Critic's Notebook

Following last week’s surprise announcement that Heart Nightclub would shutter its doors, the embattled nightclub has announced the date and occasion of its final party.

For years, Genesis Diaz’s friends and family have told her she’s talented enough to get on The Voice — and then it happened.

It’s tough to transition into the real world after a week of rockin’ sisterhood bonding at Miami Girls Rock Camp (MGRC). You’re left with only memories as you say goodbye to bandmates and inspirational volunteers who have guided  you at every step.

Mario Giancarlo believes the trick to getting into South by Southwest was embracing his native language, Spanish.

After much speculation, Winter Music Conference has announced it will indeed return this year. The storied industry gathering will be a three-day conference at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach. It’s smaller in scale than past editions. Last year’s conference spanned four days, and it ran six days in 2011.

After two public meetings with Miami Beach residents, the organizers of Miami Beach Pop Festival have decided to delay their proposal for the event. The three-day fest was originally planned to happen the weekend after Art Basel on the beach between Fifth and Tenth Streets and expected to attract 30,000 people per day.

It’s easy to overlook the artistic contributions of women in one’s own community. Miami is stacked with talented songwriters, singers, and musicians. Here’s a rundown of some of the city’s most impressive musos, including Native Youth, Michelle Grand of Ex Norwegian, Megan Morrison, Dama Vicke, and Savannah Cristina.

Suzi Analogue is a fashionista and a music gear-head: someone equally likely to dig through racks of neon clothing and crates of old vinyl records.

If you visit Winter Music Conference’s website, you’ll notice something is off. Miami Music Week is only a few weeks away, yet the site is still thanking last year’s attendees “for making WMC 2017 a big success.” Notably absent is any information about how to register this year, while its social channels don’t make any mention of whether or Miami’s groundbreaking EDM conference will return.

He’s the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from Miami. He marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and often sang at his rallies. And last year, he performed “America the Beautiful” at President Donald Trump’s inaugural concert. Now, HistoryMiami has given Sam Moore, of the famed soul duo Sam & Dave, his own exhibit in his hometown.

If you’ve been looking forward to the return of SunFest since last year’s edition, the annual music festival has one word for you: dale. Mr. 305-Worldwideoldwide himself, Pitbull, will headline the 2018 edition of SunFest along with Zedd, Logic, and an eclectic mix of artists representing styles from pop…

Thousands of the 305’s most voracious thrill seekers will flock to the annual Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition — affectionately known as the Youth Fair or simply the Fair — to gorge on extreme carnival foods, test their limits on nearly 100 rides without puking, catch live concerts, and other activities that will overload the senses. Are you even a real Miamian if you’ve never been to the Fair, bro?

It’s been a hard week for South Florida. The tragic stories and photos that have emerged after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have left many in tears, grieving, and feeling raw, helpless, and depressed about the world.

Two young women sit pretty in leggings and long sleeves. They eat Froot Loops in water and wash it down with Sunkist soda on the hood of a candy-purple Cadillac. They pay no attention to the dudes hollering while playing dice on the sidewalk. Soon the two will ride through the streets of Miami…

Miami soul singer Timmy Thomas remembers the first time he heard his Vietnam-era peace plea “Why Can’t We Live Together” on the radio. “I stopped on the side of the street just to listen to it,” he recalls. That was 1972. Forty-three years later came “Hotline Bling” by Drake.

Can you still have fun at Gramps if all the drinks are nonalcoholic? For Camila Cabello fans gathered at the popular Wynwood bar this past Sunday afternoon, the answer was a resounding yes.

In Miami, few artists personify the power and potential of party culture and clubbing as well as Get Face. The artistic moniker of Tampa native Skyler Schubert, Get Face saw the release of his debut EP, Horns of a Beast, last week courtesy of local label Space Tapes. Named for the sea-dwelling monster in the Book of Revelation…

If you’ve felt a slight ringing in your ears the past few days, it’s because a certain clamorous time of year is upon us. The International Noise Conference (INC) will descend upon Churchill’s Pub for several nights of end-to-end insanity February 6 through 10. Think shrill feedback, outré performance art, weird fluids, and maybe even some melodies.

After a controversial yet successful third edition at Bayfront Park, Rolling Loud announced today that this year’s festival will take place Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, far from the NIMBYs who’ve taken up residence in the über-expensive condos along the downtown Miami stretch of Biscayne Boulevard.

The 2018 Grammys are over. Kendrick Lamar got screwed. Bruno Mars won maybe a little bigger than he should have. And Miami pretty much got skunked. But as the Washington Post pointed out this past weekend, the Grammys have always been bad at choosing winners or moving beyond the curve.