Nadia Harris, lead singer of the local band Agape, is without a doubt one of the city's best female vocalists. An effusive, instantly likeable live performer, Harris switches between a reggae croon, a soul wail, and any number of other flexible vocal stylings -- all sometimes in one song. With producer Erick Paredes, in Agape she's created one of the tightest, most danceable acts on the local live circuit.
Still, the band remains a little slept-on by current circles, probably because it doesn't fit neatly into any "scene." The sound is a little funk, a little dub, a little rock, with a dose of breakbeats, psychedelia, and whatever else they're feeling. They're too slick for the jam-fusion hippies, too trippy for the hipsters, and too guitar-driven for "urban" formats.
Still, with the current rise to fame of other genre-defying female artists like Janelle Monae and V.V. Brown, though, perhaps the mainstream may be ready for Harris and company. She's already got the co-sign from ?uestlove's next-level label Giant Step, who featured Agape's new video, for "She Really Likes It," on its homepage yesterday.
Agape, featuring Nadia Harris. 10 p.m. Thursday, July 22. The Florida Room at the Delano, 1685 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. 305-674-6152; [email protected]
