There’s something exciting about witnessing the birth of a band. Perhaps you’re seeing the beginning of something great — something you’ll tell your grandchildren years from now, when you’re old and gray and trying to figure out how to work that damn iPod97. The Hours Strange is a new duo…
Bosco’s introduction to music began pretty conventionally. Raised in Savannah, Georgia, the Fool’s Gold prodigy started off singing and acting in church choirs and plays. From there she joined middle- and high-school choruses, eventually competed in local talent shows, and then attended the Savannah College of Art and Design while…
The strings off his acoustic guitar strum softly as the camera pans to show a room full of comfortable couples and soon-to-be smiling lovers. Jamie Lawson makes his way to the stool in the center of the room and begins singing, “It was only a smile/But my heart it went…
Bethany Cosentino was rifling through the basement of her parents’ house a couple of weeks ago and came across her high-school journal. She hesitantly cracked it open and began reading. “I had to stop,” she laughs. Audibly cringing over the phone, she reveals the culprit: boyfriend drama. “It was something…
Ed Sheeran. With Christina Perri and Jamie Lawson. Wednesday, September 9, 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-777-1000; aaarena.com. Tickets cost $56.50 to $66.50 plus fees via ticketmaster.com. The last time British ginger Ed Sheeran hit the stage at the American Airlines Arena, he was getting the crowd pumped and ready for Taylor Swift’s…
Ball & Chain’s 80th Anniversary. With Nick Tannura Trio, Electric Piquete, the Baboons, the Politix, Spam Allstars, Suénalo, Conjunto Progreso, Barrioactivo, Vlade Divak, Brendan O’Hara & the Rescue, and others. Friday to Sunday, September 4 to 6. Ball & Chain, 1513 SW 8th St., Miami; 305-643-7820; ballandchainmiami.com. Admission is free. Ages 21 and up…
Your dog, no matter how much you love it, is going to die — maybe peacefully in its sleep, or perhaps twitching in agony on hot pavement beside a gurgling Ford F-150. Cookies go stale and parents get divorced. The person in front of you in line — the rude…
Rec · on · dite (adj) (Of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse. That definition applies well to the Bavarian producer, performer, and “sound artist” who took the name. His compositions, though danceable, are dark and abstract. They’d provide the perfect soundtrack if you explored the deepest seas. But…
Live bands are a rare breed in the world of nightclubs — kind of like turtleneck sweaters or the words “I’m sorry I just stepped on your foot.” WhoMadeWho vocalist and guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg noticed this fact and saw an opening. “There was a serious need for live music in…
It’s officially September, and that means there’s only seven months until the next Ultra Music Festival. While it’s obviously excruciating to wait for another three days of unbridled EDM insanity, the UMF camp keeps sprinkling little rave treats out to the PLUR nation. Kandi kids everywhere, set a reminder for…
Miami is a city swollen with world travelers and transients. It’s fitting, then, that Argentine singer, songwriter, and producer Panda Elliot would begin her U.S. tour here. Born in Buenos Aires, Elliot lived the better part of her teenage and university years abroad. “I’ve been around the world a bit,”…
For all intents and purposes, the Orb created ambient house. The group’s atmospheric tracks were a welcome addition to the relentless intensity of the ’80s electronic scene. Though manifested in its own right, the movement met a market demand for “come-down” music among ravers who had sweated out the various…
Earl Sweatshirt. Not Ready 2 Leave Tour with NxWorries and Remy Banks. Wednesday, September 2, 7 p.m. Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-377-2277; grandcentralmiami.com. Tickets cost $30 to $60 plus fees via ticketweb.com. All ages. There’s a new breed of conscious rap out there, and Los Angeles rapper Earl Sweatshirt is the…
Though best known as Efdemin by the techno heads, the label of “DJ/producer” doesn’t quite do justice to Phillip Sollmann’s career as a sound artist and sonic explorer. Perhaps audio auteur would be a more apt title. Schooled in the avant-garde traditions of musique concrète and electroacoustic sound design, Sollmann…
After decades of sociopolitical rhetoric, conscious rappers like Chuck D and Talib Kweli still spit about the injustices crippling our country. From police brutality to capitalism and miseducation, these old-school dudes hold no punches and confront the system head on. But there’s a new breed of rapper repackaging conscious hip-hop…
Summer has always been our winter. These are the months we Floridians dread going outside for fear of being reduced to a sunburnt ball of sweat. Tourists flock back to their native lands. Restaurants experience their slowest months of the year. And, sadly, the music scene suffers too. But luckily…
Despite what wandering tourists will tell their friends back home, downtown Miami and South Beach are not the same place. As locals, we understand that, and so does Amtrac. He’s not technically a local, but as far as Miami’s nightlife is concerned, he might as well be. He spends most…
Machine Gun Kelly. Road Trippin’ Tour. Presented by Dope Entertainment. Thursday, August 27, 8 p.m. Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-377-2277; grandcentralmiami.com. Tickets cost $30 plus fees via ticketweb.com. All ages. Ohio’s own Machine Gun Kelly is living the dream. Signed by Diddy in 2011, the rapper eventually landed on the cover of XXL magazine…
Last year, iHeartRadio — the annual Latin music-focused mini-festival from the internet radio platform owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly known as Clear Channel Media and Entertainment) — held its first-ever Fiesta Latina in Los Angeles, starring Ricky Martin, Pitbull, J. Balvin, and many more. Back in May, iHeartRadio announced that they’d…
As a teenager in the late ’70s, Miami-based musician Tomas Diaz was one of many Cuban youths captivated by American rock ‘n’ roll and what it signified: freedom of expression. Diaz risked his life with every secretive listen and street performance of Jimi Hendrix’s music, and his love of a…
What does it feel like to release an anthem — a track that becomes unanimous with a genre? Is there any hint of what’s to come in the recording studio? Does the sky blacken and the thunder clap closer until, finally, the song is done and a flock of golden…
On the day I speak to Umphrey’s McGee keyboardist Joel Cummins, he’s psyched about the privilege to throw out the first pitch at a Brewers-Cubs game (a matchup his hometown Cubbies wind up winning 6-3.) Additionally, Umphrey’s McGee is scheduled to perform both the national anthem and the seventh inning…
