Revisiting emo—and why it cuts deep—after the Playback Punk, Rock, & Emo Music Festival

Remember emo?

As a subculture reference, “emo” conjures images of youth in skinny jeans with studded belts, sporting raccoon-striped hair and thick black eyeliner. But to anyone who was in it for the music, it was never just a way of dressing up. It meant obsessively following your favorite bands, ripping CDs to have your own copy of their songs, and hanging on to every melody, crescendo, and divulgent verse.

Rooted in hardcore punk and post-hardcore in the 1980s, it took on many forms over the course of two decades, after being adopted by alternative rock, indie rock, and pop-punk bands. It splintered into variations like emo-punk, emo-pop, screamo, pop-screamo. Bands such as Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, American Football, and The Used were associated with the genre, with some accepting the label and others — like My Chemical Romance  — rejecting it, preferring to be simply referred to as a rock band instead. 

Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carraba performing at the Playback Punk, Rock, & Emo Music Festival on May 8 | PHOTO: Jill Tan Radovan

Even Chris Carrabba initially resisted the “emo” label — but eventually accepted and embraced it. It couldn’t be helped. The impact of his band Dashboard Confessional on emo’s mainstream success in the early 2000s remains unmatched. “Screaming Infidelities” and “The Best Deceptions” became anthems for an entire generation. Some hailed Carraba as one of emo’s unofficial godfathers.

Dashboard Confessional’s popularity reached far and wide, not only inspiring fans but also compelling other musicians to form their own bands. In the Filipino music scene, Typecast, a band from the province of Laguna, was loosely dubbed “Dashboard ng Pilipinas” in its early days, playing small gigs at venues like Fredom Bar, Mayric’s, and Millenia. People often compared frontman Steve Badiola, to Chris Carraba, both in tone and emotional delivery. Anyone who caught the band covering “Hands Down” live would likely understand why.

Ronnie Winter and K Enagonio of the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus share a moment on stage during the festival held at the MOA Arena | PHOTO: Jill Tan Radovan

If Dashboard Confessional could influence an underground band from Laguna, Philippines, it’s no surprise that it likewise resonated strongly in its country of origin. Case in point: Ronnie Winter, vocalist and guitarist of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus,  admitted during the press conference for the Playback Punk, Rock, & Emo Music Festival, that he was inspired to form his own band after his brother and now-bandmate Randy took him to a Dashboard Confessional gig.

Canadian pop-punk band Faber Drive, most popularly known for its single “Tongue Tied” | PHOTO: Finn Radovan

The two bands, alongside Canadian band Faber Drive, performed their greatest hits at both legs of the said festival in Manila and Cebu on May 8 and 9, respectively.

Dave Faber, vocalist of Faber Drive | PHOTO: Finn Radovan

Emo still sticks, especially when you return to it

Finding oneself in a concert arena surrounded by a crowd of eager 20-to-40-something fans is a reminder of why emo sticks.

Lyrically, emo is built on vulnerability, raw and unguarded. It speaks of deeply personal experiences: heartbreak, insecurity, identity, and longing. That kind of honesty, however, doesn’t expire with age. 

Instead, the songs become bookmarks for moments and memories, triggering not just nostalgia but also a version of yourself from the past. 

Emo is built on vulnerability, and Dashboard Confessional’s performances exemplify this, seemingly raw and unguarded, on stage | PHOTO: Jill Tan Radovan

Listening to emo can be cathartic, almost as if being granted permission to feel intensely, without judgment. It doesn’t try to dilute the magnanimity of one’s emotions, but rather, leans into them. It’s okay to be melodramatic, to be messy. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine, and releasing those emotions is the point. Again, cathartic. 

And then, of course, there’s the sound. Emo lingers because of its structure as much as its sentiment. There is no denying the power, the intensity. It is full of contrast, seen in soaring melodic guitar lines, vocals that sound like they’re on the verge of breaking, and dynamic shifts that move from soft verses to explosive choruses. 

Kenny Bridges, Dashboard Confessional

Trevor Hogan, Dashboard Confessional

Don’t kill the messenger: Emo as a literary form

An emo song is like a ballad on steroids. If you’ve listened to Faber Drive’s “When I Miss You” and Dashboard Confessional’s “The Places That You Have Come to Fear the Most,” you’d probably understand the comparison. Sometimes, it’s an ode, like The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ “Your Guardian Angel.” 

Yet emo rarely feels like fiction, for either songwriter or listener. The lyrics read like lived experience even when they aren’t strictly autobiographical. They sound like they speak of something that happened to you: your breakup, your feeling of insecurity, your sudden wave of longing,  your regret. That moment of betrayal that crushed your soul not too long ago. Listening becomes an act of recall, unearthing old confessions and feelings long dormant. This is why the audience finds it so easy to connect.

A poignant moment with Chris Carraba on stage | PHOTO: Jill Tan Radovan

As much as emo is about the specificity of musical arrangements and the technical nuances of producing it, it is also about remembering how it is to feel everything — all at once. In bringing together Faber Drive, The Read Jumpsuit Apparatus, and Dashboard Confessional to perform, the Playback Punk, Rock, & Emo Music Festival reopened floodgates of nostalgia and emotions for fans, reminding them of why they fell in love with emo — and perhaps fell out of love with someone — in the first place.

The Playback Punk, Rock, & Emo Music Festival was produced by Super Awesome Productions.

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