The rap game has never been more competitive than it is today. Fueled by a flood of millennials and teens nostalgic for the OG beats that made-up their childhood soundtracks, rappers have never had to work harder to please evermore discerning audiences. A byproduct of all the competition is the…
When Fool’s Gold Day Off rolls into Wynwood, it will have come a long way from its humble beginnings. “Day Off started as a party in a Soho parking lot five years ago,” A-Trak remembers. He would know. The 33-year-old Canadian DJ has been there from the start. After all, he…
At the end of this month, the loudest party on the high seas will chug its way from Miami to the Bahamas, leaving a trail of head-banging dolphins in its path. Motörhead’s annual Motörboat Cruise is departing on September 28 with bands like Slayer, Crobot, Anthrax, Exodus, and — we…
The Bolero Ball & Live Music. In el Bolero Room with Lazaro Casanova, Dude Skywalker, and Austin Frank b2b Bryan Estefani. Presented by Deep Playa and PetFood; and live music upstairs with Delpaxton, Lavola, and Grey 8s. Presented by Gummdrops. Friday, September 11, 10 p.m. The Electric Pickle, 2826 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-456-5613; electricpicklemiami.com. Admission to…
AJ Ruiz wants you to make you cry — you know, those authentic ugly, wet, gut-wrenching tears. At least that’s what he is hoping happens when you listen to his debut solo album Nimbus. “I want my album and my songs to be that song that you listen to in the…
Don’t underestimate the force of 20,000 teenage girls screaming in unison at the top of their lungs. When the lights cut out at the AAA at precisely 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, the sheer force of the shrieks rip through the arena like a shotgun blast, powerful enough to put…
There’s something exciting about witnessing the birth of a band. Perhaps you’re seeing the beginning of something great — something you’ll tell your grandchildren years from now, when you’re old and gray and trying to figure out how to work that damn iPod97. The Hours Strange is a new duo…
I have been booking bands, playing in bands, and putting on events for 20 years now. I do realize what a gasbag sentence that is. But I’d like to say that up front to establish some form of credibility as I attempt to make sense of the recent trend of…
Bosco’s introduction to music began pretty conventionally. Raised in Savannah, Georgia, the Fool’s Gold prodigy started off singing and acting in church choirs and plays. From there she joined middle- and high-school choruses, eventually competed in local talent shows, and then attended the Savannah College of Art and Design while…
On September 19, 1914, Mac Klein was born — just 49 years after Robert E. Lee’s army fired the last bullet of the Civil War and two months into World War I. The Ford Model T was celebrating its sixth year on the road. Miami Beach didn’t exist, and neither…
The strings off his acoustic guitar strum softly as the camera pans to show a room full of comfortable couples and soon-to-be smiling lovers. Jamie Lawson makes his way to the stool in the center of the room and begins singing, “It was only a smile/But my heart it went…
David Lincoln Hyatt, founder of the Miami-based Tavdash Records and the man responsible for discovering the talent of multi-hit recording artist R. Kelly, died on August 11 at the age of 65. Hyatt was reportedly suffering from stage four prostate cancer. Born in Jamaica in 1950, Hyatt served in the…
Other than a pack of middle-aged bikers, die-hard boozers, and people waiting to play some variation on punk rock, Churchill’s Pub was pretty empty early Thursday night. Granted, it was only about 9 p.m. and Little Haiti’s 36-year-old, loudest and loveliest shithole was just starting to get rowdy for a…
Bethany Cosentino was rifling through the basement of her parents’ house a couple of weeks ago and came across her high-school journal. She hesitantly cracked it open and began reading. “I had to stop,” she laughs. Audibly cringing over the phone, she reveals the culprit: boyfriend drama. “It was something…
Ed Sheeran. With Christina Perri and Jamie Lawson. Wednesday, September 9, 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-777-1000; aaarena.com. Tickets cost $56.50 to $66.50 plus fees via ticketmaster.com. The last time British ginger Ed Sheeran hit the stage at the American Airlines Arena, he was getting the crowd pumped and ready for Taylor Swift’s…
With every new musical venture, Harlow G. and Kristof Ryan of Jean Jacket have a mantra: Follow the Jacket. To them, this means creating music in the name and spirit of their project. Formerly known simply as The Jacket, the duo, who joined forces a little over a year ago,…
Ball & Chain’s 80th Anniversary. With Nick Tannura Trio, Electric Piquete, the Baboons, the Politix, Spam Allstars, Suénalo, Conjunto Progreso, Barrioactivo, Vlade Divak, Brendan O’Hara & the Rescue, and others. Friday to Sunday, September 4 to 6. Ball & Chain, 1513 SW 8th St., Miami; 305-643-7820; ballandchainmiami.com. Admission is free. Ages 21 and up…
Gather your ride-or-die party peeps and get your bubbly drank on… Labor Day weekend is here! For the rest of the nation, the first Monday in September marks the unofficial end of summer, but in the Magic City — where the sun apparently never got the memo — LDW is…
Your dog, no matter how much you love it, is going to die — maybe peacefully in its sleep, or perhaps twitching in agony on hot pavement beside a gurgling Ford F-150. Cookies go stale and parents get divorced. The person in front of you in line — the rude…
Earl Sweatshirt With NX Worries, Remy Banks, and more Grand Central Wednesday, September 2, 2015 Better than: Jumping on stage and being told to “actually not.” For someone who doesn’t like shit or going outside, Earl Sweatshirt sure knows how to put on a fucking show. His latest LP, actually…
Rec · on · dite (adj) (Of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse. That definition applies well to the Bavarian producer, performer, and “sound artist” who took the name. His compositions, though danceable, are dark and abstract. They’d provide the perfect soundtrack if you explored the deepest seas. But…
On March 24, 2010, a new venue called Grand Central made its debut during Winter Music Conference. Nite Jewel and Tanlines were the first artists to grace its stage, and after the closing of Studio A, Miami was aching for a new mid-size venue. Five years later, Grand Central proved…
