Last Wednesday, I got a chance to go to a CCP Master Class with Act of Congress. Before Act of Congress went to Manila for the CCP master classes and a series of public performances, they went to Thailand. They taught Bluegrass (a sub-genre of country music according to Wikipedia) to Bangkok students. Check out their videos from their Thailand tour here.
Diwa de Leon and his group
In the recently concluded CCP master class, local artists performed and one of them is Diwa de Leon. Diwa de Leon used a hegalong. Hegalong is an authentic T’boli (a tribe from Mindanao) guitar. It was not my first time to see one since I’ve acquired one for myself. But it was my first time to see a hegalong that you can plug to an amplifier. It was amazing to see them live since they got to perform Diwa de Leon’s song that was just composed on the same morning of the master class. The song was called “Act of Progress“.
Time by Act of Congress
After the local artists have performed, Act of Congress followed. In the above video, they performed “Time”. It was from their recent album “Worth Fighting For”. You can get it in iTunes, Amazon Music or from their website. Act of Congress is just one of the artists that is part of the “American Music Abroad” program. This program aims to promote international cultural exchange by introducing various American musical genres in more than 40 countries in 2012 and on 2013. This program is brought to you by U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Association of American Voices.
Act of Congress is Adam Wright (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Chris Griffin (guitar), Tim Carroll (bass), and Bethany Borg (fiddle). They’re from Alabama, USA. Please do catch the scheduled public performances of Act of Congress in Manila.
Act of Congress Scheduled Public Performances in Manila
September 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Marilao, Bulacan
September 15 at 6:00 p.m. at The Podium
September 16 at 5:00 p.m. at the Concert at the Park at Rizal Park
They will also have a jamming session at the 70s Bistro with Bayang Barrios and Kalayo at the 70s Bistro right after their gig in The Podium. 
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