Thursday
Coral Gables has more restaurants per square mile than almost any other neighborhood in Miami, so deciding where to eat when you're there can be daunting. If you're more of a toe-in-the-water type than a dive-in-headfirst person, Taste of the Gables might help with your dining dilemma. A dozen or more restaurants will serve samples alongside live music, wine, and cocktails while vying for the coveted Best Taste award. Aside from being a swanky way to spend your Thursday night, the event is sure to provide some answers for future dining-out conundrums. 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 305-603-8067; restaurantweek.shopcoralgables.com. Tickets cost $45 to $65.
Hurricane Andrew is the South Florida version of the moon landing: Everyone has a story about where they were and what happened when the Category 5 storm made landfall August 24, 1992. HistoryMiami is commemorating the storm's 25th anniversary with "Hurricane Andrew: 25 Years Later," an exhibit that will include photographs, historical footage, first-person storytelling, and artifacts from the destruction. The opening reception will include a talk by Bryan Norcross, the meteorologist who broadcast live during the storm for 23 hours straight. 6 p.m. Thursday at HistoryMiami, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami; 305-375-1492; historymiami.org. Tickets cost $10 to $15.
Strip clubs don't exactly give off a classy vibe. But believe it or not, appreciating the human physique doesn't have to mean spreading cheeks and throwing dollars. Prime example: Clubesque, a multifaceted show combining DJs, cabaret, burlesque, aerial dancing, and elements of Broadway. For the first time this season, the troupe will perform with drag queens and modern pop tunes for a night in Miami Beach. So grab a date, don a pair of dress shoes, and enjoy something on the finer side of sexy. 9 p.m. Thursday at the Fillmore, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Tickets cost $33.
If you have the attention span of a 13-year-old YouTube vlogger, a one-hour play is asking a lot of your monkey brain. City Theater has an alternative: Its Summer Shorts: America's Short Play Festival comprises eight plays that last no longer than 15 minutes each. Two world premieres and a short by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda practically guarantee entertainment, along with variety and skill (only eight actors perform the characters of every play). For a jump-start to your summer culture consumption, check out this national compilation of abbreviated theater. 7:30 p.m. Thursday through July 2 at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-949-6722; arshtcenter.org. Tickets cost $39 to $54.
Friday
Constraint breeds creativity. That's the idea behind the 48 Hour Film Project, which imposes multiple restrictions on both aspiring and established filmmakers in this annual event. Teams are given a genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue that must appear in a short film they have exactly two days to write, shoot, edit, and score. Once the films are submitted, audiences and judges rate them, which will determine if the works move on to national and international competitions. If you aren't already registered for this crazy race, which kicks off Friday at the Wynwood Yard, mark your calendar for the June 8 screening of the completed masterpieces. 6 p.m. Friday at the Wynwood Yard, 56 NW 29th St., Miami; 48hourfilm.com/miami. Screening tickets cost $15 to $20.
It was a kind of initiation. You were invited by the cooler subset of your high-school friends to the planetarium for a late-night show. The uninitiated might have felt confused, but before the night ended, you knew you had crossed into a brave new world of getting covertly stoned in public and making a fool of yourself. You're an adult now, and the Frost Museum of Science has upgraded to swanky new downtown digs. But its laser show lives on, and you haven't forgotten your roots. Head to the new First Friday Laser Shows, grab a few drinks and snacks, and settle in for one of the six scheduled spectacles of music and light. 7 p.m. Friday at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-434-9600; frostscience.org. Tickets cost $10 to $27.25.
When you've been hitting the electronic music festival circuit for almost 20 years, you've probably seen everything. So the Desert Dwellers show can't be anything less than a psychedelic carnival of live 3D painting, fire spinners, guided yoga, virtual reality, and bohemian vendors. With sonic support from Miami bass makers such as Otto Von Schirach and the Galactic Effect, this event won't be just a haven for Miami's Southwestern counterparts. If you're ready to get some good vibes and divine love, spend your night dancing with Phreequency. 9 p.m. Friday at Armando Records Miami, 30 NE 14th St., Miami; 786-450-2260; phreequencydesertdwellers.eventbrite.com. Tickets cost $20.
