In a city that seems to have little value for its history, the Olympia Theater is an anomaly. Since 1926, it’s been entertaining residents, first as a movie palace and Vaudeville stage, then as a performing arts center after 1975. But what has remained constant all those years is the…
For some, the Everglades is simply a vast mass of land one has to get through on long, tiring road trips. Sure, you may see the occasional alligator or two, but from behind a car window, our massive swamp can lose some of its magic. But in reality, it’s a…
Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic somewhere in Michigan amid a 60-date nationwide tour, Benjamin Miller (better known as Wrekonize) is feeling philosophical. The rapper is one-sixth of Miami’s underground hip-hop group ¡Mayday!, and his band is days away from the September 18 release date of its new album, Future Vintage. “It’s…
AJ Ruiz wants you to make you cry — you know, those authentic ugly, wet, gut-wrenching tears. At least that’s what he is hoping happens when you listen to his debut solo album Nimbus. “I want my album and my songs to be that song that you listen to in the…
I have been booking bands, playing in bands, and putting on events for 20 years now. I do realize what a gasbag sentence that is. But I’d like to say that up front to establish some form of credibility as I attempt to make sense of the recent trend of…
Other than a pack of middle-aged bikers, die-hard boozers, and people waiting to play some variation on punk rock, Churchill’s Pub was pretty empty early Thursday night. Granted, it was only about 9 p.m. and Little Haiti’s 36-year-old, loudest and loveliest shithole was just starting to get rowdy for a…
With every new musical venture, Harlow G. and Kristof Ryan of Jean Jacket have a mantra: Follow the Jacket. To them, this means creating music in the name and spirit of their project. Formerly known simply as The Jacket, the duo, who joined forces a little over a year ago,…
On March 24, 2010, a new venue called Grand Central made its debut during Winter Music Conference. Nite Jewel and Tanlines were the first artists to grace its stage, and after the closing of Studio A, Miami was aching for a new mid-size venue. Five years later, Grand Central proved…
What do you think about when you think about Miami music? Loud nightclubs on South Beach? Latin beats pulsing from Calle Ocho? The Churchill’s bathroom? Like the rest of Miami, it’s an overwhelming pot of diversity. But it’s easy to forget just how important Miami has been to music history…
It’s been a little over two months since Rick Ross was arrested for kidnapping, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery in Fayette County, Georgia. Ross, after posting a $2 million bail, is walking free now (with a GPS ankle monitor), awaiting his trial. Testimony hasn’t begun yet, so specific details are scarce but…
If you’ve recently tuned in to 104.3 FM, you were probably surprised to find that the voices of Dan Le Batard and Stugotz have been silenced, replaced by the sounds of Beck and Butthole Surfers. Listen a little longer and you’ll hear Cake, MGMT, and Florence + the Machine too…
Since its 1935 opening, Little Havana’s Ball & Chain has gone through a slew of owners, changing names along the way, before it finally closed and was vacated in the late 1950s. But prior to reaching its premature demise, the venue was the bustling epicenter of a city full of…
Despite what insiders and locals know of Miami’s thriving and eclectic rock ‘n’ roll scene, the area is not exactly a known hub for guitar culture. However, things might be changing on that front thanks to a former Dade County police officer who decided to follow his dreams. Rick Sell’s…
If you’re tired of seeing the same old faces in the Miami rap scene, Yung Simmie might be exactly what you need. The Miami native has been making a name for himself both in South Florida and around the country for a few years now, rapping about weed, life in…
Minimal has been orbiting the heart for the Latin indie rock scene for quite a while. Not just in Miami, but on a national level. And this much respected four-piece has recently released its fourth, and perhaps greatest album, Fauna, produced by Multiple Grammy Award winner Rafael Lazzaro, and recorded in…
It was a hot Sunday afternoon, and passersby may have wondered at the commotion. The intersection of Biscayne and NE 33 Street was taken over by a parked cop car and a pop-up film set. At five ’o clock, the scene was still. The crew, already tired from a long…
In the early morning of January 1, 2015, Mohamed Youness Adlan, a 22-year-old Moroccan student from Rhode Island, was found unconscious and beaten outside Miami Beach’s Cameo nightclub. The beating left Adlan, who was visiting Miami on vacation, in a coma for three months. While police at first had no…
While our local public radio station WLRN (91.3 FM) is now mostly talk, it still provides listeners one daily dose of music. Every weeknight, from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., Tracy Fields helps Miami unwind from the long day with Evenin’ Jazz. The show started 13 years ago but Fields took…
Concert promoter John McHale has taken on the role of label owner with the advent of Eighty-Sixed Records.
It’s been a few years in the making but it finally arrived: Gunplay’s solo debut, Living Legend. The Carol City rapper and childhood friend of Rick Ross first rhymed to the world on Ross’ 2009 album Deeper Than Rap. His first breakout single, “Bible On The Dash,” had fans itching…
In a small one-bedroom Brickell apartment, Elizabeth Ann Clark, dressed in all white, sits in front of her studio equipment — a Virus synthesizer, a voice box, a MIDI controller, and a couple of microphones that feed into her Mac Pro. “Let me play you the track I worked with…
Sixteen years ago, Michelle Leshem flew direct to Miami from Toronto, and she’s never looked back. “I’m a snowbird who turned into a flamingo,” she jokes. In her day job as the leading lady at SuperMarket Creative — the agency behind many of Miami’s wildest nightlife adventures — she helps…
