Miami is one of the top party cities in the nation, but during Miami Music Week, the party is on steroids. And Red Bull. And some other lab-crafted substances your mother has never heard of.
Along with offering sets from the world's best and most sought-after DJs, Miami Music Week presents a seemingly endless onslaught of immersive party experiences, often lasting up to 24 hours. During MMW, you can wake up, head straight to the club, spend all day and night dancing, and leave the next morning before the hangover hits. So if you're the kind of person who's already done that at Space for years, MMW is your chance to feel normal next to festies who'll join you just this once.
A 15-hour party is the height of excess during a regular week, but stacked against the many daylong events at MMW, that's taking it easy.
Maybe it's your first year, or perhaps you're a veteran. In either case, start chugging the energy drinks now (responsibly, of course).
Here's a rundown of some of the best after-hours events that will have you calling in sick the next morning or at least stumbling into work with glow-in-the-dark confetti in your sweaty hair.
This year's Undr the Radr showcase will be presented and headlined by a veteran. Not only has Roger Sanchez — also known by his alter ego, the S-Man — spent more than two decades soundtracking the world's best parties, but he's also a bona fide Miami Music Week alum.
Undr the Radr will take over Heart's main room with sets by French house-and-hip-hop outfit Amine Edge & Dance, along with Carnao Beats, Darius Syrossian, Flash Mob, Lupe Fuentes, and Sydney Blu.
If you need some time to breathe after dancing for too many hours straight or just want to see the sun joining the festivities in the morning, you can leave Heart's main room and head to the patio, where the Incorrect Showcase will offer sets by Steve Lawler, Technasia, Anthony Attalla, and others.
Even when you leave the party, you're still at the party.
Undr the Radr. 11 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, at Heart, 50 NE 11th St., Miami; 305-912-3099; heartnightclub.com. Tickets cost $20 to $750.
Even if you're being safe and are high only on life at the Masquerade Miami, you might think you're hallucinating when Claptone hits the stage late Wednesday night.
Is it lack of sleep, or is there really a human-bird hybrid behind the decks? It's not a hallucination. When Claptone brings his globe-trotting Masquerade to Miami, he'll bring his mysterious golden bird-beak mask with him.
Joining the fantastical creature will be Darius Syrossian, Kevin Saunderson, Jonas Rathsman, Mat.Joe, Nhan Solo, and Rodriguez Jr.
This is one of the more affordable MMW parties, so take advantage of catching these DJs at the Masquerade, because they'll play other, often pricier gigs later in the week.
The Masquerade Miami. 11 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, at Club Space, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; 305-375-0001; clubspace.com. Tickets cost $15 to $35 via residentadvisor.net.
Even if you're a local, it's not a true Miami Music Week experience if you haven't ventured to the sandy, drunken concrete jungle that is South Beach. Dirtybird Players' B2B Throwdown, headlined by Claude VonStroke, is worth the Uber special-event surge pricing.
VonStroke will be joined by fellow headliners Justin Martin, Eats Everything, and Shiba San, along with an extended lineup featuring 15 other DJs, including Ardalan, Billy Kenny, and Christian Martin.
With two rooms of music and an affordable admission, you've got a little more cash flow for drinks and all the Red Bull-refueling you'll need.
Dirtybird Players B2B Throwdown. 10 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Trade, 1439 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-531-6666; trademia.com. Tickets cost $10 to $60 via residentadvisor.net.
Unless you're traveling into town for MMW, you already live in paradise. You're used to the beaches and the burning orange glow of those epic Miami sunsets. For some, these are worthy tradeoffs for rush-hour traffic and ever-rising rent prices, but if you're jaded about living in eternal summer paradise while the rest of the country battles blizzards and wind chills, Paradise in Space has you covered.
Jamie Jones curates and headlines this extraterrestrial getdown, featuring appearances by Green Velvet, Danny Tenaglia, Art Department, Joris Voorn, Lee Foss, Stacey Pullen, and others. It's a lineup full enough to keep the party raging till 6 a.m. the next day. The sun comes up later now — you won't even notice you've been dancing for hours until some rays peek through to the Terrace.
Paradise in Space. 11 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Club Space, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; 305-375-0001; clubspace.com. Tickets cost $35 to $60 via miamimusicweek.com.
Get Lost is the MMW afterparty to end all afterparties. DJ and label head Damian Lazarus curates this 24-hour monster of a party, and if last year's Day Zero Mexico fete was any indication, this year's party is sure to bring extravagance paired with pounding, nonstop beats.
This year's lineup boasts 40 artists, including Bedouin, Soul Clap, and Lazarus himself.
Lazarus and Crosstown Rebels have yet to announce a venue, but there's something to be said for the fact that even without this crucial bit of information, Get Lost is one of the most anticipated parties of MMW 2017. It seems fans will follow this fete wherever it goes.
Crosstown Rebels Present Get Lost Miami. 12th Session. 5 a.m. Saturday, March 25. Venue TBA. Tickets cost $55 via residentadvisor.net.
If you look up the word "hyte" in the dictionary, you'll get words like "insane" and "mad" or even "stark, raving mad."
And given Hyte's penchant for producing massive ragers around the world in EDM destination cities such as Amsterdam, Ibiza, and Berlin, Mana Wynwood is on the eve of hosting one of its most insane events ever. Luckily, the venue has had some practice as host of III Points over the past few years.
Hyte's Miami debut sets the bar high through appearances by DJs such as Black Coffee, who has been in the game for more than a decade, and new blood like the still-rising Caleb Calloway.
Hyte Miami. 10 p.m. Friday, March 24, at Mana Wynwood, 318 NW 23rd St., Miami; 305-573-0371; manawynwood.com. Tickets cost $30 to $100.
For people postponing MMW fun for work, Friday can't come soon enough, and after warming up at happy-hour parties around the city Friday evening, PLAYdifferently's after-hours shindig at Space will be the place to celebrate the first night of MMW debauchery without the worry of workweek obligations.
PLAYdifferently's mission statement is in its name: It will transform Space into a club kid's music playground via sets by Nicole Moudaber — one of the most renowned women in the electronic music game today — along with house pioneer and Grammy winner Louie Vega, Gaiser, and Richie Hawtin in his only MMW set.
PLAYdifferently Presents. 11 p.m. Friday, March 24, at Club Space, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; 305-375-0001; clubspace.com. Tickets cost $35 to $85.
[image-10]MMW is known for its wild closing parties. If there's a year to wait until the next DJ set, the final kiss-off really needs to count. That's why Space has enlisted the Martinez Brothers to close out a week of sets and performances by the world's best DJs of any and all electronic music subgenres.
The brothers are young, but they're leaders and tastemakers in the electronic world, and as such, they bring with them a crew of peers and protégés to grace the stage at Space's closing 24-hour blowout. Some acts, such as Andhim, Bedouin, and Carl Craig, have already been announced, but there's still time for surprises and unnamed special guests before the sun rises again.
The Martinez Brothers and Special Guests. 11 p.m. Sunday, March 26, at Space, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; 305-375-0001; clubspace.com. Tickets cost $20 to $75.