Bands from the Philippines struggle as coronavirus mutes Dubai’s nightlife

Show bands from the Philippines have long satisfied an appetite for rock, R&B and pop among the emirate’s expat population

But hundreds of Filipino performers are battling to get gigs, even as Dubai’s music scene there slowly resumes after Covid-19 restrictions

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A singer performs at a nightclub in Dubai. The UAE’s Filipino Bands Alliance said some 80 per cent of Filipino artists have had their visas cancelled by their employers, but many haven’t been able to return home. Photo: AP

Published: 9:00pm, 16 Nov 2020Updated: 9:55pm, 16 Nov 2020

Eric Roman struts onstage in his torn jeans and grasps the microphone.

It’s midnight on a Friday and in normal times, he’d hear wild applause from this tightly packed hotel bar in one of the old neighbourhoods alongside the Dubai Creek. Sweaty throngs of fellow Filipinos, Arab businessmen and mall employees fresh from their shifts would hit the dance floor as he belted out Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin with his nine-piece Filipino band.

But now the crowds, along with his bandmates, have vanished – in compliance with coronavirus restrictions that ban dancing and cap the number of musicians onstage. Roman took a 65 per cent pay cut when his club reopened after the lockdown. Guitarists, bassists and drummers weren’t so lucky.

“Dubai is dead,” said Roman, 40. “Every day we’re wondering where we’re going to get our next meal, our next glass of water, how we’re going to survive in this city.”

Show bands from the Philippines have long animated Dubai’s nightlife, satisfying an appetite for rock, R&B and pop that has grown with the emirate’s expat population. Now, as the pandemic mutes the city’s live-music scene and clobbers its economy, hundreds of Filipino performers are struggling to survive.