Hova For Hope: Free Miami Jay-Z Concert this Sunday for Obama!

Jay-Z + Obama = Party in Bayfront It’s a celebration, bitches! The good folks at Obama For President just made your week. Jay-Z will play a free show in Bayfront Park Amphitheater this Sunday at 8:30 p.m. to drum up voter registration for his favorite presidential candidate. A quick call…

DJ Laz Extends Contract with Power 96

I can remember DJ Laz being on the air at Power 96, in some form or another, since I was in elementary school in the early/mid-Nineties. Much like his home station itself, I really didn’t expect him to go anywhere. Still, Beasley Broadcast Miami, who owns Power 96 (and 99.9…

Bands Sought for Femme Fest 2 at Tobacco Road, November 7

Attention bands: If you have yet to play one of Oski’s and Queen of the Scene’s mini festivals at Tobacco Road, and if you’ve got a lady or two in your band, here’s an opportunity. The follow-up to last year’s estrogen-heavy Femme Fest is happening this November, and the promoters…

Happy Local Band Discovery of the Weekend: the Microdots

My arrival timing for events is usually pretty hit-or-miss, but this last Saturday I lucked out at PS14. I had headed over to check out Notorious Nastie’s/Astari Nite’s occasional Static Interference event, which was supposed to start at 10 p.m. I arrived just after 11, and nothing had started –…

Around the Voice – Metallica, Metallica, and more Metallica

The musical darlings of the Village Voice Media. Rob Harvilla over at the Village Voice reviews Metallica’s latest offering Death Magnetic only after playing it on Guitar Hero III. The album was offered on the day of its release as a 11-track download for the game. Riverfront Times’ A to…

The Chronicles of I Set My Friends on Fire, Episode 1

If you haven’t heard yet of local duo I Set My Friends on Fire, well, you are probably of legal drinking age and/or don’t spend a lot of time on MySpace, so let me fill you in really quickly on what basically every teenager seems to already know about. The…

Pelican to Play Culture Room on November 15

Just confirmed today: Chicago instrumental almost-metal quartet (and friends of Miami’s Torche) Pelican will play its biggest headlining show to date in South Florida on November 15. As the band has grown in popularity, it’s played in these parts a couple times over the last few years years. Once was…

Pretty Ricky Gets Nude For VIBE Magazine

Okay, so not all of the members in Pretty Ricky got nekkid for the photo shoot, but at least one member did. And as you’ll be able to see from the picture below, it’s done really tasteful. The latest issue of VIBE magazine has a rather informative article on the…

Venezuelan Indie Transplants CabinAffair Seek Members

In the spirit of CrossFade’s occasional glimpses at the local musician ads on Craigslist, I’m passing on this plea I received by e-mail from Vicky, a member of a start-up indie band called CabinAffair. The core members recently relocated from their native Venezuela to study and play music, but alas,…

Langerado 2009 Moving to Miami’s Bicentennial Park

Last year, Langerado Music Festival got plenty of national attention, particularly because of its strong lineup which included R.E.M., Beastie Boys, Matisyahu, 311, The Roots and Ani DiFranco. However, the festival couldn’t escape the logistical nightmare that was Big Cypress Indian Reservation. The 15-mile single lane highway leading up to…

The Walkmen Performing Free in Miami Beach October 6

South Florida, but Miamians in particular, always whine that the area never gets it fair share of national acts coming into town. So when CrossFade received an e-mail announcing a free — yes, free — performance by New York indie rock band The Walkmen, we couldn’t help to feel a…

New Found Glory Signs With Epitaph

Coral Springs pop-punk diehards New Found Glory (remember when their name started with “A”?) have announced that they’re turning more to the “punk” part of their roots, kind of. As of yesterday, the band has officially signed with punk-centric indie-major Epitaph, with which it’ll release its forthcoming seventh studio album…

Nonpoint Announces U.S. Headlining Tour, But Skips South Florida

Remember Nonpoint, the local groove-based hard rock act? They had that hit single, “Bullet With a Name,” a couple years back? Well, they may be forgetting their lil’ ol’ fans in South Florida at the moment. The band boasts real mainstream success, having landed on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart some…

Kukaramakara Club Opens in Old Studio A Space

In what we will hence forth refer to as the final nail in Miami’s rock venue coffin, Colombian nightclub chain Kukaramakara opens its first U.S. outpost in Miami in Studio A’s former digs. Our hopes of someone coming to the venue’s rescue and keeping it as the city’s only mid-size…

Break In at Sweat Records

Lolo Reskin A gang of local thugs broke in, burgled and trashed our beloved Sweat Records over the weekend, stealing almost everything of value and destroying nearly everything else. According to Sweat’s site, gone are the “store computer, credit card terminal, video projector, entire DJ/sound setup, cash drawer and more.”…

Kelis Found Not Guilty in a Miami Courtroom

This past Thursday, R&B singer Kelis was found not guilty in Miami on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. She was initially arrested last march for allegedly harassing two undercover police officers who were posed as prostitutes outside of a local club. On Thursday, a judge determined that there…

Is Kanye Dropping a New Album This Year?

I’m labeling this post as Bossip because thus far, news of a new Kanye album is still a rumor. But according to various retailers (Amazon and Target.com specifically) who must be trying to drum up anticipation for the holiday shopping sprees already, rapper Kanye West may have a new album…