Saturday
Alzheimer's disease is known to affect memory, but its effects are often more complex and specific. In Flowers for Spring, Alma Dance Theater founder Marissa Alma Nick explores the loss of both of her grandmothers to dementia. United by a love of flowers, the two women are the focus of a journey into forgotten memories, loss, and solace in dark times. Don't miss your chance to see one of the only all-female dance troupes in Miami perform this one-night-only premiere. 8 p.m. Saturday at Miami Light Project, 404 NW 26th St., Miami; 305-576-4350. Tickets cost $15 to $50 via eventbrite.com.
If you see a larger-than-usual swarm of motorcycles cruising through North Miami Beach this weekend, don't hide your wives and daughters: It's just the show Bikes on the Beach. For two days, cruisers, baggers, and sport bikes will fill the enclave alongside motorcycle vendors, food trucks, music acts, raffles, and live engravings. If you have a competitive spirit, check out the bikini contest, the custom-bike competition, and the Baddest Bagger competition. So don your leathers and rev your engine: It's bound to be a badass bike fest. 11 a.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at the North Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., North Miami Beach; 305-672-5202; bikesonthebeachsofl.com. Admission is free.
We're not alone out there. At least that's what decades of UFO sightings and conspiracy theories tell us. Those were the inspiration for Jen Clay's performance Nearing, a come-to-life imagining of alien creatures deciding to reach out to humans for the first time. Using costume, puppetry, sculpture, installation, and music, Clay and collaborator Elise Anderson have created an interactive show where the audience can feel what it's like to be the subject of obsession and invention. 6 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-8190; girlsclubcollection.org. Admission is free.
The Heavy Pets easily win the title for best band name. The moniker conjures images of the good old days when being sexy was secret and calls to mind furry animals that live with you. What's not to love? The Fort Lauderdale jam band is always working, though it almost never plays in Miami. The quintet launched its sound at local crowds when tunes off its 2007 double-disc, Whale, hit Sirius airwaves. They're still touring like mad ten years later. Get ready to dance like there's no one watching — because that's how you have to dance to a jam band — when the Heavy Pets play for free at the Wynwood Yard. 9 p.m. Saturday at the Wynwood Yard, 56 NW 29th St., Miami; 305-351-0366; thewynwoodyard.com. Admission is free.
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Holly Hunt has made psychedelic-drone fans out of just about everyone with at least one working ear. Live, the duo is something to behold: a small, smiling drummer and a towering guitarist with an arsenal of pedals. Together they make slow, heavy music that lets you know you have a soul, because you can feel it quake when they play. Holly Hunt just released the aptly titled Sonic Titan, a two-song 12-inch, and hit the road with Crud, a death-doom foursome from Miami. Crud takes sludge to new depths via songs such as the brutal but still amusingly titled "Steve Buscemi's Eyes." Back from tour, the bands will play an all-ages Sweat Records concert to show the kids how it's done. 7 p.m. Saturday at Sweat Records, 5505 NE Second Ave., Miami; 786-693-9309; sweatrecordsmiami.com. Admission is free and all-ages.
You're scratching more mosquito bites than usual, and the inside of your car routinely feels like the surface of the sun. Yup, it's summertime. If your instinct is to duck into a bar and head-bang through the night, Miami's Endless Summer is your best bet. Presenting local bands Deaf Poets, Left-Handed Jacket, Red Nectar, Axe and the Oak, and JaiaLai, this showcase will also bring Anastasia Max, the Grizzly Atoms, and Chew from out of town. So embrace the sweat, grab a drink, and revel in the Miami every other sane American knows to avoid. 6 p.m. Saturday at Churchill's Pub, 5501 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-757-1807; churchillspub.com. Tickets cost $10.
