Franco

Quick Facts

Photo: Franco – “The Fool” single launch

About Franco

A Supergroup Born From a Jam

Franco started the way a lot of great bands do, with friends getting together to play. In late 2008, guitarist and singer Gabby Alipe and drummer JanJan Mendoza of Urbandub, guitarist Paolo “Ocho” Toleran of Queso, and bassist Buwi Meneses of Parokya ni Edgar joined forces with a returning musician named Franco Reyes.

Because the lineup pulled established names from three of the country’s most respected rock acts, fans and media quickly slapped the “supergroup” label on them. The band itself always shrugged that off, preferring to think of itself as musicians from different worlds who simply wanted to jam.

Reyes was the heart of the project. He had already led a Cebu-based band called Frank!, which he formed back in 1996 and which helped energize the local rock scene there. After time spent abroad, he came home with a batch of songs and a vision, and Franco became the vehicle for it.

From the beginning the group leaned into a distinctive blend of rock and reggae, threading laid-back groove and “one love” themes through big, hard-hitting choruses. That fusion gave them a sound that stood apart from the standard alt-rock template of the era.

Sweeping the 2010 Rock Awards

Franco released their self-titled debut and it landed like a thunderclap. The record produced instant staples such as “Castaway,” “This Gathering,” and “Song for the Suspect,” songs that dominated radio and MYX and became fixtures of gigs across the country.

The awards followed fast. At the 2010 NU Rock Awards, Franco walked away with four trophies, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year for “This Gathering,” plus the Listeners’ Choice Award. Reyes himself earned a nod as one of the year’s standout guitarists.

The recognition was not limited to the rock scene. At the Awit Awards, one of the country’s mainstream music honors, the band won Best Performance by a Group for “Castaway.” For a debut, the haul was enormous.

Their songs carried weight beyond the hooks. “Song for the Suspect,” in particular, wrapped social and spiritual reflection inside its reggae-rock swagger, the kind of lyric-driven substance that earned Franco a reputation for meaning as much as melody.

From Superband to a Permanent Lineup

By 2012 the original members went their separate ways, returning to their home bands and other projects. Rather than fold, Reyes rebuilt Franco around a new and permanent core: guitarist Paul “Poldo” Cañada, bassist Dave Delfin, and drummer Victor Guison.

Reyes framed the change without drama, insisting Franco had never really been a superband in the first place, just a label other people gave them. He described the new chapter as the same music with a more concrete, intact, and permanent lineup.

That reset produced the ambitious 2013 album “Soul Adventurer,” a sprawling set that folded reggae, rock, alternative, and R&B into a search for inner peace and purpose amid chaos. It carried fan favorites like “Better Days” and “A Beautiful Diversion,” and “Better Days” went on to win Best Alternative Recording at the 2013 Awit Awards.

The band kept building from there, releasing the “Frank!” EP in 2014 and the full-length “Flight” in 2018, deepening their catalog while staying one of the most reliable live draws in Philippine rock.

Touring Furiously and the 2024 Comeback

The pandemic slowed Franco’s writing and recording, but not their momentum on stage. Once shows returned, the band toured relentlessly at home and abroad, sharpening the incendiary live reputation that has long been their calling card.

In early 2024 they broke a recording drought with the single “The Fool,” a punchy return that fused their signature hard rock, reggae, and power-pop instincts. Reyes said the song poured out of him after an argument with a partner, arriving almost fully formed.

The release came bundled with promises of more: a music video, additional songs already recorded, and a fresh round of touring. It signaled that Franco, well over a decade past their explosive debut, were far from finished.

Today Franco remain active, still fronted by Reyes and still built on that unmistakable rock-and-reggae groove that made them one of OPM’s most enduring bands.

Videos

Albums

• Franco (2010)
• Soul Adventurer (2013)
• Flight (2018)

EPs

• Frank! (2014)

Singles

• Castaway (2010)
• This Gathering (2010)
• Song for the Suspect (2010)
• Better Days (2013)
• Lost in Your Universe (2020)
• The Fool (2024)

Awards

NU Rock Awards

• Artist of the Year (2010)
• Album of the Year (Franco – 2010)
• Song of the Year (This Gathering – 2010)
• Listeners’ Choice Award (2010)

Awit Awards

• Best Performance by a Group of Recording Artists (Castaway – 2010)
• Best Alternative Recording (Better Days – 2013)

Nominations

NU Rock Awards

• Guitarist of the Year (Franco Reyes – 2010)

Awit Awards

• Best Performance by a New Group of Recording Artists (Castaway – 2010)
• Best Rock/Alternative Recording (Castaway – 2010)

Perspective

Franco makes rock feel like both a party and a sermon. Their best songs ride a warm reggae groove into towering, distortion-heavy choruses, so you can dance to them and still walk away with a lyric rattling around your head. What makes them special is that sense of purpose: this is a band that treats a hook as a chance to say something, and that has kept the fire burning through close to two decades.

Praise for the Artist

Seeing Franco play is something that gives me hope—hope for the music industry, hope for creativity’s sake, and hope for the human spirit.

– Kevin Manuel
Music as it should be
Philippine Daily Inquirer

…heavy, distorted electric guitars that eventually gives way into reggae-like rhythm stabs and the hard-hitting choruses wherein the band grooves with pile-driver precision.

– Punch Liwanag
Pinoy alt-rock act Franco returns with new single
Manila Bulletin

…one of the most sought-after incendiary live acts in the country.

– MNL Concert Scene
FRANCO returns with a fiery new single “The Fool”
MNL Concert Scene

Contact

• facebook.com/Franco.official
• x.com/francomusicph
• instagram.com/francomusicph
• youtube.com/@FrancoPhilippines
• tiktok.com/@francomusicph

Bookings

• Franco – Official Facebook Page

Listen

• Spotify – Franco
• Apple Music – Franco

Apple Music

On Instagram

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Trivia

• The band takes its name straight from its frontman, Franco Reyes, who first made noise in the mid-1990s with a Cebu group called Frank! before assembling Franco in Manila.
• Reyes spent time overseas, and he came home with a suitcase of songs that became the foundation of the band’s debut.
• Franco leaned so heavily on reggae and “one love” themes that their music often carries Rastafarian-flavored messages, unusual coloring for a chart-topping Filipino rock act.
• “Soul Adventurer” is a hefty listen: the 2013 album runs a generous 17 tracks, a deliberate deep dive rather than a tight radio play.
• Reyes has said songs sometimes arrive almost instantly for him. “The Fool” reportedly poured out naturally right after a real-life argument with his partner.
• When the original all-star lineup dispersed in 2012, the members simply returned to their home bands, Urbandub, Parokya ni Edgar, and Queso, while Reyes carried the Franco name forward.

Posted: July 31, 2026