Are We There Yet?

The Culture Edit, September 2nd - 15th

Author

Susan Bannon
September 01, 2024

“Hijo por Hijo”, showing at the Miami Short Film Festival.

School is back in session and the avocados are falling, but we still have another month to wait before Miami’s official cultural season begins. That doesn’t mean there's nothing going on, though! In fact, a ton of new art exhibits are opening over the next two weeks, all with receptions to lure us in with free wine (twist my arm!).

There’s also a surprise performance by one of our most exciting dance companies, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, and two pre-season “pay what you wish” concerts at New World. These events are technically fundraisers, and creative ways to fill budget holes made by Governor Desantis’ surprise veto of arts spending for this year. When life gives you lemons…

In drinking and dining news, my near-the-Arsht Center recommendations have taken another hit with the closing of The Roystone, a very classy bar at the top a beautiful 1912 courthouse building downtown. (I discovered this when I went there last night. So if I’ve sent any of you to The Roystone this summer, I apologize!) Fortunately, Miami’s bar scene has provided us with a lovely replacement in the form of Margot Natural Wine Bar, which also has some really tasty small plates if you’re looking for a pre- or post-show snack.

Let’s get planning...

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Thursday, September 5th

Purple Rain 4K Restoration & Karaoke Party

Coral Gables Art Cinema celebrates 40 years of Purple Rain with a crisp new 4K Restoration and a pre-show karaoke party! If you didn’t live through 1984, it’s hard to explain how completely this movie, and the multi-platinum album that accompanied it, took over the pop culture space. The plot is beyond basic, and the acting is mostly by musicians, but Prince’s transcendent talent carried the day. Don’t miss your opportunity to belt out When Doves Cry at the pre-show karaoke party (you may need a drink before attempting Darling Nikki).

8:30pm Karaoke, 9pm Screening, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $12

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Friday, September 6th

An Evening with Matt Haig

Books & Books presents An Evening with Matt Haig, New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library, which has sold more than nine millions copies worldwide. Haig will be discussing his next novel, The Life Impossible, about a retired math teacher who discovers that an old friend has died and left her a run-down house on Ibiza, leading her on a quest to find out more about her friend’s past and her own.

7pm, Coral Gables Congregational Church, $30 (includes a signed copy of The Life Impossible)

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Nearby Eats: Frenchie’s Diner, Vinya Table, Matsuri | Drinks: head down Bird Road to Unseen Creatures or Shōjō’s Dojo

Saturday, September 7th

Dancer’s Hour with Dimensions Dance Theatre

Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami presents Dancer’s Hour, an intimate gathering and performance in its Palmetto Bay studios to raise money for its 24/25 season and New Works fund. Produced entirely by the dancers themselves, the evening features rarely seen work by resident choreographer Yanis Pikieris, new work by company dancers created specifically for this performance, and an encore excerpt from Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye’s Resilience. (I saw Resilience this summer and it’s spectacular.) Arrive early to have a complimentary glass of champagne and light snacks while the dancers finish their warm-up, and stay after for a mixer with the dancers and choreographers.

6pm Doors Open, 7:30pm Performance, Miami Youth Ballet Studios, $50

Neighborhood: Palmetto Bay

Nearby Eats: Platea, Anacapri, Golden Rule Seafood | Drinks: head north to Fox’s Lounge for martinis or Mamey on 3rd for rooftop cocktails.

Also on September 7th: lots of art happenings!

  • Pan American Art Projects celebrates the opening of three new exhibits in their Design District space, with a reception from 6-9pm.

  • Locust Projects presents a multimedia installation in the form of a TV backlot, with a reception and musical VR experience from 6-8pm.

  • Emerson Dorsch continues their COMMUNITY performance series with a concert and art activation by artist Alberto Checa, 7-9pm.

Sunday, September 8th

Miami Short Film Festival: Hispanic Filmmakers

The 23rd annual Miami Short Film Festival is coming up in November, but leading up to the big event, they’ll be showcasing selections of short films from around the world. This Sunday, MSFF and Deering Estate present a selection of six Spanish language short films from the Americas, with a pre-screening red carpet and cocktail reception. Tejano Night, about an awkward Mexican-American teenager forced to tag along with his cousin to a local bar after mangling his Spanish pronunciation in front of his relatives, looks particularly entertaining.

