8 years ago, a young Celeste and Niño were belting out Queen’s We Will Rock You in their living room, unaware that their passion and love for music would someday turn them into rock legends in their own right for the Filipino-Canadian community.
This year, Rockin’ Siblings nabbed an official nomination for the prestigious 2026 Golden Balangay Awards, under the “Excellence Awards in Music and Entertainment” category. Along with other nominees, they “embody the spirit of this year’s theme: Parola (Lighthouse)”, [bringing] light [that] helps guide others forward”, according to the award-giving body’s official announcement.
Early beginnings
Before they graced stages and podcasts as “Rockin’ Siblings”, this duo was just Celeste and Niño, who grew up in a house where music was always playing. As a baby, Celeste would be tinkering with a little piano-storybook for kids, and Nino would just randomly sing songs.
When they started school, they had the chance to perform in school concerts, which ignited their dedication to learning their crafts seriously. In the summer of 2017, they started formal voice and piano lessons at the Toronto Arts Academy, while continuing to perform in school concerts and in recitals. It was also around this period that they each found their guiding stars: after being asked to play the drums in a spring concert for the school, Nino realised he’s most comfortable on stage, while Celeste continued with her piano lessons, later earning levels in the Royal Conservatory of Music.
More rockin’
Time passed with more arts and music. Celeste created original compositions ‘Rainbow in the Sky’, ‘Chicken Chase’, ‘Sleeping Angel’, and ‘Moonlight Darkness’, continually refining and growing while also drawing and knitting. Nino, meanwhile, taught himself the main guitar solos of iconic songs like Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb, experimented with guitar effects, and explored a variety of instruments, from the ukulele to the drums, until he eventually made his own music, too.
Together, under Marky Hugh Productions, Rockin’ Siblings played and performed their way through different phases, including COVID, and later reached various stages as front acts for Filipino musicians and artists Juan Karlos, Marc Tupaz, Jinky Vidal, and more. In 2025, they also released their original co-written single, Blue.
And in November, this duo lit up WAM Studio, a proudly Filipino‑owned hub for visiting artists, with its very first sold‑out concert — a proud milestone that celebrated their talent and the vibrant spirit of Filipino community.
Building a legacy
With the Golden Balangay Awards nomination, Rockin’ Siblings continue to make waves in Toronto’s Filipino music scene, the ripples from which will impact their lives and their communities well into the future. From their living room to the world, Celeste and Niño stay witnessing life together and as individuals, submitting to the full expanse of the human experience, and honing and finding their own voices.
Rockin Siblings 
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