The Best Free Events in Miami This Week

The biggest event happening in Miami this week is III Points, far and away. The anticipation is building, but if you splurged on those tickets, your pockets may be feeling a little light right now. Whether you're scrounging up cash for the festival or couldn't score tickets in the first place, Gramps' III Points pre-show is a great way to see local III Points performers for free. And you don't need to spend big for Valentine's Day either: Concrete Beach Brewery has beer and a free trivia night this week.

Here are the best free events happening in Miami this week:

Valentine's Day comes early at Concrete Beach Brewery's Concrete Couples. Test your love in games of couples-themed trivia while enjoying beers and bites. Single? Don't worry — you can still participate in trivia night, so stop by and compete for the win. 8 to 11 p.m. Monday at Concrete Beach Brewery, 325 NW 24th St., Miami; 305-796-2727; concretebeachbrewery.com. Admission is free.
Haute Tension has been holding down a weekly residency at Gramps for some time now. They don't always play a set — they often have local artists guest on the outdoor stage instead. This Wednesday they'll pull double duty as hosts and performers at the III Points Locals Takeover at the Wynwood bar. Watch performers Haute Tension, Butterfly Snapple, Jaialai, Poorgrrrl, Richie Hell, and Seafoam Walls before they all hit the III Points stages over the weekend. 6 p.m. Wednesday at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; facebook.com. Admission is free.

In preparation for Sunday's Gay8 Festival, one of the world's top divas will kick off the weekend in style. The Retro Dance Extravaganza is goin' down Friday at Cuba Ocho. Miami's own Athena Dion will host the evening, complete with performances by a handful of dazzling queens. DJ Bill James will provide the tunes, and a cash bar will help get those disco nerves relaxed. 10 p.m. Friday at Cuba Ocho, 1465 SW Eighth St., Suite 106, Miami; facebook.com. Admission is free.
Fans all over the world celebrate Bob Marley's birthday this month. Locos por Juana has played a Marley tribute show for the past half-decade, and they'll return as "Locos por Marley" this Saturday at Veza Sur Brewing Co. Special guests include Bernz & Wrekonize of ¡Mayday!, CoastCity, Zander, Cleaveland Jones, Telekinetic Walrus, EL B, Tomas Díaz, Omniscient, Yoli Mayor, and Pochin. 8 p.m. Saturday at Veza Sur Brewing Co., 55 NW 25th St., Miami; vezasur.com. Admission is free.

America isn't the leader it used to be. That's according to one of the West's leading intellectuals, Bernard-Henri Lévey. Sunday evening, he'll lead an intimate chat about the United States' decline in world leadership and who is waiting in the wings to potentially scoop up power. The chat comes on the heels of Lévey's latest book, The Empire and the Five Kings: America's Abdication and the Fate of the World, which was released February 12. 7 p.m. Sunday at Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables. Admission is free; register at eventbrite.com.
The largest Hispanic/Latino LGBTQ gathering is happening in our backyard. After attracting more than 60,000 attendees last year, the Gay8 Festival is back for a fourth year. Taking over Calle Ocho, the spectacle will offer tunes from Company B, Lucy Grau, and Envee; a ton of drag performances; a best Miami sandwich competition; and a doggie obstacle course for your pups. Best of all, it's totally free (unless your fancy ass wants a VIP package). 11 a.m. Sunday on SW Eighth Street from SW 17th Avenue to SW 13th Avenue, Miami. Admission is free; VIP packages are available via gay8festival.com.