CEBU CITY, Philippines — YouTube creators Unya, Afterhours recently collaborated with independent music label Melt Records on the opening episodes of the second season of their live music YouTube series. The new season is set to kick off with pop rock band Coloura performing at coffeeshop Luna Gazette with the episode premiering on February 15, 2025.
‘Unya, Afterhours’ is a web series that features live performances by Cebu artists at Cebu businesses. The brainchild of filmmaker Eury Escudero and musician Liana San Diego, the series has released several captivating episodes in its first season featuring artists such as She Must Be Dreaming, HNT, and Reanne Borela.
“It all started with a conversation Eury and I had,” describes San Diego. “We are both big fans of NPR Tiny Desk Concert and Eury pointed out that there hasn’t been anything like that in Cebu.” She adds offhandedly, “we just assumed it was possible so we did it.”
Willow Hoods, who runs the acclaimed Wworkshop barbershop in the city’s Molave district, catalyzed the birth of ‘Unya, Afterhours’. “He believed in our vision, and he allowed us to shoot as his barbershop for the first few episodes and even referred us to his friends at Bumi and Ashe.” This led to the creators deciding to shoot the episodes in various places around town. “Like a traveling circus,” San Diego jokes.
In addition to the season opener with Coloura, ‘Afterhours’ season 2 will also feature other Melt Records artists performing at Luna Gazette, including Keith Human, The Vast, and The Qings.
“The talents of Melt Records have such big personalities,” San Diego shares. “I had a ball watching them perform. These episodes were so fun to watch, mainly because they were all just being themselves and enjoying.”
The new episodes also see ‘Afterhours’ innovating beyond the largely acoustic sets in the first season to incorporate a wider range of arrangements. Music producer Franco Dosdos (who releases music under the monicker ST3R10 and serves as audio engineer for ‘Afterhours’) adds, “it’s a full band experience, of course different to that of what you would hear from gigs and from the studio recording, this offers a new take of your favorite songs.”
“Season one taught us so much—it was like our training wheels,” adds Escudero. “Now we’re back, fueled by passion and with music running through us, ready to give it everything we’ve got.”
Rounding up the team of ‘Afterhours’ are producer Tina Adlawan, social media manager Estela Inopiquez, and graphic designers Ava Codera and Jericho Cabasag. The cofounders are also quick to acknowledge that beyond the core team, ‘Afterhours’ was only possible through partnerships with creative outfits such as The Folking Friends Productions and WorksBehindKrafts.
“Our shared passions are what brought us here,” Escudero reflects. “Liana’s love for music and my passion for film and media are the heart of why ‘Afterhours’ exists. Bringing those two worlds together felt natural, and it became something we both connected over.”
Season 2 of ‘Unya, Afterhours’ will be released through their YouTube channel. Episodes will premiere every two weeks on Saturdays at 12 noon, starting on February 15th.
Source: Beautiful Feature
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