Arthur Nery’s ‘harana’ songs send young fans to Cloud 9

By Moses Billacura

All seats were sold out and the venue was filled with young screaming fans, who were there to watch Arthur Nery in concert.

The 27-year-old singer-songwriter has wowed the crowd from the start with his Filipino neo-soul songs and the young crowd sang enthusiastically with him, especially for his hit single, “Pagsamo”.

March 12 felt more like February 14 as young sweethearts hugged each other, some in a tight embrace as they listened to his songs.

Who is Arthur Nery?

The Cagayan de Oro native signed a record deal in 2019 and became a big hit after the release of “Pagsamo”.

Tristan, who watched the concert with his girlfriend, described his music like the “harana” of the old days and the lyrics just instantly clicked with youngsters. “Para kang dinuduyan,” he said.

Concert supporters Homer of UMAC Cargo, Evan of Empress Empanada and Ron of Marsha Food To Go could not believe it as they witnessed the wild reaction of the young concert goers that night.

“Sikat na sikat talaga siya sa mga kabataan,” said Evan Estigoy, who came to set up the Empress Empanada Booth with wife Edna.

The Alberta Filipino Journal has regularly been invited to cover the Palabok Promotions concerts in Edmonton and for the first time in concert coverages, promoter Lydia Jimenez tested the waters by bringing a young neo-soul singer. The result was an instant hit!

According to one insider, there were around 30 tickets left at around 3 p.m. and within minutes, they were sold out.