Sunday
Superfamous Spanish singer Camilo Sesto ropes 'em in by the heartstrings when he belts out romantic ballads and pop zingers. Though he got his start playing in pop bands, he found a larger audience on a Madrid TV program and ended up playing Jesus in the Spanish version of Jesus Christ Superstar, among other acting roles. Sesto has been putting out album after album since 1971; his latest, Alma, was released in 2002. He'll heat up hearts and groins when he opens the floodgates in downtown Miami this weekend. 7 p.m. Sunday at the James L. Knight Center, 400 SE Second Ave., Miami; 305-416-5970; jlkc.com. Tickets cost $75 to $215.
Dance can be such a therapeutic and instructive activity. The folks behind Miami Dance Collective use the art form, as the school's mission states, to build "confidence, creativity, discipline, and passion" in youths. A ballet-based program, it targets and trains students who are serious about one day dancing at a professional level. Each year, the staff shows off its chops in Miami Dance Collective Presents. This weekend, catch Act I of Don Quixote and new works by choreographers Jenn Freeman, Marie-Louise Gaschler, Sofia Gonzalez, Matt Luck, and Jacoby Pruitt. 2 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Manuel Artime Theater, 900 SW First St., Miami; 786-801-1669; manuelartimetheater.com. Admission costs $10 to $50.
Since the 1994 release of Con el Alma, Argentina's Los Nocheros have made a whopping 21 albums. This pop-folk crew gained momentum after performing at the National Folklore Festival in Cosquín, Argentina. From there, the band shot all the way to the 2005 Latin Grammys, earning a nomination for Best Folk Album. The group is headed to South Florida for a full-on performance of Latin pop at its folkiest. 6 p.m. Sunday at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay; 786-573-5300; smdcac.org. Admission costs $46 to $121.
Monday
Concrete Beach presents regular informative sessions that allow you to get a little more intimate with your hoppy brews. The brewery considers making beer an art form, so to share the ins and outs of creating the product, it offers a program of monthly themed classes, Brew House Rock. June's focus is on the "backbone of beer": malt. The session is cheaper than a beer and includes a one-hour class and tasting. 8 p.m. Monday at Concrete Beach Brewery, 325 NW 24th St., Miami; 305- 796-2727; concretebeachbrewery.com. Admission costs $5.
The movement of bodies in Miami Beach at night is something that inspires many a text session the morning after. But none will quite connect people like the movements at the Random Global Dance Improvisations event at the Betsy. The hotel will host pop-up performances by Peter London Global Dance Company in which cultures around the world will be revealed through random improvised dances. 7 p.m. Monday at the Betsy, 1440 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; 305-531-6100; thebetsyhotel.com. Admission is free.
Tuesday
Lincoln Road Mall isn't South Beach's only walkable, car-free stretch. There's the beautiful, quieter, and quainter Española Way. The street will be reopened this week by Mayor Philip Levine, the Miami Beach City Commission, and the Española Way Association. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony, enjoy the block party. Rich in history and personality, Española Way is truly one of Miami Beach's loveliest slices of real estate. 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at 400-500 Española Way, Miami Beach; miamibeachfl.gov/elected. Admission is free.
Wednesday
Sometimes all you want is to feel something. The least self-destructive and most effective way to do that is to listen to some sad jams. Tattooed Chilean songstress Mon Laferte, who studied at a conservatory in Viña del Mar, has been honing her skills at crooning melancholy music since she was 13. After becoming a national voice in her homeland, acting as a judge on the Chilean X Factor, and surviving cancer, she reinvented herself in 2012 in Mexico. She'll sing soulful sounds at the Fillmore, where you can also catch the smooth reggae stylings of Mexico's Caloncho. 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Fillmore, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Admission costs $39 to $179.
After hearing that another comeback tour is heading to town, you might think, I can't go for that. But then you find out it's Hall & Oates with Tears for Fears and, wait, you've already purchased your ticket for their AAA show. If there ever were two bands that could groove through the decades with style, relevance, and substance, it's these guys. The yacht rock of Hall & Oates and the synthy pop of Tears for Fears offer a heavenly marriage of chill, sexy, and danceable. 7 p.m. Wednesday at the American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-777-1000; aaarena.com. Admission costs $31 to $211.