Full Speed Ahead: EPIC the Musical in Bacolod!

Odysseus docked his ship on our shores and made his latest stop here in the City of Smiles! Wolfspider Café was a full house of Ody’s crew, nymphs, gods, and mortals alike for an EPIC the Musical: Sing Along, featuring one of the most iconic musicals trending on the internet today.

Jorge Rivera-Herrans’ nine-part saga of concept albums is a collection of 40 songs that adapts Homer’s Odyssey. EPIC tells the story of how Odysseus sailed home from the Trojan War, back to the loving arms of his Penelope and son, Telemachus. However, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing: their foes range from monsters to a woman, from the Thunder Bringer Zeus to the Ruthless Poseidon. What started as his senior thesis in 2019 has now become a full-blown narrative, completed last December 2024.

Spearheaded by Shiloah Shalom Quimbo, the event gathered Bacolod’s followers of the musical, who responded with a packed house. From tirelessly searching high and low for the lead singers to hosting the event as Penelope herself, her efforts kept the energy high from the first saga all the way to the very last. Wolfspider Café, located at the Marketplace NGC, served as a safe haven for EPIC enjoyers. The EPIC the Musical: Sing Along event was open to fans with no registration fees and only a minimum purchase of 100 PHP from their wide selection of drinks. Artists Eunice Espinosa and Rei Charm Galvez were also featured, offering guests affordable, locally-made merchandise. And in case anyone missed out on the EPIC goodies, they will be available at the Patron of the Arts event at SMX this June 7–8.

Drink? Check. Merch? Check. Polites-cupcake? Check. Now, we’re up, we’re off, and away we go!

Imagine bringing fans of all ages together for this well-loved musical in one room—unlimited singing, hours of fun, and a crowd you can never fit inside a wooden horse. Aside from the rewatch, guests were also treated to different performances during numbers like “Keep Your Friends Close,” “Legendary,” and “Would You Fall in Love with Me Again.” Cosplayers at the venue set the scene so well, it felt like everyone was stepping inside the animatics. Attendees witnessed, right before their eyes, Hermes enticing Odysseus with Holy Moly during “Wouldn’t You Like,” the prophet Tiresias foreseeing (no pun intended) a dreadful future in “No Longer You,” and of course—”The Challenge”: a yearning Penelope, her heart ready for any arrow rather than the tragedy of her beloved.

Halfway through the event, a trivia game tested everyone’s knowledge of Odyssey and EPIC, with Epic Merch as prizes. Two participants faced off in a “Guess the Epic Song” challenge just before the final saga. In the end, a Circe and Tiresias were crowned the best dressed of the night.

The journey from the Troy Saga all the way to Ithaca was filled with twists and turns, but this shared voyage is a memory fans will treasure for a long time. You’ve been mentored and fought for by Athena. You’ve slain sirens and survived Scylla and Charybdis. You’ve made it home.

So now, what’s the next stop for Bacolod’s Epic fans? Perhaps a call to be one of Ody’s 600 men or an invite to Calypso’s island? Maybe a visit to the kingless kingdom of Ithaca to win the queen’s hand, or an Olympian deciding a mortal’s fate? Well, brace for a storm—the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

This ship has not reached the end of its travels. Our captain is pointing towards a theatre. The Odyssey continues.* (Ira Dawn Myer Vinco/Photos by Wolfspider Café and Shiloah Shalom Quimbo)