Miami's Ten Most Legendary Concerts

What makes a concert legendary?  It doesn't have to necessarily be good. Some of the concerts on here are trainwrecks. But it has to be unique and memorable. So much so that years and decades later, not only are attendees bragging that they were there, but so are people who didn't get in.  And with that in mind, we present to you in chronological order the ten most legendary concerts to ever take place in Miami.

Sam Cooke at Harlem Square Club, January 12, 1963

Considered one of the greatest live albums ever when it was finally released in 1985, Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963, showed the soul legend at his peak as he wowed the Overtown club with grittier versions of hits like "Chain Gang" and "Twisting the Night Away". However, the play and movie One Night in Miami, which fictionalized a meeting between Sam Cooke with Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Jim Brown in Overtown, took place a year after this spectacular show.

The Beatles at The Deauville Hotel, February 16, 1964

One of the great tragedies about the implosion of Miami Beach's Deauville Hotel was that it was the one place the Beatles played in Miami. On a February day in 1964, 300 lucky fans got to scream to their heart's content as John, Paul, George, and Ringo filmed their second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show at the Art Deco Hotel. 73 million people tuned in at home to watch them perform "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," but a few lucky people got to hear their harmonies in person.

The Grateful Dead at Greynolds Park, April 14, 1968

Coinciding with a three-night stand at Thee Image Club in Sunny Isles, the jam band crossed the bridge to North Miami for an Easter Sunday Love In, which made national news as a sign of the hippie times. The Miami Herald reported three thousand people in attendance for the free show that had local band Brimstone stretching out a cover of the Beatles' "Hey Jude" for over an hour. Brimstone member Terry Weiss reminisced about the groovy scene, "Everyone came on stage, throwing flowers. Even a goat [belonging to Coconut Grove character Starman] was up there singing na-na-na-na." 

The Doors at Dinner Key Auditorium, March 1, 1969

If we were going to make a list of the ten most legendary concerts in world history, this one might make the list. This is the show where lead singer Jim Morrison either flashed his penis to the Coconut Grove audience or was framed for it. Either way, the show was closed down after only nine drunken songs. The show was oversold at over 10,000 tickets for people desperate to see the Doors' only South Florida appearance with Jim Morrison, in a space meant for 6,000. Morrison was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior. Morrison was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison and a $500 fine, but died before he could serve the time.

Queen at Miami Marine Stadium, March 17, 1975

Every city has an arena, stadium, or dive bar, but for 25 years, Miami was unique in that it had a concert venue where the stage was floating on the water. Though attempts have been made to renovate it, it's a travesty to have it sit unused for over three decades, its shell serving only as a graffiti canvas. A lot of historic artists played the Marine Stadium, from Aretha Franklin to Kenny Rogers, but Queen in 1975 stands out among the set lists. The show was delayed by two days due to rain, and no concert footage exists, but it's interesting to imagine Freddie Mercury clad in green for St. Patrick's Day as he belts out "Killer Queen."

Pearl Jam at Bayfront Park, March 28, 1994

As recently reminisced in New Times, this concert felt like the end of an era for grunge and alternative music. Previous shows at Bayfront had a bunch of freeloading teenagers hop the fence to see Nirvana or Cypress Hill. But for this sold-out Pearl Jam show, the ne'er-do-wells pulled down the fence. Police in riot gear were called in. They and the trespassers were serenaded with a full two-hour, twenty-song set by the Seattle quintet. 

Ultra Music Festival at Collins Park, March 13, 1999

It's hard to imagine with the behemoth Ultra Music Festival quickly grew into, but it started off as a side gig from the Winter Music Conference as Ultra Beach Music Festival. Held on the sands of South Beach, the one-day and night relatively low-key event featured headliners Rabbit in the Moon, Hybrid, LTJ Bukem, Josh Wink, and Armand van Helden. Later editions had much more famous DJs and musical acts, but this was ground zero for the huge enterprise it became.

Prince at Hard Rock Stadium, February 4, 2007

Prince played plenty of Miami concerts over the years, including intimate ones at his South Beach club, Glam Slam, but this is his most famous gig. At halftime of a Super Bowl that took place in a downpour, the Purple One ripped through a medley. On a stage shaped like the hieroglyphic he made his own, he went all out with renditions of "Let's Go Crazy," "Purple Rain," and "Baby, I'm a Star". He completely overshadowed Peyton Manning, the Chicago Bears, and the entire NFL media-industrial complex. Or as one YouTube commenter opined, "That time the Super Bowl opened for a Prince concert".

Arcade Fire at Mekka, October 23, 2013 and at Little Haiti Cultural Center, October 24, 2013

There might have been a time when Arcade Fire were the most beloved band in the world. After three perfect albums, they released their fourth album, Reflektor, with a couple of secret warm-up shows in Miami, where they dubbed themselves the Reflektors. Despite hiding in plain sight, both shows sold out all 2,000 tickets in under five minutes. Both nights featured identical 13 song sets highlighting a retrospective of their, at that point, decade-long career.

Taylor Swift at Hard Rock Stadium, October 18-20, 2024

We already covered Beatlemania, but I don't think, even accounting for inflation, the Beatles of 1964 would have been able to sell nosebleed tickets for four figures, as Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" was going for in the resale market. Swifties flew in from all around the world to catch Swift's first South Florida shows in six years. The three nights each lasted over three hours and included over 40 songs.