The concert is the central part of the 17th Annual Miami Takeover, which co-founder Wylie Kynard further explains to New Times as "a way to bring people from all over, but especially from Washington D.C., down to Miami. We want to mix artists and culture from D.C. with Miami culture." Among other activities planned for the weekend are a stand-up comedy show, a pool party, and mixers. The centerpiece is Saturday night's concert, featuring a 50th anniversary party for the go-go music genre.
"Chuck Brown started it in 1975," Kynard says. "He was the godfather of go-go music, who unfortunately is no longer here. He had a lot of mainstream hits. After his death, there was a big push to preserve go-go. In 2022, go-go was named the official music of the D.C. area." For those unfamiliar with go-go, McCoy points out the 1988 song "Da Butt" by E.U. as the biggest hit from the genre.
But if you want a wide variety of go-go sounds, they say there's no better sampler than the three bands they'll be bringing down from D.C. to perform at Art of Go-Go Culture Fest. "Every one of them has a unique sound. We didn't want bands that all sounded the same. We want Miami to know there's a lot of variety in go-go. We know how we perceive go-go, we want to see how Miami responds to it," Kynard says.
The headliner for the evening is Junkyard Band, who Kynard describes as "elder statesmen of go-go. They're celebrating their 45th year." The Junkyard Band started in 1980 as children who improvised their brand of go-go music by finding everyday objects and using them as instruments. They'd bang on anything from hub caps to pots and pans to plastic buckets to keep the beat. They had hits with Def Jam Records like "Sardines," which got them opening slots performing ahead of the Beastie Boys and Tupac Shakur while appearing in the Run-DMC movie Tougher Than Leather. Now grown up, they're an institution in D.C. playing on more traditional drum sets and congas while incorporating guitars, bass, and keys with their still festive vocals.
Also on the bill are the Top5 Band, which leans a bit heavier into the R&B aspects of go-go and Black Passion. Visual artists from Miami and D.C. will be on site to create during the festivities. The 305 artists include Marcus Blake and Rod Royal, while Demont Pinder will represent D.C.."We want to mix artists and culture from D.C. in with Miami culture."
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Kynard is hopeful Miami will continue to embrace go-go music and the festival. To encourage locals to attend, if you present a form of identification with a South Florida address, you'll get a discount on your ticket. "We've been doing this Miami Takeover event for 17 years now. It started as a going-away event when I moved away from Miami after living here for ten years, working for FPL. I brought down a go-go band to celebrate," Kynard says.
McCoy adds, "We appreciate Miami Beach for letting us do this for 17 years. We want to do this for years to come. We hope locals continue to come out and that they can grow this into a multi-day go-go festival one day."
Art of Go-Go Culture Fest. 5 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; Tickets cost $55 to $535 via eventbrite.com.
