All Of The Noise has never really played by the same rules as other festivals, and at this point, it’s clear that it doesn’t intend to. Staged across multiple venues in Metro Manila, this year’s edition gathered nearly 30 artists from the Philippines and across Asia, pairing live performances with panels, screenings, and industry sessions.

In a conversation after the event’s media conference, co-founder and creative director MC Galang reflects on what the platform is trying to shift. 

A refusal to follow the formula

For Galang, the issue in the live music landscape is repetition.

“I don’t feel like I’m adding anything to the community… if I just do literally the same event,” she says.

She describes festivals that feel interchangeable despite different branding, with similar structures and lineups shaping both programming and audience taste.

“They don’t even know na may ibang types of artists pala,” she says. 

All Of The Noise pushes against that by mixing international acts like Phoebe Rings, Grrrl Gang, and Shye with Filipino artists including BP Valenzuela, SOS, and Ourselves the Elves, alongside emerging acts from different regions.

“If nobody does it, then it’s just not gonna happen,” Galang says.

The gap between talent and trajectory

If the lineup shows what’s out there, the rest of the program focuses on what’s often missing.

“A lot of our artists are really great, really talented,” Galang says, noting that many are not fully aware of what comes after releasing music.

She points to a familiar pattern where artists wait for visibility after uploading songs, even as the landscape becomes more competitive.

“It’s not enough now to just put out really great music,” she says.

From presentation to outreach to live presence, she adds, small details often decide whether artists move forward.

“It’s not always because they lack ambition,” she says. “Sometimes they just don’t know the possibilities.”

Panels, masterclasses, and collaborations at the festival aim to make those gaps more visible and navigable.

Building something that doesn’t depend on one platform

As All Of The Noise continues to grow, Galang resists the idea of it being the only solution.

“It can’t just be us,” she says, pointing to the need for more collectives and regional spaces outside Metro Manila.

For her, the goal is expansion, not centralization, and a scene where responsibility is shared rather than concentrated.

She also emphasizes sustainability beyond the platform itself, hoping the work leaves something that continues even if it pauses or stops.

What carries forward

At its core, All Of The Noise functions less like a traditional festival and more like a framework for how a music scene can grow.

It brings artists, audiences, and industry players into shared space for performance and exchange, turning gaps in the system into conversations and possible next steps.

“We want to open up possibilities,” Galang says.

And beyond the weekend, those possibilities are meant to keep moving through the artists, the community, and what they take with them.

Photo by Mayks Go/The Rest is Noise PH