7pm Cocktail Reception, 7:30pm Screening, Deering Estate, $20

Neighborhood: Palmetto Bay

Happening NEXT Week:

Because maybe your friends are busy this week. Or you're busy this week. Or this week just seems too soon to pull your act together and make a plan.

Thursday, September 12th

Rhys Gaetano: Cleanliness is next to godliness

Nina Johnson celebrates the opening of Cleanliness is next to godliness, a solo exhibition of poured wax encaustic works by New York-based artist Rhys Gaetano. Gaetano has refined his own process over the years that involves laboriously casting metal dies, then melting, pigmenting and pouring the wax. Two other shows are opening the same night - Adraint Bereal: A Different Regard for Life and Residual Energies, curated by Camille Okhio. All three shows are on view until October 19th.

Opening Reception 6-8pm, Nina Johnson Gallery, Free

Neighborhood: Little River

Also on September 12th: more new art exhibit openings on 22nd Street in Allapattah… all with opening receptions from 6-8pm!

Friday, September 13th

St. Paul & the Broken Bones

St. Paul & the Broken Bones bring their signature mix of funk, soul, and R&B to the Miami Beach Bandshell for one night only. Inspired by his impending fatherhood, many of the songs on the band’s latest album, Angels in Science Fiction, are dedicated to lead singer Paul Janeway’s new daughter, Marigold. You can check out some of their music here.

8pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $46+

Neighborhood: North Beach

Saturday, September 14th

Zest Collective

One of Miami’s newest dance companies, Zest Collective was founded by artistic director Gentry Isaiah George in 2013 in New York, but migrated down to our sunny climes during the pandemic. Two pieces are on the program for their fall performance: The Fountain, a world premiere commissioned by the Moss Center set to Spiritual music; and Afro Blue, a piece set to jazz and Afro-Caribbean music that came out of Miami Light Project’s Here & Now 2023 program.

7:30pm, Moss Center, $38

Neighborhood: Cutler Bay

Nearby Eats: Not much! Grab dinner at Platea or Golden Rule Seafood on your way down there and have some rooftop cocktails at Mamey on 3rd or La Terrazza on your way back.

Also on September 14th:

Sunday, September 15th

Pre-Season Concert: MTT, Beethoven, and Beyond

Demarre McGill of the Seattle Symphony and Anthony Prisk of the Philadelphia Orchestra lead the New World fellows in a special pre-season chamber concert for winds and brass. The program includes Beethoven’s Rondino for Winds and Janáček’s Capriccio for Piano Left Hand (aka Defiance), written for a WWI veteran who lost his right hand in the war. This concert is free to the public for a donation of any amount.

2pm, New World Center, “Pay What You Wish”

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Planning Ahead:

Miami's most anticipated events sell out and those new restaurants you want to try book up. For the ultimate plan-ahead guide, you have my complete Highlights of the Fall Season, or check out these two upcoming events you need to lock down now…

Monday, September 30th

Sigur Rós with The Wordless Orchestra

I’ll admit, I’d never heard of Sigur Rós. But they definitely got my attention by practically selling out Knight Concert Hall a month ahead for a Monday night. A little research turned up an Icelandic band with a catalog of trippy, contemplative music and a devoted following that describes them as “transformative” and “life-changing”, and their concerts as “maelstroms of ecstasy.” There are about twelve seats left for this particular maelstrom of ecstasy, so if you want to experience it, you need to book it right now.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, $63-$182

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Saturday, December 21st (yes, December!)

Sounds of the Season

I know it’s painful for any Miami resident to plan this far in advance, but if you’ve never experienced New World Symphony’s holiday concert, just trust me and book some seats. The New World Fellows bring their youthful energy and formidable talents to this annual holiday concert of Christmas and Hanukkah favorites, where everyone is just having a ton of fun. If you just can’t commit and miss out on seats, you can also enjoy a free WALLCAST of the concert in adjacent Soundscape Park.

7:30pm, New World Center, $45-$100 or free outdoor WALLCAST

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Casa Tua, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Barceloneta | Drinks: Brother’s Keeper, Water Lion at the Sagamore

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