Composed of Eunice \u201cNice\u201d Marie R. Gonato (vocals), Angel Grace \u201cTia\u201d M. Restauro (rhythm guitar), Aaliyah \u201cDawn\u201d T. Larawan (lead guitar), Grace \u201cAce\u201d S. Cagang (bass guitar) and Kimberly \u201cKim\u201d Mae S. Warain (drums), the all-female collective celebrated its third anniversary in June 2026.<\/p>\n
Unexpected chemistry<\/p>\n
The origin story of Esther\u2019s defies the traditional garage-band narrative. There were no midnight jam sessions or spontaneous decisions to start a group. Instead, the girls were brought together by the hallways of their high school\u2019s Special Program in the Arts. Because they belonged to different grade levels, they initially drifted in entirely separate social orbits.<\/p>\n
The true catalyst was P. Lopez, their music teacher \u2014 and notably, the drummer for local act Oh! Caraga. Lopez threw them together into a brand-new collective, originally dubbed the Riff Girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur senses of humor did not click at first,\u201d Dawn said. \u201cStudio practices were very awkward. Ace is the most extroverted and tried to lighten the mood with jokes, but they just wouldn\u2019t land.\u201d<\/p>\n
Compounding the initial awkwardness was a unique rule: the girls didn\u2019t get to choose their instruments. Lopez assigned them like classroom duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very difficult at first because we had no idea what we were doing, but she stayed patient, constantly reminding us to take it one step at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Learning to play from scratch<\/p>\n
For a group of students who only understood the basic textbook theory of music, suddenly being expected to command a stage was a daunting leap of faith.<\/p>\n
It helped immensely that they all possessed a natural talent for singing, though stepping behind instruments forced them to balance their vocals with technical performance. Kim, who originally had other musical instincts, found herself stationed behind a massive drum kit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never expected to be a drummer,\u201d she said, tracing her journey from the background to anchoring the backline. \u201cBut I learned it along the way and grew to love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tia took up the rhythm guitar, fighting through the steep learning curve by leaning heavily on the band\u2019s collective ambition. Meanwhile, Ace, assigned to the bass, quickly realized that simplicity is a myth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought bass would be easy since I\u2019d only be hitting one note at a time. I was so wrong! My hands looked so awkward playing complex bass riffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trial by fire extended to Dawn on lead guitar. Having only taken basic summer lessons in the third grade, she couldn\u2019t even play bar chords when the band formed. Yet, at their very first live gigw, they were forced to cover Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2019 notoriously intricate \u201cSweet Child O\u2019 Mine.\u201d They stumbled, they practiced and they survived.<\/p>\n
The final piece of the emotional puzzle was Nice. Naturally introverted and deeply uncomfortable with crowds, she suddenly found herself acting as the frontwoman. For a long time, the microphone felt like a barrier\u2014even for a group where every member can carry a tune. But then came Sonata, a performance that shifted their entire trajectory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the first time I truly connected with the crowd,\u201d Nice said. \u201cInstead of being nervous, I just felt pure excitement and really enjoyed myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whimsical aesthetic, hard rock edge<\/p>\n
If you catch Esther\u2019s live today, you are likely to experience a severe case of visual and sonic whiplash. They walk onstage dressed in whimsical, soft aesthetics, looking as though they might play delicate acoustic folk \u2014 and then they launch into hard-hitting, punk-infused rock, backed by rich, multi-part vocal harmonies that leverage everyone\u2019s singing ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly!\u201d Tia beamed when asked about the deliberate contrast. \u201cThe very first songs we covered were by Avril Lavigne and Paramore, which have that punk edge. We want our music to have a rock-ish edge without being overwhelmingly heavy, all while highlighting Bisaya culture and language.\u201d<\/p>\n
While their current setlists dance between the classic rock of Guns N\u2019 Roses and the smooth contemporary R&B of Olivia Dean, their true north remains pointed firmly toward home.<\/p>\n
They are currently stepping into a new chapter of that mission with their upcoming single, \u201cIkaw Ra,\u201d a track born from a democratic songwriting session where every member had a hand in crafting the lyrics.<\/p>\n
The call to padayon<\/p>\n
Navigating a historically male-centric band scene might intimidate some, but Esther\u2019s move through the local industry with the casual confidence of an act that earned its place through hard work.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, we\u2019ve never felt inferior,\u201d Nice said. \u201cThis generation is very welcoming and open to women stepping into these spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
They look to scenes in Japan and Thailand, where all-female rock groups pull massive crowds, as blueprints for what they can achieve right here in Cebu.<\/p>\n
Perhaps those dreaming of starting a band after watching music anime like \u201cK-On!l\u201d or \u201cBocchi the Rock!\u201d<\/p>\n
Nice\u2019s answer is immediate and grounded in the real friction of the last three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process of making that dream a reality is not easy\u2014trust me. There will be a lot of ups, downs, disagreements and naysayers. You cannot let the negative comments get to you. My message is simple: create and push forward (padayon).\u201d. S<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Composed of Eunice \u201cNice\u201d Marie R. Gonato (vocals), Angel Grace \u201cTia\u201d M. Restauro (rhythm guitar), Aaliyah \u201cDawn\u201d T.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-511024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}