Live music for a day at the beach: Welcome to the Bandshell BeachClub

Founded in 1973, the Peruvian group Los Mirlos pioneered the sound of psychedelic Amazonian cumbia. Los Mirlos performs as part of  the two-day Bandshell BeachClub on Saturday, April 25, at Miami Beach Bandshell. (Photo by Osmany Torres, courtesy of The Rhythm Foundation)

The beach and live music are a natural combination – especially if it’s Miami Beach and a soundtrack that tickles and soothes with grooves from around the world. Welcome to the Bandshell BeachClub, a two-day festival presented by the Rhythm Foundation and Brazilian producer Henrique Fares Leite, at the Miami Beach Bandshell.

The Bandshell BeachClub is from 3 to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26.

“We have a lot of new energy at the Rhythm Foundation, new people, and a lot of new things going on, and we’ve been wanting to launch a signature festival that builds on our history of programming international music, and takes advantage of the things that make the Bandshell so special,” said Laura Quinlan, program director at the Miami Beach-based Rhythm Foundation, which has been managing the Bandshell since 2015.

The duo Rio Kostas, multi-instrumentalists Mike Del Rio and Kosta Galanopoulos, draw from Latin music, soul, funk, psychedelic rock, and folk. They will appear at the Bandshell BeachClub on Sunday, April 26. (Photo by Aristotle Galanopoulos courtesy of the artists)

Quinlan says the TransAtlantic Festival, from 2003 to 2018, was a game changer for the organization.

“It was transformational . . . because it really helped define our audience and our curatorial voice in many ways. So, for us, the Bandshell BeachClub is, in some ways, TransAtlantic 2.0.  We have a long history of presenting great international music and putting together programs with creative juxtapositions, and a festival is a great platform to do those things.”

For Fares Leite, who for more than 15 years worked in the digital world at places such as ByteDance/TikTok, Deezer Music and Microsoft before refocusing to produce festivals in Brazil, the idea of a Bandshell BeachClub festival started from a personal want.

Black Pumas’s founder Adrian Quesada brings his blend of funk, soul, psychedelia, and Latin grooves to the Bandshell BeachClub joining Boogarins on Saturday and performing a DJ set on Sunday. (Photo by Jackie Lee Young, courtesy of the artist)

“A lot of times I’d be in Miami and want to do some cultural musical discovery, but at the same time, the day is beautiful and you want to go to the beach,” he says. Connecting an important cultural space like the Bandshell to the beach culture made sense,” Fares Leite says.

“I’ve heard a lot of great music at the Bandshell. So, this was also a way to highlight the unique position of the Bandshell in Miami Beach’s cultural scene by having something that can’t be reproduced anywhere else.”

What’s different from the TransAtlantic Festival, says Quinlan, is a dedicated beach lounge area that will be included with every ticket and re-entry through 7 p.m.

London-born and Miami-raised, Nikita Green, music manager of Miami Beach’s Bey_Bey, blends funk, electro, house, and ’80s/’90s dance hits. The deejay spins at the BeachClub on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of the artist)

“I believe that Miami Beach is the best urban beach in the world,” she says. “And it’s steps away from our venue. So why not create a festival that unites beach culture with great international music? So, you can go out for a little swim and come back,” adding that a partnership with the company who manages beach concessions are providing beach chairs and umbrellas plus beach games for festivalgoers.

The program features Sudan Archives (aka Brittney Parks) a Nu R&B, hip hop, and electronica singer-violinist and songwriter; Los Angeles–based duo Rio Kosta, Peruvian Amazonian cumbia group Los Mirlos; Brazilian psychedelic band Boogarins; Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, and English musician and composer Leifur James, who will be making his debut in the United States.

Fittingly for a music festival in Miami Beach, which has long been home to an influential electronic music scene, the event has a strong presence of deejays, including London-born, Miami-raised Nikita Green, Dude Skywalker, DJ Sombra, and DJ Danny Buckwell.

Self-taught violinist, singer, songwriter, and producer Sudan Archives, aka Brittney Parks, brings strains of R&B, hip hop, electronica and the fiddling style of West Africa to Bandshell BeachClub on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of the artist)

Fares Leite calls it “a discovery festival and not a traditional music festival.”

While the accent is in electronica, “one that leans more into a chill beach vibe and less into the club scene,” he notes, the overall program suggests a global vision that stays true to the Rhythm Foundation’s history as it reflects the diversity of South Florida.

“The idea is that we can really tap into different communities in Miami,” Fares Leite says. “We wanted (the program) to be very expansive, with modern electronic music and electronic acts, but also open to composers across different musical genres. That can make your perfect soundtrack for a day at the beach.”

WHAT: Bandshell BeachClub

WHERE: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach

WHEN: 3 p.m., Saturday April 25, and Sunday, April 26. Saturday program features Sudan Archives, Los Mirlos, Baile Funk Cumbia, DJ Dude Skywalker, The Smoogies, and DJ Danny Buckwell; Sunday program features Rio Kosta, Boogarins with Adrian Quesada, Leifur James, Adrian Quesada DJ set, DJ Nikita Green, and DJ Sombra.

COST: $139.86, two-day general admission (all ages). $91.40, one-day tickets, includes fees. Tickets, click here. 

INFORMATION: miamibeachbandshell.com/beachclub/

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