However, there is hope for music-festival munchies. The appropriately named F+M Festival, the brainchild of local party purveyor Poplife, aims to make festival food the star of the show alongside a stacked musical lineup January 28 and 29 on the sand adjacent to the North Beach Bandshell.
"The whole point is to basically incorporate the kind of food you want to eat at a festival," Poplife's Jake Jefferson says. "I feel that as a spectator at a festival, sometimes it's overpriced shit I don't want to eat anywhere."
Think of F+M as a food and wine fest meets music, where 12 of the best local restaurants and four top bars will feed the hungry masses as they enjoy a killer lineup that includes a rare live performance by Hot Chip, along with Bomba Estéreo, Ghostface Killah, Los Amigos Invisibles, Slow Magic, Nosaj Thing, and others.
In fact, so rare is a Hot Chip live performance in Miami that the last time the British band performed here was at the criminally empty Live Stage at Ultra Music Festival 2013. Before that, the band had performed live only at the long-since-closed Pawn Shop Lounge in 2006. (And, yes, you might have seen Hot Chip's name on many Miami bills between those performances; however, those were all DJ sets.)
Music aside, the food is what New Times was most curious about, but Jefferson is keeping mum on what to expect. An announcement will be made later this week, he says.
"Every restaurant we have involved pretty much was conceived in Miami," Jefferson says. "It's gonna be ten to 12 food vendors and four local bars in this food village area we are going to create. There are also going to be two restaurants in the VIP area, which will feature unlimited food and drinks."
This won't be the first music festival to take place in the area around the North Beach Bandshell. In November, it was home to the inaugural House of Creatives music festival. So what makes the area such a great location for a music festival? According to Jefferson, the neighborhood is still one of the few remaining untouched areas of Miami Beach, where glass high-rises are rare and a sense of community can still be felt.
"What I love about it and what makes it a destination is that you can do an event on the sand in January. You can't do that anywhere else in the country."
Here's the lineup announced so far:
- Hot Chip
- Bomba Estéreo
- Ghostface Killah
- Los Amigos Invisibles
- Slow Magic
- Nosaj Thing
- Amtrac
- Arthur Baker (DJ set)
- Jacuzzi Boys
- Steven A. Clark
- Mr. Pauer
- Millionyoung
- Tremends
- Native Youth
With Hot Chip, Bomba Estéreo, Ghostface Killah, Los Amigos Invisibles, Slow Magic, and others. Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, on the beach adjacent to the North Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets $75 to $450 via fmfestival.com.
