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Maybe some cities need data centers powering streaming algorithms to spoon-feed them interesting new music, but not Miami. Our diverse, unique music scene is thriving — and we’ve curated ten tracks by amazing local artists below to prove it.
Got a bead on something new we should be listening to? Hit this button right here.
Cherami — “Strangers”
“This isn’t revenge,” Cherami writes on Instagram. “This is transformation.” And, indeed, the five incredible searing, affecting songs of “love, loss, and reflection” the Miami-based chanteuse has released over the first half of this year are each unique, cocoon-bursting sonic butterflies, setting off on winds of self-actualization and empowerment. That the instrumental tracks here are mostly atmospheric backdrops for Cherami’s dynamic and captivating voice only heightens the effect. “Sometimes the deepest connections we experience in life don’t last the way we hoped they would and sometimes the people who once knew us best become strangers,” she writes of the above song. “But love and pain are connected. When we love someone deeply, we open our hearts and that means we also open ourselves to loss.”
Erisal — “Betterdazeee”
Expanding upon Erisal’s 2025 mixtape, “Euphoria” lives up to its titular psychological state — “a feeling of well-being or elation,” Merriam-Webster sez — by merging the flows of this young Ecuadorian bilingual urban music singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer with a soundtrack that lights upon everything from reggaeton, hip-hop, and R&B to dancehall, Latin house, and beyond. “[T]he album explores the pursuit of happiness through love and heartbreak to self-discovery and healing,” the accompanying press notes say. “Rather than portraying euphoria as a fleeting emotion, the project presents it as a mindset: the decision to keep searching for light even during life’s darkest moments. Euphoria isn’t a drug or destination — it’s a mentality.” Amen.
Gabby Kelly — “Favorite Idiot”
An infectious bedroom pop earworm with real heart and soul, “Favorite Idiot” announces the arrival of Miami-born and raised Haitian American producer and songwriter Gabby Kelly in lowkey-yet-spectacular fashion. This thrumming, smoldering alt-anthem feels assured and sophisticated on a compositional level, yet — thanks to Kelly’s confessional, vulnerable lyrics and delivery — remains intimate and relatable. “My background is in musical theatre, which has had a huge influence on the way I write songs,” Kelly tells New Times. “I love creating music that feels like an experience and takes listeners through a story from beginning to end.” (Her other recent track, “Run,” slays as well, btw.)
Graziella Callado — “If I Swim in Your Ocean”
Call Graziella Callado a triple threat: Broadcaster, author — her comedic autobiography, “Story of My Life: A Joke of the Universe” came out in 2024 — and an extraordinarily prolific, versatile singer/songwriter. Her latest full-length “Ridin’” is a lush, sparkling cascade of pulsating, ethereal EDM topped with layered, honeyed vocal harmonies and poignant lyrics. “At its core, [“If I Swim in Your Ocean] tells the story of a deep emotional connection that blurs the line between desire and uncertainty,” Callado writes. “The recurring imagery of swimming through an ocean symbolizes the courage to dive into someone’s heart, while the word ‘sink’ carries a powerful dual meaning: losing yourself completely in overwhelming emotions and accepting the possibility of falling into a love that may never truly be yours.”
Gigi Denisco — “Everyday”
Gigi DeNisco has certainly built a distinguished career, opening for Willie Nelson, Boz Scaggs, Stevie Nicks, Keith Urban, and Michael Bolton, among others. Spinning her new album “Seasons” — a near-perfect blend of folk, blues, adult contemporary, country, and more — it’s not difficult to see why she has earned such an esteemed following. The track above, “Everyday,” is an ode to kindness that does double duty as a great showcase for her talents. “The song has a reggae beat and is so positive,” she says of the song. “I’m doing three-part harmonies in the chorus. Maurice Gibb told me he loved how I harmonized with myself. I finally heard what he was referring to on ‘Everyday’.”
Lotus Collective — “I Want to Dance with You”
“No mud, no lotus,” the late Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh advised. True, but with the arrival of this gathering of lithe, hyper-talented musicians we’ve got to add an addendum: no jazz, no funk, no smooth rock, no Latin grooves, no Lotus Collective. As the title suggests, this top-shelf flow state jam is all about shuttling listeners from whatever stressed-out, tensed-up space they’re stuck in toward a place where good vibes, tranquility, and easy self-expression rule the day. Oh, and the band’s debut full-length “Where Is Edgar?” was produced by Cheo Pardo, the former music director of Los Amigos Invisibles and producer of Rawayana.
Mala Onda — “Shark Attack”
Surf rock — with teeth! This spunky, punky preview of this Miami trio’s debut self-titled EP serves as both a homage to the surf n’ skate rock genres and a carefully crafted, fun vehicle to carry ‘em into the future. Catch Mala Onda live this Saturday, July 25 at Eddie’s Place (12606 SW 8th St., Miami) for the record release show alongside Bully Pussy and Mike & the Bikers.
Neptune Muse — “Mystic”
Last fall we raved about Neptune Muse’s “Verde,” an “ethereal modern take on ’70s soul and jazz that falls somewhere between indiepop and Sade.” Now she returns, delivering another alt-R&B masterclass with “Mystic.” Transcendent and transportive are two descriptors that come to mind. “If ‘Verde’ is the culmination point of a flower’s blossom, then ‘Mystic’ is the rebirth that follows the wilt,” she says. “I wrote this song to celebrate divine femininity and empower listeners as both the object of desire and the one in control. If the femininity I represented in ‘Verde’ was soft and coy, the femininity highlighted in ‘Mystic’ is confident, bold, and dominant.”
Trikstah — “Beware of the Buzzers and the Wannabes”
Hot on the heels of his fantastic debut “You Say”, Trikstah drops another laid-back, ultracool, soulful, philosophical jam with PachyMusic and Attila Mendez. Early on in “Beware of the Buzzers and the Wannabes” the local poet, artist, musician, and host of the weekly Wednesday Thank You Miami open mic nights croons, “Hope no one tells you ‘hope’ is a four-letter word.” By the time you reach the end of the song, you wouldn’t believe them if they did.
We All Rise — “Crown”
Damn, some heavy hitters have gotten behind metal-tinged South Florida hardcore band We All Rise! The band’s debut full-length “The Beginning of the End” was not only produced by legendary Biohazard guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei and mastered by Tue Madsen (Meshuggah, Suicide Silence), but the track “Crown” also features a prominent guest spot from Graziadei’s Biohazard bandmate and fellow legend, bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld. The album (and Seinfeld) sound great. But even if you took away everything except the music — which exists at the midpoint between the post-Demanufacture Fear Factory records, Roots onward Sepultura, and the modernized take on groove/thrash metal that gained popularity in the 2000s — this would still be a remarkable effort.
