As director of Minimax Events, Matthew Ohashi has helped book more than 200 international acts to play major Miami clubs, from Mansion to the Delano, Electric Pickle to Treehouse.
It's a thrill to bring high-quality dance music entertainment to discerning Miami crowds. But if Ohashi's being honest, the same old nightlife song and dance can get a little boring. That's why he and the Minimax crew have begun working on a new type of nightlife experience, focusing on fun and interesting concepts, then programming the music to fit the vibe.
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"We're trying to cultivate new things, a community, looking to bring different kinds of music," Ohashi says. "In Miami, we're pretty spoiled. We have amazing talent every week in multiple venues. We're trying to do things with Minimax to set us apart from the crowd."
Among these new nights is Cultivate, the hot Thursday-night weekly at Treehouse, produced in association with Un_Mute, and it seems underground house fans are hooked.
"It was really meant to just be a summer event," Ohashi says. "It's caught so much steam and people are really supporting it. People are about the whole Cultivate brand, and people want to be involved in terms of the people that we're working with. So, we're going to continue this for the foreseeable future."
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What makes Cultivate stand out? Well, the summer flower theme is pretty interesting. They decorate the whole place in live and fake flowers, which makes for some pretty fun photo opps. But it's not just about decorating the space. Cultivate also features bomb barbecue and gourmet tacos from Minimax partner Richard Barrenechea, aka #RichyCooks.
They also teamed up with Wynwood's Hangar Gallery for the summer and let varying guest artists take their hand to a giant canvas. Plus, for the Thursday, September 18 edition, they've hired a tarot card reader to tell fortunes for the first few hours. This dance party could actually determine the rest of your life.
All the accoutrement aside, it's the music that holds the place down, and September 18 features not one, not two, but three international headliners so good the snobbiest of snobs are drooling. It's a varied mix of house masters, from the turntablism of Andhim (playing only one of six U.S. dates) to the foundational styles of the legendary Tiefschwartz and the analog musicality of Rampue.
Add some local flair from Baez and Drift3r, plus an open bar till midnight, and you've got yourself one hell of an event.
"It's not just another night if you're keeping up to speed with what's going on internationally," Ohashi says. "It is a triple booking, and people do understand, which is part of the excitement of the night and why people are going so crazy."
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Cultivate, featuring Andhim, Tiefschwarz, Rampue, Baez, and Drift3r. Thursday, September 18. Treehouse, 323 23rd St., Miami Beach. The show starts at 11 p.m. and tickets cost $10 with promo code Minimax via wantickets.com or $20 at the door. Call 305-674-4478 or visit treehousemiami.com.
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