Before the internet, if you had some sort of wild wish you wanted to make a reality, it helped to be terminally ill. But now anyone with wifi and a dream can give it a shot. Example: the Facebook event page “Lets Get Smashmouth 2 Perform at City Inn Hotel,”…
Shana Cleveland was listening to ’60s garage rock when it hit her. “They all had interesting vocal harmonies with cutting, twangy guitar sounds. I didn’t see any current American bands doing that.” Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan to a pair of musician parents, Cleveland says music was her whole world growing…
After listening to the Dose’s self-titled EP — a sound heavily reminiscent of Alice in Chains and Nirvana — it was surprising to learn that both singer/guitarist Indio Downey and drummer Ralph Alexander weren’t even born during the heyday of grunge. “We look up to those bands. We’ve been listening…
Drummer Nic Collins is 14 going on 15, and his rock band, What You Know, has already played on national television in Switzerland, jammed at the Fillmore Miami Beach, and performed at the American Airlines Arena during a Miami Heat game. But despite all of that experience under his belt,…
Though Otto Von Schirach has called Wynwood home for nine years, the musical provocateur’s connection with the once-downtrodden but now-booming neighborhood goes back further. “Twenty years ago, I used to come here for Hoodstock. It was a ’90s festival held in this hard-core neighborhood, but somehow the festivals were always…
The Cult couldn’t have a more fitting name. If a Druid or Dionysian from centuries ago time traveled to the Fillmore this past Saturday night, they could be forgiven for thinking that the concertgoers were actually religious followers gathering at a temple to witness some sort of holy ceremony. In a…
The reemergence of the record was as unlikely a revival as the world has ever seen. And Record Store Day has played a big part in the resurrection. Held this year on April 16, RSD is the celebration vinyl deserves. There’s live music (Shabazz Palaces headlines this year’s festivities at…
For this year’s TransAtlantic Festival, The Rhythm Foundation scored what was possibly its biggest coup in the event’s 14 year history in bringing Beirut to the North Beach Bandshell for the group’s first ever Florida performance. Beirut, a six-piece based out of New York, blends influences as varied as mariachi…
For a vocal chorus that sings classical music, Seraphic Fire has a name that is downright heavy metal. The group’s conductor and founder Patrick Quigley tells us that was intentional. “Growing up I was a part of choruses and noticed they were always named after the city they were based…
This week, when folks learned that some western parts of South Beach were considering moving last call from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m., the response in the comment section was often something along the lines of: Bro, if you can’t handle the craziness of South Beach, you should get the…
For a man obsessed enough with geography to not only name his band Beirut, but to write songs with titles like “Gibraltar,” “Perth,” and “Santa Fe,” it’s surprising that Zach Condon has never before played Miami. “I have visited many times,” the Beirut founder tells us over the phone. “I…
Even though the Jacuzzi Boys have been together since 2007, lead singer Gabriel Alcala refuses to believe that the trio can really already be the Miami rock scene’s elder statesmen. “I like to think we’re still fresh and new, but yeah I guess other bands do ask for advice. I…
Record Store Day, the annual celebration of all things vinyl, will be broken into two parts this year at Sweat Records. The day portion on April 16 will give music junkies the chance to purchase rare and reissued collectible albums beginning with an 8 a.m. opening. Owner Lauren Reskin, as usual,…
In what might be the strangest origin story for a nightlife venue, owner and chef Thomas Slater found inspiration for his new restaurant and lounge, the Bunker at 1826, while doing classified work for the government. “I built missiles and explosives,” he reveals. But because of confidentiality agreements, Slater is…
After spending two and a half months designing and building the bar 28 Newsstand, it seems a shame that the speakeasy is closing its doors after only five months in business, but Yoyi, one of the two brothers behind the establishment says impermanence was always part of the plan. “We’re…
It wasn’t a love for old Robin Williams movies that inspired Calvin Cyrus to perform as MC Jumanji, the Miami rapper explains to New Times. “When I was in high school I was a smart-ass who tried to curse without cursing. Jumanji became my curse word. I’d tell people ‘Jumanji…
I saw there was a niche missing in Miami nightlife for a true VIP experience in an elegant setting among a refined crowd,” Ryan Van Milligan explains. He and his partners plan to open South Beach nightclub Ora later this spring. Van Milligan worked with Opium Group at clubs such…
It was a long journey from Kendall to Iceland, Morocco, and Turkey before Miami native Juan Pablo Reyes could get his first producer credit for the movie Headlock. Starring Glee’s Dianna Agron and another Miami native, Andy Garcia, the film follows the story of a wife who tries to uncover…
There are six days in March where the 305 is inundated with every DJ and dance music-lover this side of the equator. They call it Miami Music Week, but for the music lovers who don’t know EDM from WTF, you don’t have to spend the entire week with your head…
The Heavy Pets have always had a conflicted relationship with cover songs. “We always had a soft spot for covers, but we avoided playing them for a long time because we always thought it was overdone in our scene,” explains singer and guitarist Jeff Lloyd, who helped form the band…
It’s rarely good news when a long-standing and beloved bar shuts its doors and opens as something completely different. But that wasn’t the case this past week when the space formerly known as Magnum Lounge reopened as the Anderson. “Miami is a city that likes change,” says Anderson co-owner Elad…
Thirty years after guest-starring in an episode of Miami Vice —in which he played con man “Phil the Shill” — Phil Collins now calls the Magic City home. Following his two sons who attended school in South Florida, Collins bought a home here last August and is hoping to give…
