao and for the Philippines.
And Now for the Reasons Why He’s Awesome
RJ Manulid is a PhilPop Songwriting Bootcamp Sponsored Fellow (2018). RJ trained under icons such as Ryan Cayabyab, Ben&Ben’s Guico brothers, Gary Granada, Thyro and Yumi, Jimmy Antiporda, and Lara Maigue.
His music has been featured on Antara News Indonesia, SENSA Japan, Bandwagon Asia, H&M Philippines, CNN Philippines, and SunStar Davao, among others.
RJ has collaborated internationally with Japanese DJ/Producer WAZGOGG and Korean rapper j00n, and locally with Maan Chua, Chud Festejo, and LakBai Classical Guitar Duo.
He has performed on the Wish 107.5 Bus, opened for artists like Clara Benin, Keiko Necesario, SOS, and BP Valenzuela, and toured across Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Tagum, Malaybalay, Jakarta, and Banyuwangi.
His songs have also aired on Filipino and Japanese radio stations.
In 2023, RJ represented the Philippines as one of two Filipino awardees of the Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship, training and performing traditional gamelan music and Banyuwangi dances in Indonesia.
Upon returning home, he launched Looking Up and performed at Fête de la Musique Davao 2024 and MinPop Music Festival 2024.
With over 400,000 streams, RJ’s music has been featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday Philippines, Fresh Finds Philippines, Spotify Japan’s An Evening to Remember, Apple Music Japan’s New in Electronic, and official playlists of KKBOX and AWA FM.
Notable Performances
- Sari-Sari Music Festival 2025, UP Mindanao (with Yano and Davao indie acts) – Band Performance
- Fête de la Musique Davao 2024 – Main Stage performer
- Indonesia Solo Expo 2024, Davao City – Gong and live music performance – Highlights
- Indonesia Channel 2023, Jakarta – Final performance of the Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship – Highlights
- Looking Up Album Launch 2023, Davao City – Full band live set
- Wish 107.5 Bus (2019) – Original music performance in Davao City
Career Highlights
- 2018–2019: Released debut album Reassurance; performed at Bandwagon-featured launch event. Participated in PhilPop Bootcamp. Produced tracks for Chud Festejo’s “Laro-Laro Lang” EP and performed on the Wish Bus.
- 2021: Released second album Phases and the The Sun Rises in the West (Remix) with WAZGOGG and Trix. Featured on H&M Philippines’ in-store playlist and At Home with GMA RTV.
- 2022: Released Win Somehow with WAZGOGG (featured in SENSA, Yahoo Japan, CDJournal). Single Outer Space ranked among MinPop 2022’s Top 22 songs.
- 2023: Represented the Philippines in Indonesia under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Released Looking Up album in December.
- 2024–2025: Featured on Monster Radio Davao, Republika FM1 Manila/Davao. Continued performances across Mindanao and upcoming Japan Tour (November 2025).
Selected Press Features
- Scout Magazine – Fête de la Musique 2024 Lineup
- Antara News Indonesia – BSBI Program Feature
- SunStar Davao – “Looking Up” Album Announcement
- Barks.JP – WAZGOGG x RJ Manulid Collaboration
- Bandwagon Asia – Reassurance Album Feature
- SunStar Davao – One-on-One Feature
Contact & Links
Email: rjmanulidmusic@gmail.com
Spotify: RJ Manulid
Instagram / YouTube / Twitter: @rjmanulid
Facebook: facebook.com/rjmanulidmusic
TikTok: @rj.manulid
FRIENDSHIP (JP): Artist Page
Whew!
So yeah, go support him by showing up at his shows!