III Points 2025 Day One: Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, Sean Paul, Denzel Curry and More

It’s that time of year again, when a wave of artists across genres descends on Wynwood—and locals dare to step foot into Miami’s art district. III Points Festival kicked off last night with solid performances from some of the hottest names in techno, hip-hop, and reggaeton. Here’s a snapshot of some of New Times’ favorite sets.

And… who’s ready for Day Two?

Anotr

Let’s be clear — Anotr’s set wasn’t bad. The Dutch duo delivered a clean, technically sharp performance that showcased why they’ve become fixtures in the modern house scene. Their production and mixing were as tight as ever, but the set itself never fully caught fire.

They played fan favorites like “Relax My Eyes” alongside newer selections, weaving groovy basslines and melodic textures that nodded to the golden era of house. Everything sounded great — but the energy stayed mellow throughout. It was the kind of set made for head-nodding and swaying in the back with a drink in hand, not necessarily for those looking for a hands-in-the-air festival moment.

For what it was, it hit the spot — smooth, groovy, vibey — but compared to some of the more explosive acts of the weekend, it felt safe. Hopefully, next time Anotr brings the same technical precision with a bit more edge. By Osvaldo Espino.

Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso

One of the first major highlights of the weekend came from Argentine duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, who delivered one of the most refreshing and genre-bending sets III Points has seen in years. As the Miami sun dipped behind the skyline, the two took the stage flanked by a full live band — an unexpected touch that elevated their performance from a typical early-evening set to a full-blown concert experience.

They kicked things off sitting side by side on stage, setting an intimate tone before unleashing a colorful mix of Caribbean-inspired rhythms, funk, rock, and electronic elements. CA7RIEL, guitar in hand, let his musicianship shine through bursts of psychedelic riffs, while Paco’s sharp, raspy vocals and charisma carried every song with confidence and soul.

Tracks like “#TETAS” and “Dumbai” had the crowd dancing nonstop, while deeper cuts showed off just how tight and versatile their band really was. By the end, the set felt like a celebration of culture, artistry, and how far Latin music has evolved. With both artists being among this year’s most Latin Grammy–nominated acts, it’s clear they’re not just part of the movement, they’re defining it.

If you caught this performance, you witnessed something special: two artists at the peak of their creativity, completely in sync with each other and their audience. By Osvaldo Espino.

Denzel Curry

If there’s one artist who knows how to turn a crowd into a battlefield, it’s Denzel Curry. The Carol City native returned home like a conquering hero, delivering one of the most chaotic, cathartic, and flat-out thrilling sets III Points has seen in years.

From “Rcky” and “Walkin” to newer bangers like “Hit the Floor,” Denzel had the crowd in a frenzy. When he dropped “Ultimate” and “Clout Cobain,” it was all-out war — mosh pits, screaming fans, and pure adrenaline from start to finish. It was sweaty, loud, and absolutely unrelenting.

Between songs, Denzel made sure to shout out Miami’s Latino community and didn’t shy away from being vocal politically, leading the crowd in chants like “F*** ICE.” It was raw and real — a reminder that Denzel is a voice for his city.

It felt like classic III Points energy: genre-bending, rebellious, and homegrown. Denzel didn’t just perform — he gave Miami everything he had. By Osvaldo Espino.

Jadya G

Canada’s Jadya G controlled the sky, soil, spirit, and soul of the festival with her catalog. The artist took to the Isotropic decks right as her predecessors pulverized the crowd with drum & bass at the tail end of their set. When the preverbal dust and debris cleared, it was Jadya G’s duty to sprout a new sound in the key of disco and house.

Euphoria-boosting piano melodies, soulful chants and gospel, and strings went straight to the heart — Jadya G herself dancing with such passion that she was quite literally moving to her beat. Still, it was not a Studio-54 rehash because she still funneled all the music from unabashed basslines that whipped and punched through the speakers. Somewhere deep in those soulful piano melodies, there was a modicum of acid leeching through that took the party into a crazier shift.

She moved to Floating Points’ “Del Oro” and its modular synths and underground tone to show the crowd that her style can go from grand displays to deep introspection. By Grant Albert.

John Talabot

The skeletal and scaffolded stage, 3QU3NC3, added a coat of armor this year with the official world debut of the L-Acoustics DJ soundsytem. The DJs could turn the set into something fully immersive with spatial audio that Spain’s John Talabot tested at absurd levels. The techno artist, properly known for his slow-burning tracks, sped and bled techno out of all the speakers at a dizzying pace. These weren’t melting trumpets or heavy doses of reverb from his tracks like “Madhouse Dub;” these were veteran techno tracks that took a bunch of fetching and grass into a full-throttle rave.

Ever the stoic performer, Talabot kept calm like a captain steadying a ship in choppy waters, despite dropping harder and harder techno. But he didn’t just go hard for the sake of it — he added tinges of his occult sound throughout the set. Talabot played out the glitchy, fun pads from Marcel Dettmann’s  “Water” (Interstellar Funk Remix) and the borrowing synth-work from “Do You Believe” (Space Evader Mix), an arguably friendly track in his arsenal. Talabot has been coming to III Points on and off since 2014 — each time with a new canvas and a familiar astral plane. By Grant Albert.

