Miami is a difficult place for an underage music junkie. Most venues are 21 and over. On the rare occasion that the age restriction is dropped to 18 or -- even rarer -- all ages, you know security is going to be keeping an extra set of eyes on you. But even for the legal-age set, Miami offers little respite, thanks to outrageous cover charges and drink prices.
Leave it to Bonnie Prince Billy and the Cairo Gang to break Miami free from its cycle of music venue abuse.
That's because they're bringing their "Free Florida" tour to the state, which consist of a series of performances at independent record stores from the Panhandle to the Magic City. And for those diehard South Florida fans, you will technically have two chances to see them at stores only 25 miles apart.
Bonnie Prince Billy (AKA Will Oldham) is the sometimes actor and phenomenal singer-songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. His latest effort, The Wonder Show of the World, sees him join forces with the Cairo Gang (AKA Emmett Kelly), offering his signature brand of folk, indie rock, and alternative country. But Billy's style of "country music" doesn't have much to do with the current Nashville factory churning out marginally talented acts. It's more about the intimate, folkloric imagery that was once synonymous with the genre.
The seven-day tour will wrap up in South Florida, first with a performance at Radio-Active Records in Fort Lauderdale on May 30, followed by an encore at Sweat Records in Miami on May 31. Other stops in Pensacola, Gainesville, St. Augustine, Orlando, and Tampa don't even come close in terms of proximity. And, yes, the show is 100 percent free.
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