Wilbros Live on Building a Concert Business, One Show at a Time

Wilbros Live on Building a Concert Business, One Show at a Time

Learn how Wilbros Live built the Philippines' live events business through agile growth.

Launched in May 2001, Wilbros Live was founded by a trio of brothers - William Jr., Winston, and Glenn Llamas - who find their fulfillment in audience joy.

The company has survived and thrived in a high-risk, thin-margin business by learning quickly and pivoting as needed, enabling it to evolve from a small live events firm to a multi-faceted entertainment business.

The Business Manual sat down with company President and CEO Winston Llamas and COO Glenn Llamas to talk about the evolution of the live events firm.

From Fundraising Projects to Boyz II Men: the Founding of Wilbros Live

The seed of Wilbros Live was formed while the brothers were still studying, and they tried their hand at fundraising projects. At the time, they would stick posters in school and place newspaper ads to drive marketing.

The experience inspired them to start holding events on a larger scale, as they discovered that their mission was “to make people happy,” Winston said. “Our goal is to make every experience great for both artists and the fans.”

Wilbros Live’s first concerts featured local talents such as Freestyle, South Border, and Gary Valenciano. Their first international experience was organizing a concert for R&B group Boyz II Men, who liked the company’s local portfolio when it was presented to them.

The brothers cut their teeth coordinating with the group’s management and agency, negotiating a show fee, securing a venue, and coordinating logistics, production, technical requirements, and marketing.

“We are happy that the guys from the management of Boyz II Men gave us an opportunity; they trusted us. [Up to today, we still have that trust.] That's why we still do shows for them here and around Southeast Asia,” Winston said.

The first Boyz II Men concert was with Brian McKnight at the ULTRA Open Field on February 13, 2004, with an attendance of 15,000.

The May 18, 2025, Boyz II Men show at Smart Araneta Coliseum, which Wilbros Live also promoted, was sold out at over 10,000 tickets.

Philippine Concert Tourism: Market Growth Projections and Global Artist Recognition

Bringing international artists to perform in the country was a challenge at the start, as the country was not known as a concert tour destination in Asia or Southeast Asia.

“In the beginning, we had a hard time convincing artists to come to the Philippines because [the country] wasn't on the map whenever they did world tours,” Glenn shared. This changed over the years due to the great experiences the artists had performing for Filipinos.

The Philippines’ arts sector has seen steady growth in the past few years.

The creative economy in 2025 accounted for 7.6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product at current prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on March 19, 2026.

Music, arts, and entertainment activities (which include concerts) generated P19.04 billion in gross value added in 2025, up 7.7% from P17.68 billion in 2024, per the PSA’s preliminary Creative Economy accounts.

Artists often say that the location where they are performing has a “great crowd” to butter up the audience, Winston said.

“When we tour with other artists in different regions in Southeast Asia…we hear them announce that it's a really wonderful crowd in the Philippines,” he said, adding how “impressed” they are at Filipino fans’ dedication, with the whole concert often becoming a karaoke scene as the audience sings along.

What Are the Ingredients Behind Wilbros Live's Long-Term Artist Relationships?

Winston shared two important ingredients for success in the industry. The first is treating artists as family and building a long-term relationship with them. The second is delivering the commitments they make, whether on production or technical requirements.

He said that in the beginning, they would even stay up until 12 a.m. before the event, checking the venue to make sure everything was in order.

“We'd even sleep in the chairs,” he said. “But that was in the beginning. We have a good team now."

Fulfilling promises, he added, “sometimes entails us to spend a little more than what is really written down. Doing small actions like that will nurture better and long-term relationships.”

Glenn reinforces the importance of trust in the international concert business, as evidenced by the fact that many of the artists they work with “keep coming back.”

As Winston put it, “They know how our business and work ethics are, so I think that's very important – ethics and credibility.”

“No shortcuts and no shortchanging.”

How Does Wilbros Live Use Social Media and Streaming Trends to Book Artists?

Even in the concerts and events scene, the adage “the customer is always right” applies, and this means keeping an ear to the ground on social media, where Wilbros Live has a team dedicated to tracking trends.

The company listens to what the audience wants.

“We follow the trend from basically what's popular now, so from Spotify, and we also get a lot of requests from the people who have watched our shows,” Glenn said.

In the past, focus group discussions were standard practice, but now everything can be done online, Winston added.

Wilbros Live was founded in May 2001 by brothers William Jr., Winston, and Glenn Llamas. The company began with fundraising-scale events before growing into a full live events and entertainment business, eventually organizing concerts for international acts including Boyz II Men across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Wilbros Live's first international concert was for R&B group Boyz II Men, featuring Brian McKnight, held at the ULTRA Open Field on February 13, 2004, with attendance exceeding 15,000. The company has continued organizing Boyz II Men shows in the Philippines and Southeast Asia since.

Wilbros Live tracks streaming trends on platforms like Spotify and monitors audience requests from past shows to determine market readiness. The company evaluates whether the timing is right for an artist's Philippine debut, sometimes delaying bookings until the market is more receptive to that performer.

Winston and Glenn Llamas advise loving the work itself, since the live events business involves significant stress and unexpected challenges even with careful planning. Winston frames live entertainment as risk management, encouraging passionate newcomers to pursue it while first learning the industry's operational and financial complexities thoroughly.