Ireland-based modern rock quartet Kodaline made a much-awaited return to the country five years after joining the Wanderland Music and Arts Festival lineup in 2018. Fans of the band flocked to Filinvest Tent in Alabang last September 14 to experience the blissful yet haunting tracks of the group.

Before the members of Kodaline stepped out on stage, the alt-folk band The Ridleys set the mood right as they told the audience stories through their songs. The crowd was immersed in the sounds of The Ridleys as they serenaded everyone present at the venue with hits like ‘Summertown,’ ‘Aphrodite,’ and ‘Icarus,’ to name a few.

Not long after that sweet set by The Ridleys, Kodaline kicked off their show with ‘Wherever You Are’, followed by ‘Brand New Day,’ ‘Ready,’ ‘Brother,’ and ‘Sometimes,’. The band took the audience to church during ‘High Hopes’ when the audience sang the song from start to finish. Steve Garrigan exclaimed how the Manila audience was very loud, which made the fans go wild and cheer themselves and the band on!

The show continued with more songs from Kodaline’s albums: ‘Coming Up For Air’ and ‘In A Perfect World.’ In their setlist, the band also included ‘Love Will Set You Free,’ their 2016 collaboration track with Kygo. Of course, the show would not be complete without an encore stage! Coming back after a short break, Kodaline wrapped up with ‘Everything Works Out in the End, and perfectly closed the night with their biggest hit, the sentimental and hard-hitting ‘All I Want.’

It was indeed a night filled with hope and love as Kodaline hit every emotion there was to feel with their beautiful yet brooding musical performance for all their Filipino fans. Big thanks to Karpos Live for making Kodaline Live in Manila happen!