"You're going to Wanderland," Bandwagon's Editorial Director, Camille Castillo, told me in a message. It was just like any other assignment, another one that I'd have to take on in my 12 years as a music journalist. The only difference now is that I have something bigger to think about at home. Worried, I thought to myself, "What about my kid?"

Kazuki is 9 months old now and as far as concerts go, he's seen Urbandub live at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. It was a quick set, and they let me nurse him in their dressing room when things got a little loud. He's exclusively breastfed and isn't a fan of bottle-feeding, so he's been attached to me since he was born. So figuring out how I was going to cover Wanderland and make sure my baby was going to be okay kept bugging me. How was I going to make this work?

In January, Karpos Multimedia invited Bandwagon to Bob's Open House: A Wanderland Pop-Up at G Studios in Alabang. It was there that Karpos made a wonderful announcement: there would be a kids' area at Wanderland 2024 for Little Wanderers and that kids 8 years old and below would be granted free access to the festival with their ticket-holding parent or guardian. Karpos Multimedia President & CEO John Uy, who became a father himself last year, further explained that they'd planned to mount a proper area for moms to nurse or pump, too.

"We noticed that there are a lot of Millennial moms and dads now that are hesitant to go to the festival because they couldn't bring their kid," John explained during the Q&A session. "We're trying to be a little more sensitive to that situation."

"Our community is growing. We have people who've been there since day one," Festival Director Bea Labad added, "They started our age—we were what, twenty-one—now it's our ninth year, we're nearing our thirties. We want to be able to cater to everyone. We don't want the changes in your life—if you have a family —to stop [you] from going to Wanderland. We still want it to be everyone's thing. Bring your kids. You got to start them young naman, right?"

Those little details got me really pumped up. I can actually bring my kid to his first music festival before he turns one! On top of that, Filipino multi-instrumentalist Gabba hired my husband, Sho Hikino, to work as his live sound engineer for his set. Everything was going to work out after all.

On the first day of the festival, Sho, Kazuki, and I made our way to the entrance to claim our passes. We met our first hiccup as soon as we stepped inside—the gravel at the entrance made it challenging to push Kazuki's stroller. Sho ended up carrying the entire stroller until we reached the grass. We passed through security, who scanned Kazuki's Little Wanderer QR code and strapped on his very first festival wristband. As soon as we got inside, Sho had to head over to the Karpos Stage to help Gabba set up, so it was just me and the kid for a bit. Having already memorized the sitemap for Wanderland, I headed straight for the Little Wanderers play area. It was right by the live painting exhibition, just past the WanderMarket, beside the merch booth.

Playscape Manila, a preschool and early learning centre, set up camp at the Little Wanderers area. They mounted a bunch of fun and creative sensory activities, a ball pit, tepees, and building blocks for the kids. There was also a bounce house, but Kazuki was too small to appreciate, and there was a breastfeeding tent as John promised at Bob's Open House. Since Playscape's activities were for kids a little older than Kazuki (I didn't want him to eat the blue-dyed sand), I put him down in the ball pit, where he sat there frozen until he started sinking and cried. Behind him, ena mori kicked off her set and up above, it began to drizzle lightly. Besides the breastfeeding tent, there wasn't anywhere else to seek shelter, but luckily the drizzle stopped almost as quickly as it started.

Because of the overcast weather, Kazuki didn't have to wear the hat I brought him. He didn't want to be buckled back in his stroller, so I carried him, pushed his stroller, and made for the W Stage. On our way there, we ran into one of Bandwagon's photographers, Jeremy Caisip, who pointed us in the direction of the rest of the Bandwagon team. But as I made my way to them, Kazuki began to wrestle in my arms. His protective earmuffs were coming off and in my attempt to keep him upright, accidentally knocked over his stroller—our second hiccup for the day. Thankfully, a kind neighbour in a Totoro shirt helped us out and picked up the stroller. Finally, I joined the Bandwagon team, and our writer, Maddie Castillo, offered to push Kazuki's stroller.

In the crowd, Kazuki was a little grumpy. Maybe it was overstimulation. Everything was new to the little guy, but he didn't complain. He was just Mr. Sungit Face. He didn't smile for all the titos and titas he met, until he saw his dad behind the soundboard for Gabba's performance. Kazuki is a math-rock kid for sure. His dad is in a math-rock band, after all. 

In the middle of Gabba's set, we ran into John, his wife, Issa, and their Little Wanderer, Manu (Kazuki's first-ever friend) in her little wagon. It was really nice and refreshing to see so many parents with their kids at Wanderland. It felt like Family Day at school, but with bands instead of sports and field demos. 

Of course, Mommy needed her me-time, so after Gabba's set, Sho took Kazuki backstage to finally meet Tito Gabba and Tita Clara [Benin]. I walked around the grounds and checked out the food concessionaires. Moment Group was back, and as my Wanderland tradition, I got a box of Mo' Cookies to share with Sho. There were actually a lot of options—including our friendly neighbourhood Grouphug—but none that were baby-friendly (it was okay, we'd packed steamed apple sticks for Kazuki).

After Sho finished packing his things, he came out from backstage with Kazuki, and we walked the grounds together. BEENZINO hit the stage and things got a little too loud for Kazuki, so I rushed to cover my son's ears. Kazuki started to scream and that's when I realized it was way past his naptime. There was no other quiet place to go but back to the car, so he could rest. Kazuki had a really big day, and this show was definitely the first of many.

I'm so thankful Karpos decided to turn Wanderland into a family-friendly music festival. We're really all growing up together in this new chapter in our lives. The Little Wanderers area was great for its first-time mounting, especially for kids who love to run around and play. For smaller kids like Kazuki, Wanderland might not be the whole-day event for them just yet, but like they said, we gotta start 'em young.

Wanderland Music & Arts Festival turns 10 next year, and we can't wait to see what they have in store for us parents and the kids, too. Without a doubt, it's going to be another good one for the entire family to enjoy.