Swinging into the New Year

The Culture Edit, January 6th-19th

Author

Susan Bannon
January 05, 2025

Something Else! and Matthew Whitaker performing in Collins Park for the 2024 South Beach Jazz Festival.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the break, because after a couple of light weeks over the holidays, our cultural calendar is back in full swing. Headlining the first week of 2025 is the South Beach Jazz Festival, celebrating our beautiful winter weather with open air concerts at the Bandshell, Collins Park, and an all-day lineup on Sunday on Lincoln Road.

Cinephiles have quite the feast this week, with the Miami Jewish Film Festival opening on Thursday for fifteen days of new and awarded film screenings (including 20 world premieres), and two short film retrospectives - a “Best of the Fest” selection from this fall’s Miami Short Film Festival at the Deering Estate, and a compilation of award-winning shorts from the Sundance Film Festival at O Cinema.

On our stages, we have the opening of Zoetic Stage’s production of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, an expletive-laden all-female farce that got rave reviews for its 2022 Broadway run, and ongoing performances of Miami New Drama’s Lincoln Road Hustle, where viewers don headphones to “eavesdrop” on short dramas unfolding in the cafés and shops of Lincoln Road.

And while it may not technically be a “cultural event,” I’m always happy to see The Miami Beach Antique Show roll into town. It opens Thursday at the convention center with a treasure trove of vintage jewelry and watches - worth a visit, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Finally, today’s newsletter marks the one year anniversary of Cultured Miami Weekly! A huge “thank you” to my readers for giving me an excuse to write about the things I love. I drank several toasts to you all on New Year’s Eve, which you surely felt - I know I did!

Let’s get planning...

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Ongoing Theater

Lincoln Road Hustle

In the depths of the pandemic, Miami New Drama triumphed with The Seven Deadly Sins, an innovative roving theater piece set in shuttered Lincoln Road storefronts. Last year, they brilliantly staged a series of short plays in The Rubell Museum for The Museum Plays. Now, MiND is bringing a similar concept to Lincoln Road Hustle, a new play co-written by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys). Staged in secret locations - shops, restaurants, public spaces - along Lincoln Road, the audience will be “eavesdropping” on the actors. The plot features a massive casino and real estate deal that could change Miami Beach forever, and all the hustlers in its orbit. How Miami is that?

Performances through February 16th, Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, $45-$95

Thursday, January 9th

POTUS at Zoetic Stage - Opening Night!

Zoetic Stage and the Arsht Center present POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a comedy about the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world. This all-female farce by Selina Fillinger, which earned three Tony award nominations for its Broadway run in 2022, features a cast of South Florida’s finest and funniest female actors.

7:30pm, Carnival Studios Theater at the Arsht Center, $56-$61

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on January 9th: 

  • The South Beach Jazz Festival kicks off with The Badass & The Beautiful, a special performance featuring Grammy-winning singer Lisa Fischer and Grammy-winning pianist Taylor Eigsti.

  • The Miami Jewish Film Festival opens with a special screening of The Soul of a Nation, a world-premiere documentary on the aftereffects of October 7th in Israel, at the Miami Beach Bandshell.

Friday, January 10th

Emmet Cohen and Friends

Day Two of the South Beach Jazz Festival brings world-renowned jazz guitarist Emmet Cohen to Miami for an open-air concert in Collins Park. Known for his infectious energy and technical brilliance, Cohen has headlined iconic venues like Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Village Vanguard, and graced the stages at major festivals, including Newport and Monterey. Joining Cohen will be an exceptional ensemble of world-class jazz musicians on drums, bass, sax, and vocals. The adjacent Bass Museum will be offering free tours of its galleries. Bring your own chair or blanket for free lawn seating or pay extra for VIP seats and a special pre-show reception.

8pm, Collins Park, Free or $75 VIP

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Also on January 10th: 

  • Mindy Solomon Gallery hosts an opening reception for Fairyland 2: Deeper, Darker, a multimedia group show on themes of fantasy and mythology, curated by artist Valerie Hegarty.

  • Andrew Reed Gallery celebrates the opening of Safety Net, an exhibition of new paintings by artist Summer Wheat.

  • O Cinema presents the Sundance Shorts Tour, a selection of seven short films from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, including documentary, animated and narrative award winners.

  • Coral Gables Art Cinema presents the Florida premiere of The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, with a pre-show reception.

Saturday, January 11th

Eddie Palmieri at the Bandshell

Headlining the 9th annual South Beach Jazz Festival is legendary salsa and Latin jazz pianist and bandleader Eddie Palmieri, performing at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Hailed as the “Madman of Latin Jazz,” Palmieri’s performances are known for their intense energy, rhythmic brilliance, and the seamless fusion of Afro-Caribbean sounds with contemporary jazz elements, creating an exhilarating live experience.

8pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $42-$83

Neighborhood: North Beach

Also on January 11th:

  • New World Symphony presents a night of tango, complete with world-renowned dancers and a free tango lesson before the show.

  • ICA Miami celebrates queer artistry with a special dance and music performance, inspired by new museum acquisitions being displayed for the first time.

