Wynwood's role as the makeshift art capital of Miami is now a well-worn cliche. While the neighborhood is now attracting its fair share of corporate interest and apartment buildings, one of the neighborhood's older establishments, Wynwood Café (AKA the Wynwood Warehouse Project) is giving a voice to the local music scene with Mic’d Mondays every fourth Monday of the month. The next installment is around the corner, on July 25.
“It’s been a success," Danilo Gonzalez, director of Wynwood Warehouse Project, says. "People love it." Gonzalez has been making use of his new space since moving from his old location on NW Second Avenue and 28th Street.
With Mic’d Mondays, Gonzalez hopes to bring a little bit of joy to a day of the week most despise.
“I always think that Monday is a day where people are negative,” he says. “[They say], ‘Aw, I have to go to work. No, man, it’s going to be a bad day.’ And usually, there is a lot of work on Monday because we leave things over the weekend. We say, 'Let’s leave it on Friday and do it on Monday.’ I think this is like the punch line at the end of the day, something to let the bad energy out and make Monday a good day.”
The open mike night has only been around for about three and a half months. Right now, the event only takes place on the last Monday of the month, but plans are in the works to expand the night to every Monday.
Gonzalez encourages anyone and everyone to stop by — whether to perform or just listen. He's teamed up with a local church, Christ Fellowship, to help get the word out so artists know they are welcome to perform.
“I’m surprised because every Monday we get all sorts of things,” Gonzalez says. “Artists sing, they do poetry, they do acting... There are a lot of things going on.”
While Mic’d Mondays are certainly good for business, Gonzalez's motivations aren't purely financial.
“[The performers] make me feel really good,” he says. “They take the mike and they express themselves. And it’s beautiful to see people express what they have inside, for one reason or another... You would be surprised at the beautiful things that you see. “
Signing up to perform is as simple as giving the venue a call and verbally RSVPing. Gonzalez admits that even he has graced the stage.
“Very few times,” he says. “Usually, I am very busy watching to make sure that everything is running smoothly and everybody is having fun.”
Mic'd Mondays. 6 p.m. Monday, July 25, at the Wynwood Warehouse Project, 450 NW 27th St., Miami; 305-576-1105; wynwoodwarehouseproject.com. Admission is free.