These are shows built around embracing the wonder of the music and, perhaps more importantly, the love that permeates through the performer and the audience. Just a few years after their album, The Age of Pleasure, and its tour that didn't make it down to our fair city, it's nothing short of thrilling that Monáe's energy will return to South Florida this week for the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami.
On a short call in the weeks leading up to their performance, after confessing that their shifts in identity and presentation — from the android world of Cindi Mayweather to the bare-breasted beauty of "Lipstick Lover" — and willingness to experiment has been influential for my own navigation of identity, it was nothing short of fascinating to hear how they tied together that very identity with their musical practice.
"As an artist who is nonbinary in the way that I express myself, it's kind of like I'm creating a dinner," they explain. "I love adding a little salt here, a little sugar for dessert, making sure the main course is well seasoned, and having your sides that can represent something else great. Jazz has stayed in my ingredients when it comes to how I make art or my albums, and you'll always hear elements of jazz in my live shows as well. It's a beautiful element that's so delicious to me, and I've been blessed to work with incredible musicians who are well-trained and are also nonbinary in the way that they approach music."
Jazz's Influence on Janelle Monáe's Music
Jazz has been infused in practically every song, album, and genre that they have explored over the past two decades, and with The ArchAndroid reaching its 15th anniversary this year, the artist reflected on it, noting that, "Yes, it's been 15 earth years, but, in the ArchAndroid world, it's a timeless tale. It's timeless because things come around in loops," they expand about their ambitious multi-album tale and how it ties into the larger culture. "The themes — resistance, love, standing up to dictatorship, activating your own power, transforming yourself and your community — are still very ripe today."In an unexpected reveal, Monáe also adds that while they can't say much, "Fandroids should stay tuned" because "that world is still going" and "we have a really fun and big announcement coming up around that project."
Though Monáe has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland several times — first appearing at the Swiss event in 2010 and most recently performing alongside Lizzo there in 2019 — their Miami appearance marks a major moment as they perform on Saturday in a lineup alongside Chaka Khan, Jon Batiste, and Griff. When asked what brought them to Montreux in the first place, the answer was quick: the revolutionary Quincy Jones.
"I have to give love and thanks and honor to Quincy Jones," they say, paying tribute to the artist just months after his passing. "He was responsible for getting me my first Montreux gig, and I'll never forget that moment of meeting him the first time because it was also the moment when I first met Prince. Getting to spend time with them backstage and having them watch us in the audience was a dream come true, and it's forever etched into my heart."
So much of their work seems in conversation with artists from the past, whether explicitly or not, and Monáe confirms that they "always feel good about saying thank you because gratitude is a practice I try to practice as much as I possibly can."
"Being an artist, I know how difficult it is to get your dreams and thoughts and ideas out, rubbing against resistance and people not understanding you. So a lot of the artists I pay homage to, I thank them, and I try to take whatever lessons that they've learned and taught me and apply them to the next level of my own artistry."
Janelle Monáe Will Share the Stage With Chaka Khan
This notion of paying tribute also extends to Chaka Khan, with Monáe joking that their mom had even just called them about how exciting it was that they would be performing together. When referring to the show, Monáe explains, "It was one of my ideas to get somebody legendary, and when her name was brought up, I was like, 'Hell yes! I'd be honored to share the stage with her.' Her voice is next level, and she's always been so kind to me when I've met her. She's timeless," they say, emphasizing the endurance of art again. "My hope is that my fans and younger generations of people will come out and show her love."Monáe's excitement about returning to the city also ties into their love of Miami, which they refer to as a "special place" and one they remember fondly as the location where they shot the first film they made, Moonlight.
"I got to work with local Miami crew and actors, with Tarell Alvin McCraney who wrote the script with Barry Jenkins, and with Barry too. They're all from that Florida area, and to work with so many talented artists out of Florida and really represent Miami for my first film was a dream come true," they say. "That role, Teresa, represented a lot of women in Miami and also represented a lot of women in my life that showed up as mothers to the folks who didn't have their own mother. It also mirrored my mothering of other young queer kids and kids of color, of course," they note, to which I note that it is an experience that rings true to myself as a queer person whose identity has evolved alongside Monáe's own. They thank me for sharing that with them and continue by highlighting all the cultural experiences that Miami has shared with them.
Monáe adds: "I love the sweet air of Miami, and I love Cuban food. I could eat so many sweet plantains and grilled chicken with beans and rice. It's such a rich culture, and I give so much thanks to all the people who work in service there. We wouldn't have all this incredible food, and the landscaping wouldn't be so pretty if it were not for the people of color and immigrants who come there to make sure that everything is the best."
The conversation ends by not just highlighting these things but with Monáe continuing this thesis of giving thanks and paying tribute, which speaks to their generosity, not just as an artist but as a person. And it's precisely why I believe the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami will be, as they promised over the call, a "great, magical, and unpredictable time" for strangers and fans alike.
Montreux Jazz Festival Miami 2025. With Janelle Monáe, Jon Batiste, Willow, Chaka Khan, and others. Friday, February 28, through Sunday, March 2, at the Hangar at Regatta Harbour, 3385 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove; montreuxjazzfestivalmiami.com. Tickets cost $299 to $1,199 via tixr.com.