Sunday, January 12th

National Chopin Piano Competition Finals

Maestro Ramón Tabar leading the Chopin Competition Symphony Orchestra.

Considered one of the top piano competitions in the world, the U.S. National Chopin Piano Competition brings some of the most talented young musicians in the country to Miami to compete. After four judged rounds throughout the week, the six final contestants play a full concerto, accompanied by the Chopin Competition Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Ramón Tabar. The winner receives $100,000, a spot in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and a recording contract on the Steinway & Sons label.

3pm, Gusman Concert Hall at University of Miami, $35

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Also on January 12th:

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.

Wednesday, January 15th

An Evening with Scott Turow

Books & Books welcomes Scott Turow, author of the global bestseller Presumed Innocent, which broke international sales records, redefined the legal thriller genre, and was the basis of a hit movie and AppleTV’s most watched show. Turow will be discussing his new novel, Presumed Guilty, a sequel of sorts that brings a retired prosecutor back to defend a suspected killer who may be his new son-in-law. WLRN’s Daniel Rivero will be in conversation with Turow.

7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, $30 (admits two, includes one copy of Presumed Guilty)

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Thursday, January 16th

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Knight Foundation presents an evening with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by one of the world’s preeminent conductors, Riccardo Muti. The CSO will tackle classics of the Romantic movement, including Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, which the composer considered to be “definitely the best work I have written so far,” and Schubert’s unfinished but majestic Eighth Symphony.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, $40-$181

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: ViceVersa, MOMENTO by Ikaro, Klaw | Drinks: The Corner, Margot

Friday, January 17th

Seraphic Fire: Tribute to the Capilla Flamenca

Seraphic Fire, our stunningly good vocal ensemble, presents a program of Renaissance works in tribute to the Capilla Flamenca, perhaps the most legendary choir ever assembled. Presented as a gift to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, this elite assemblage of singers and composers dazzled the courts and cathedrals of Spain for two centuries. Guest conductor Amanda Quist will lead the Seraphic Fire vocalists in this showcase of the golden age of choral music.

8pm, Church of the Little Flower, $45-$65

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

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

Also on January 17th:

  • The ScreenDance Miami Festival opens with Films You Gotta See BIG!, a screening of one short dance film and one feature-length dance film on the side of New World Center in Soundscape Park.

  • Books & Books welcomes historian and saxophonist Benjamin Barson to discuss Brassroots Democracy, his new book on the birth of jazz and its ties to political activism.

Saturday, January 17th

Nu Deco Ensemble with Betty Who

Genre-bending contemporary orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble welcomes queer pop icon Betty Who for a concert under the stars at the Miami Beach Bandshell. The program also includes new music by award-winning composer Gabriella Smith and Nu Deco’s recent repertoire addition, the Pharrell Suite, featuring reimaginings of Pharrell-produced hits like “Rock Your Body” and “Hot in Herre.” That should be interesting!

8pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $75-$95

Neighborhood: North Beach

Also on January 17th:

  • FIU’s Wolfsonian Museum celebrates Art Deco Weekend with a series of lectures on the 1925 Paris Exposition and its impact on Jazz Age design.

  • Anja Bihlmaier, one of the “leading conductors of her generation,” joins New World Symphony for a concert of Rachmaninoff and other WWII refugees.

Sunday, January 18th

Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances

The New World Symphony welcomes Anja Bihlmaier, Principal Guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, to lead the New World Fellows for Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, his final work, composed after fleeing a ravaged Europe in the wake of World War II. Also on the program, the Master Chorale of South Florida and baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore will accompany NWS for Arnold Schoenberg’s haunting A Survivor from Warsaw. This concert is part of NWS’s Resonance of Remembrance series, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII and the Holocaust.

2pm, New World Center, $40-$155

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Tropezón, Barceloneta, Paya | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Greystone Bar

Planning Ahead:

Miami's most anticipated events sell out and those new restaurants you want to try book up. Here are a couple of upcoming events to get on your calendar now…

Thursday, January 23rd

Bad Dog - Preview Night!

Miami New Drama presents Bad Dog, a world premiere play by Harley Elias skewering Miami’s contemporary art scene (after last year’s Museum Plays and Gablestage’s Laughs in Spanish, I’m sensing a trend here). The plot follows a performance artist who’s taken up residency in a Miami art gallery to live as a dog for a month, biting visitors and causing chaos within the gallery staff. Performances through February 16th.

8pm, Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, $47-$77

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

January 24th-25th

The Cleveland Orchestra with Violinist Sayaka Shoji

Considered by many to be the finest symphony orchestra in the country, the Cleveland Orchestra has spent the winter in Miami every year since 2007 (understandable), presenting three performances of classics with world-class collaborators. For the first performance of their 2025 winter residency, the Orchestra plays Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, one of the crown jewels of violin repertoire, with world-renowned violinist Sayaka Shoji.

8pm Friday and Saturday, Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, $45-$189

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: MOMENTO by Ikaro, Mignonette, Klaw | Drinks: ViceVersa, Margot

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