He may still be in high school, but Yeho Estioco is getting ready to celebrate the release of his second album this weekend, and he's inviting you to join him.

Yeho, just 17 years old, is hosting a concert at the Park Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 4, to release Hope & Love, a live rendition of his first album, iHope, with the addition of a couple of new songs as well. The show gets underway at 7 p.m. and will feature Yeho Estioco and the Hausband. They'll not only play songs from the teen's album but praise music as well, including some of his dad Danny's original material.

He comes by it honestly

Growing up in a musical household Yeho's journey into music was inevitable. "I've always been in a musical household from my mom and my dad," Yeho says. "My dad writes songs, my mom plays the drums, sings, stuff like that."

It was at church on the worship team, where he picked up the guitar and started singing. He was writing and recording music by the time he was 13 and says that he really started taking his guitar playing seriously during the pandemic, spending many hours practicing. The practice has paid off and it's pretty amazing to watch him work the fretboard. 

The spark for songwriting truly ignited when Yeho and Danny each entered a Filipino songwriting competition, with Yeho winning the first prize at just 15 years old.

Check out the video for a teaser of the upcoming concert

Danny is a multitalented artist himself and serves as a sound engineer, producer, player, writer, and not least of all, a worship pastor at Jesus the Anointed One Church, in Winnipeg. He says it makes him proud to watch his son's music career begin to take off. "It's a real joy and a real blessing," he says.

The upcoming album launch on February 4 will showcase Yeho's signature sound, which he describes as "smooth R&B good vibe sounding vocals plus an arsenal of pop sounding heartfelt original songs." The description is pretty much bang-on, with a talent and maturity that you don't usually hear in a 17-year-old's compositions.

Themes of hope in music stem from his faith

Incorporating faith into his music, Yeho emphasizes that his music transcends traditional Christian genres. He doesn't write Christian Contemporary Music, or at least not exclusively, but his faith is the foundation of his writing.

Yeho says, "I don't want to write something that doesn't reflect what I believe in." The central theme of hope in his music resonates strongly, and he's quick to push away from secular definitions of things like love.

"If I write something about love, it's not going to be about something that I don't believe in. It's going to be about patience. It's going to be about hope. It's going to be about understanding. And, it's gonna be just like the Bible version of love, which is the real kind of love. I mean, I try to incorporate Christian themes into it, but it's not necessarily Christian. It doesn't stay away from my belief."

With tickets available on Eventbrite and the album set for release on Bandcamp, the Estioco family is inviting Winnipeggers to "join them for a night of love, hope, and music at the Park Theatre."

Pastor Danny says, "I hope that it will be a full house, and people will just enjoy and we will just enjoy as a band," adding that it's a family-friendly event.

Check out the full interview in the video below.

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