Midnight Service Partners With Beyoncé's Creative Director for Renaissance Afterparty

Worry not, Beyhive. Miami's summer renaissance doesn't stop when Beyonce's concert ends. Her creative director Andrew Makadsi and local LGBTQ rave Midnight Service are collaborating to throw an official afterparty in Hialeah.

On Friday, August 18, the warehouse bash brings Makadsi's roots in New York house and disco to Miami's underground queer club scene.

"I was enjoying the house music in straight scenes, but not feeling comfortable because it's not my community. There was a hole in the space for gay house," Naim Narzour, cofounder of the monthly bash Midnight Service and resident DJ for Gitano Miami at Casa Faena, tells New Times.

This is the Rennaisance World Tour's third post-concert affair made in partnership with Function NYC, Makadsi's monthly queer party, which has been going on in Brooklyn for the past three years.

"This summer, we took the party to London, Toronto, and now to Miami for a collaboration with Midnight Service," Makadsi says. "I'm excited to bring my sound to the Miami dance floor for a memorable Renaissance night."

Narzour expects most attendees to come straight from the concert to the event, which starts at 11 p.m. at the Yards at Amelia, a 20-minute drive from the Hard Rock Stadium. However, the party also offers a taste of Renaissance to those who didn't see Queen Bey herself.

"We want to bring those tracks from the album but go a little experimental," Miguel Clark, cofounder of Midnight Service, says. "Electronic music variety is missing in Miami, so this is a space where we don't mind experimenting, and it's for the LGBTQ community."

Narzour, on the contrary, will stray away from spinning mainstream artists.
"Honestly, when I play, I don't do a lot of commercial music. But at the same time, I think it's necessary because people are coming from this vibe," Narzour says. "I'm going to have a couple of Beyoncé remixes, but not all. There will be something for everyone."

Friday's bill includes Zarzour, Clark, Makadsi, and Gay-Z, an Orlando-based producer and founding member of Soft Collective, a club night for LGBTQ Black, indigenous, and brown people.

Clark's goal is to create an experience solely dedicated to queer house music, not to be compared with repetitive circuit beats often heard at South Florida gay clubs like Twist or the Manor.

"Twist is a weird place because it has so many rooms. You hear the Top 40, and they always play the same circuit music," Clark says. "It's a different genre of electronic that I can listen to at a quick party, but not when I want to really go out on the weekend."

That's precisely how Midnight Service came to be.

"We started the party because Miami gay or LGBTQ clubs are literally concentrated on the circuit, where you hear the same sounds, which is okay, but we need different styles," Zarzour explains.

The indoor post-concert space, which began as an empty warehouse with shipping containers, will fully transform into a rave with lasers, strobe lights, Funktion One speakers, and an open bar.

"The dance floor is a sacred space for us," Clark says. "We're producing this entirely ourselves with equal creative support and ideas from Andrew [Makadsi]. It's something Miami needs."

Midnight Service. With Naim Zarzour, Miguel Clark, Andrew Makadsi, and Gay-Z. 11 p.m. Friday, August 18, at the Yards at Amelia, 7551 W. Fourth Ave., Hialeah. Tickets cost $44 via dice.fm.