Nina Kraviz

Nina Kraviz acts as electronic music’s timekeeper. In the literal sense, she sped up one of her own tracks, a minimal, off-kilter tune that shared some DNA with a work from Ricardo Villalobos, by at least fifteen BPM. Then, in the figurative sense, Kraviz keeps the tracks she’s been playing for years still fresh in rotation. She dropped the Radioslave’s “Grindhouse,” a 2012 track with dark techno groove and myriad tension and releases, which felt just as new as it did thirteen years ago. Or there was Richie Hawtin’s 1996 anthem “Minus/Orange 1” for a raw sound that few can replicate in the middle of a performance.

Kraviz understands, however, how to traverse through the years or jump forward with newer sounds like the frost-over techno sounds off her label Trip or test pieces from Plastic Machine’s 2025 track “Elle S’Imagine.” Ultimately, Kraviz brought a blend of pirouetting bassline and high hats into a proper end-of-the-night 90-minute rave. In an hour and a half, she took the crowd through three decades of music. By Grant Albert.

Sean Paul 

There are legends — and then there’s Sean Paul, the Jamaican dancehall icon who turned III Points into one giant party. The second he hit the stage with “Get Busy,” the entire crowd erupted. Everywhere you looked, people were moving — girls with their friends, couples vibing together, strangers linking up to dance.

Sean rolled through his endless arsenal of hits like it was a live greatest-hits album: “Temperature,” “No Lie,” “Cheap Thrills,” “Gimme the Light” — every track landed perfectly. Backed by dancers, DJs, and bursts of Jamaican flags waving through the crowd, the set radiated pure island energy. His stage presence was effortless, a mix of veteran polish and infectious joy.

A standout moment came when he brought out Isabella Ladera for their remix of “Baddadan,” turning the stage into a full-on dance showdown. It wasn’t just a nostalgia trip — it was a reminder that Sean Paul’s reign as one of the greatest party-starters in music is still very much alive. By Osvaldo Espino.

Thundercat

While the production team set up, the team played the late R&B polymath, D’Angelo, who passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this week, hit “Brown Sugar” during intermission. It’s hard to think that an artist as funk and fusion-driven as Thundercat could have made a name for himself but for D’Angelo’s influence. Indeed, ThunderCat’s last words to the crowd were “Rest in peace, D’Angelo!” And what the crowd got before the homage ended was a tried-and-true funky, psychedelic, jazz fusion from the bassist, along with his keyboardist and drummer.

The Suicide-Tendencies-member-turned-fusion-bass-player went hit to hit with the crowd. He carried his six-string, semi‑hollow, glistening bass guitar that was almost the size of his torso and riffed on it like Eddie Van Halen taking a solo. He played his 2020 song “Dragonball Durag” for some love and tenderness, and the destructive scaling bassline from “Them Changes” as the crowd swayed and danced.

Each song usually ended with an improvised take of three people jamming on stage and Thundercat’s fingers climbing up and down the wide neck of the guitar. Somewhere in the middle, he told the audience that “it feels so fucking good to be here.” It’s unclear if he meant the city, the festival, or here on Earth — it doesn’t matter, though, because it felt pretty good to be with him. By Grant Albert.

Villano Antillano

It took one song and about four minutes for Puerto Rican rapper Villano Antillano to strip down to a tiny top and thong bikini during her Friday-night III Points set. “My titties are new, so if they pop out to say ‘hi’ at any moment, just say ‘hi’ back.” Initially, she’d stepped onto the Sector 3 stage wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and cartoonishly large handcuffs, a look she said was a statement about feeling like a “prisoner of misunderstanding, discrimination, and of fear, at times.”

Her 45-minute performance celebrated liberation in all its forms: sexual, musical (she maneuvered through genres from trap to reggaeton to house), and political. “I’m not gonna say this in English, ‘cause it doesn’t hit as hard: Soy una rapera transexual puertoriqueña,” she told the cheering crowd in between tracks like “Clonazepamela,” “FruityBoy,” and Tokischa collab “Ride or Die Part 2.”

It had been a while since she’d performed in Miami, she admitted, suggesting the political conditions on the mainland have kept her away. But like any true hustler, she made the most of her time here: Before she left the stage, she plugged her OnlyFans with a massive QR code on the LED screen behind her. By Celia Almeida.

Zack Fox 

Zack Fox may be best known for his comedy and acting, but his III Points set proved he’s a true performer through and through. Mixing R&B, house, Miami bass, and freestyle, Fox transformed his stage into a sweaty, euphoric dance party that felt both nostalgic and new.

With his signature humor and unfiltered charisma, Fox hyped the crowd, danced behind the decks, and dropped cuts that had everyone moving like it was a house night straight out of the ’90s. The energy was infectious, the transitions were slick, and the whole thing felt like a love letter to Miami nightlife.

Despite starting a bit late due to stage changes, he made every minute count. If anything, the only complaint was that his set was too short. Between the humor, the beats, and the undeniable vibe, Zack Fox proved he’s more than a funny guy, he’s a full-blown entertainer with a DJ bag deep enough to keep the party going all night. By Osvaldo Espino.