The Best Life Festival announced this morning that R&B up-and-comer H.E.R. will headline the inaugural day-long event on September 15. H.E.R. joins a previously announced lineup of rising R&B talent including singer Ella Mai — whose song "Boo'd Up" has recently made a slow but steady climb up the pop charts — along with Florida-raised singer R.LUM.R, New Times' Best R&B Singer of 2018 Savannah Cristina, and others.
H.E.R. already counts many R&B music heavyweights as fans. Over the past year, she's toured with Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, and done a duet with Khalid. Her EPs H.E.R. Volume 1 and H.E.R. Volume 2, released in 2016 and 2017 respectively, have built a sizable buzz in advance of her latest album, I Used to Know Her: The Prelude, which was released on Friday, August 3. Her appearance at Best Life will be her first in South Florida since releasing her new album and her first performance here since the show with Brown at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre last month.
Best Life comes at a moment when R&B is undergoing a revival, with artists such as SZA, Khalid, Kali Uchis, Frank Ocean, Kehlani, Miguel, Jorja Smith, Solange, and many others putting a modern spin on the soulful sounds of classic '90s R&B. With artists like Savannah Cristina and the popular, monthly RnBae singer-songwriter showcase, Miami is staking its claim on a movement that put our major-city neighbor to the north, Atlanta, right in the center of today's musical map.
Tickets to Best Life are already on sale, and the organizers behind the festival — who also had a hand in putting together last year's Trap Circus with Cardi B — have teamed up with
Best Life Festival. 4 p.m. Saturday, September 15, at the RC Cola Plant at Mana Wynwood, 550 NW 24th St., Miami; bestlifefest.com. Tickets cost $65 to $150 via blockparty.us. Meet and Greet packages are also available for $200.
