On a recent Saturday afternoon, Keith Johns played on a temporary stage under the Brickell Metrorail station as his audience — face-painted children, adults, and costumed dogs — swayed along to his breezy, lazy-afternoon cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya.” Midway through the set, Miami’s schizophrenic weather took a turn from…
When Kesha exploded onto the pop charts singing the chorus on Flo Rida’s 2009 song “Right Round,” she wasn’t even given a credit on the track. She also wasn’t paid for it, an experience she alluded to by ironically converting the s in her name to a dollar sign. Later…
In 2016, celebrations worldwide marked the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, but for many of us outside the UK, there’s only one true British queen, and her name is Adele. At only 19 years of age, she burst onto the scene singing her full-throated lamentation “Chasing Pavements,” a song…
As a lifelong music addict who mainlines concerts for sustenance, I’ve been to my fair share of music festivals, and I’ve seen it all. I’ve been to festivals where families have picnics by their RVs, and I’ve been to others where young people’s crater-wide pupils make it pretty obvious why…
Day three is always a royal bitch. With blistered feet and damaged ear drums (seriously — where were you earplugs this year, people?), many were on autopilot at the final day of III Points 2016, a year marked by both adversity and triumph. Luckily, there is a cure for such…
While Hurricane Matthew threw an obvious speed bump into Friday night’s festivities, there would be no excuse for not pulling things off on day two. Luckily, that’s exactly what III Points did. With ever stage up and operational — and with only slightly amended set times — Saturday night showcased…
Down its biggest headliner and plagued by last-minute hiccups, III Points limped into day one, badly wounded. The forces of god, nature, and misfortune had seemingly unloaded their entire arsenal on the Wynwood festival this year in the form of wind, mosquitoes, and cancelled flights. Year four would be the…
Australian musician, producer, and now singer — Ta-ku has been making the rounds on the EDM circuit for the last couple of years, but his inclusion on these lineups has less to do with his ability to fit into the EDM scene, and more to do with the undefined genre…
The electronic music world has, in the past, been both fairly and unfairly targeted as a sausage fest granting women little access into its world. But truthfully, most music genres we’re familiar with today have such a history, and they’ve taken decades to try to rectify their lack of inclusivity…
Miami native Denzel Curry’s set at this year’s III Points festival will be a homecoming of sorts, but as a teenager growing up in Carol City — just a few years ago — he was a long way from the spotlight. “My parents didn’t want me to go to Carol…
In the EDM world, the club is king. DJs grind night after night to earn their space behind the booth, their name in LED lights while the confetti rains down around them. Krewella’s been there, done that. So for their ongoing Sweatbox tour, chart-topping sisters Yasmine and Jahan Yousaf have…
The Instagram generation fills their profiles with carefully curated snapshots posing as candid moments captured in time. They post makeup selfies, videos of concerts they should have been actually watching instead, and way too many pictures of food. On social media, we’re all famous (or infamous) in the addictive search…
Since the first settlers sank a boot into the swampy expanse of Florida’s Everglades, the area has been under near-constant threat from environmental issues. These days, under the not-so-watchful eye of Florida’s governor, the assault continues. From lowered water standards being legally challenged by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, to…
Hundreds of thousands of individuals make the choice to have an abortion every year in America, but the stigma toward the hotly debated procedure makes it so that many of these people feel isolated and unsupported in their decision. Even worse, states continue to pass laws actively restricting access to…
18 years ago, Jose Elias, a self professed “world music nerd,” thought to put together a one-off tribute to the iconic artist Sun Ra at Tobacco Road. His curation of the event called attention to what he quickly realized was a hunger for African-derived music in Miami. “There were a…
Much like musicians of the post-punk era they idolize, the musicians in Astari Nite are romantics in black. “We really love what we do. We have a lot of passion and we’re super humbled doing what we do. If you enjoy what you’re doing there’s really no room for anything…
Labor Day in Miami is a welcome respite from the daily grind of traffic and work, but it’s also an extra day of the week to spend the cash you worked so hard to earn. It’s also the beginning of the end of summer, which means that — finally —…
At Calle Ocho’s famed bar and venue Ball & Chain, the sounds of today’s Miami music echo through walls that once heard the greats of jazz’s golden age. If these walls could talk, they’d tell stories of the time stars such as Billie Holiday and the Count Basie Orchestra stopped…
Walking up to the front door of the North Miami Beach residence that serves as Pariuh’s creative headquarters is a neat-freak’s nightmare. Test prep books are stacked high on a table next to a full trash bag and shoes are strewn about. It looks like spring cleaning or preparation for…
Jay Sean isn’t the type to look back nostalgically at his past successes, though he’s had many. His driving force is his search for the accomplishments that still await. His latest single “Make My Love Go” — his second collaboration with Sean Paul after 2009’s “Do You Remember” — is…
Three years ago, Christian Cooley moved to Miami to open his own recording studio in the heart of Wynwood. “Before Miami, I was thinking to move to L.A.,” he remembers. He booked a plane ticket, landed, and shortly after, had an epiphany. “I realized they don’t need another producer.” Born…
At first glance, at least three quarters of the band Sunghosts — with their greasy long hair and Lennon-style glasses — do not appear to be the picture of ambition. But on the band’s long awaited, full-length self-titled debut, you can hear the hunger that’s made them a success of…
