Darren “DJ Spin” Rudnick produced “Scarred,” “It’s Your Birthday,” and “Raise the Roof.” And he was just 12 years old when he first saw 2 Live Crew in concert at the Miami Baseball Stadium. He’d known the group’s music since age 11, when a buddy from school showed him the…
Get down to Grassroots. In 1990, Donna the Buffalo — a cajun, rock, folk, reggae, and country fusion crew — invited friends, fellow bands, and followers to Ithaca, New York, for the inaugural Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival. And over the last quarter century, the movement’s given birth to two sister…
Ballin’ with Hova and Becks… For the past year, former fútbol star and underwear model David Beckham has been working to bring Major League Soccer to Miami. It’s been an absolute soap opera, with starts, stops, schmoozing, recriminations, failed stadium site proposals at Port of Miami and Museum Park, worries…
There is a special place in the memory bank for that first person who turned you on to something cool, whether they slipped you a flyer or made a mixtape. For D.C.-based band Ex Hex, featuring indie veteran Mary Timony (Wild Flag, Helium, Autoclave), bassist Betsy Wright (Fire Tapes), and…
UPDATE Erykah Badu and Run-D.M.C. just joined Jazz in the Gardens 2015. Jazzin’, slow jammin’, bumpin’ ‘n’ grindin’… In just a few months, Miami’s most mature ‘n’ sexy music fest, Jazz in the Gardens, will return to Sun Life Stadium for yet another sweaty, screaming two-night stand. As always, there’s…
It’s been a decade and a half. But Fleetwood Mac is whole again. For 15 years, the legendary rock outfit had been touring without singer and keyboardist Christine McVie. She, along with Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, ex-husband John McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham, were the classic Fleetwood Mac crew that crafted…
The Phish-inspired art created by the band’s devoted fans is an essential part of the community, and the overall Phish experience. Before every show, hundreds of original works are sold and traded in the bustling parking lot, and sometimes at mini Phan Art conventions. Over the weekend during Phish’s New…
The Holidays are over. The New Year has begun. And it’s Monday. Sure, you might be feeling pretty bummed out now. But there is a remedy for those post-Holiday blues — music. But not just any regular tuneage. We’re talking about SoFla’s five best concerts. Check ’em out, from the…
Bon Iver, Jamie Foxx, Chief Keef, Hudson Mohawk, and now, Paul McCartney. That’s just a partial list of Kanye West collaborators. Ever since the Chi-Town don rapped “call him Kwah-li or Kwey-li, I put him on songs with Jay Z,” fans have known to expect left-field musical partnerships, and that’s…
Holy Ship! 2015 sails tomorrow. The January embarkation of the dance music cruise is just around the corner. (And it will uhntz-uhntz out to sea in February too.) But tonight, it’s all about that pre-party madness. The official bash pops off at Space with back-to-back headlining sets from Justin Martin,…
While most of us spent New Year’s Day recovering from all that Dom and our other drunken NYE shenanigans, Usher enjoyed the first day of 2015 by going Instagram crazy at PAMM. Just a few hours after hosting his New Year’s Eve countdown bash with DJ Irie, Bow Wow, and…
Update: An arrest has been made: Cameo bouncer Cody Quaife, AKA Q. It was just hours into the new year. At about 5 a.m. on Thursday, January 1, a 22-year-old man named Mohamed Youness Adlan was found brutally beaten and unconscious on the sidewalk beside South Beach’s Cameo nightclub, according…
Five… four… three… two… one. Hooray for 2015! While you may still be recovering from that NYE hangover and cash blowout, it’s the first Friday of the year. That means no matter how drunk or broke you may be, staying home and binge watching old movies on Netflix is not…
There was funny energy in the room before Phish took the stage to kick off its New Year’s Run 2015 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. It’s unusual that the first of a four-night Phish gig is also the big NYE celebration. Usually, that occasion is the climactic finale…
Opulence is the exact word to describe the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The 60-year-old institution is one of the most historically and architecturally significant hotels in Miami. Home to the ever-lavish megaclub LIV, this decadent playground capped off its 2014 with a performance from R&B visionary The Weeknd and a closing…
J. Cole brought in the new year at the Delano Hotel on South Beach, but didn’t really offer anything new, despite coming out with a brand-new album just three weeks ago. The North Carolina-bred rapper took the mic at exactly midnight, wishing a happy 2015 to the mostly young and…
Wow. Much year. Many new. Miami turned a corner in 2014. The Heat may have failed to three-peat, but there’s a certain positivity in the subtropical air that can’t be denied. Even as some of our most treasured music and nightlife establishments disappear into the abyss of time, there are…
Miami’s DJ EFN, Garcia, and the Crazy Hood Film Academy are blazing a trail of hip-hop statesmanship across the world. Their first film, Coming Home: Cuba, won awards at several film festivals and locked in a TV deal with Diddy’s broadcast network, Revolt. Now the guys are prepping a new…
Poppin’ bottles of bubbly at fancy parties that you can’t even afford, while fist-pumping alongside shwasted celebrities (or drunk divas who think they’re famous), that’s just another New Year’s Eve in Miami. But if you wanna celebrate NYE like a diehard 305er, staying home and counting down alone isn’t even…
UPDATE Ultra 2015 just revealed its Phase Two lineup and the fest’s set times. There’s a rumor going around that Porter Robinson is going to be at Ultra Music Festival 2015, along with Axwell & Ingrosso, Röyksopp, Steve Angello, Loco Dice, Avicii, Die Antwoord, and dozens of others. A flyer…
Two crisp $100 bills. That’s the cost of celebrating 2015 with six DJ sets, “dancin’ till dawn, complimentary champagne and cocktails, booty bass bowling, and roller disco.” But you’ve got friends like Discobox, Crew Love, Basement Miami, and Crossfade. So tomorrow night, when Soul Clap, Pillow Talk, No Regular Play,…
Electronic music is the sound of the future, so it makes sense that one of WVUM’s longest-running weekly radio programs is Electric Kingdom Live. “Most specialty shows are focused on a specific genre, but Electric Kingdom is focused on a format,” says Kunal Chohan, 20. He currently hosts the 20-year…
