CLARK FREEPORT – It was indeed “An Unforgettable Musical Experience” for music lovers at the Fontana Convention Center here over the weekend as international singer, songwriter, actor and guitarist Stephen Bishop brought together tourists, artists and music enthusiasts from all over the region in a onenight live musical show.
In no time at all, Bishop has everybody crooning with his blockbuster hits like Something New in my Life, Save it For a Rainy Day, On and On and the widely popular It Might Be You which was the original soundtrack of the 1982 movie “Tootsie” starring Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange.
The balladeer also performed Separate Lives which he actually composed and sung by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin for the movie “White Nights.” The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1986.
Bishop was joined by special guest artist Lara Cuevas, 2011 Awit Award Best Performer, who performed songs like Sana Minsan Pa and her winning hit This Moment.
In a media conference held earlier, Bishop said “working with a Filipino artist is great,” citing, among others, the Filipinos’ unique talents and hospitality. For her part, Cuevas expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to perform live on stage with the American singer-songwriter.
“(I am) so privileged to be paired with an international artist. I learned so much from him,’’ she said. The “Unforgettable Musical Experience with Stephen Bishop” was a joint project of the Fontana Development Corporation and the World Entertainment Group represented by Jenifer Duran, with the special participation of Punto! Central Luzon, P.E.P.T.V, 105.5 FM, and RW 95.1FM.
Manuel Sequeira, Fontana Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said Stephen Bishop’s Unforgettable Musical Experience is the second international event to be staged at Fontana. The fi rst was “A Night of Love and Music” with Michael Johnson.
He said the company is still negotiating for other international artists to come to Fontana or including the Korean artists, K-pop girls. Asked the project’s objective, Sequeira said: “This is basically to show to the world that we are a destination.”
Meanwhile, the Stephen Bishop press conference last Friday prior to the concert was also the grand opening of the Coffee, Tea and Juice Bar (formerly The Piano Bar) at the main lobby of the Fontana Leisure Parks here.
“A lot of our customers wanted a place just to sit down and relax and play with their smart phones and have coffee, sandwiches and cakes,” he said. “When we got our new pastry chef who came from a 5-star hotel, he started producing cakes that we never saw here before so we drew this idea,” he added.
“We have been trying it for three months… it broke all our records so today is our grand opening,” Sequeira said.
