DWNTWN  Miami Concert Series:
Season 2 is back in January...

By ROBERT GEITNER


It’s 5:30pm on the second Friday of the month and as the sun sets on a busy DWNTWN, office workers are finding their way to the elevator, students are stuffing their backpacks, and residents are clipping the leash on the pet’s collar and heading over to Bayfront Park for a new tradition - the DWNTWN Miami Concert Series.  In what has become a big neighborhood meet-up, the concert series presents free shows at the Tina Hills Pavilion and a sunset happy hour.

The shows range from Indie Rock to Reggae and everything in-between, and the park is the perfect gathering place for the kids (who love the bounce house), dogs (who love the grass and meeting other dogs), and the folks with blankets and picnic baskets, ready to stretch out on the grass and take in some great music and experience the growing DWNTWN community.

The concerts, presented by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with the Miami Downtown Development Authority, are in the mid-point of Season 2 having presented Suénalo, Fancy Me Yet, and Jaffé in October, then Laura Izibor in November.  After a brief break for the December holidays and Miami Music Festival, the DWNTWN Concert Series Season 2 resumes in 2010.  The lineup from January to April is packed with some really great music:

  1. • January 8, 2010 @ 5:30pm – Miami’s live music favorites PALO! take the stage with their Latin Sound and Funk Beats.  The group formed in 2003 as an improvised experiment to see how some classic Cuban music could mash up with the deep funk, beats and keyboard sounds found in the club scene.  The result is a sort of magical, totally danceable, ‘Made in Miami’ sound that group leader Steve Rothstein calls Afro-Cuban-Funk.  Catch the group that is a mainstay at clubs like Transit Lounge, Hoy Como Ayer, and Jazzid for an early show (well it starts before midnight) in Bayfront Park.  Best part of all  - no cover charge!

  2. • February 12, 2010 @ 5:30pm - It’s all about romance and swing when the South Florida Jazz Orchestra brings their Big Band sound to the pavilion.  The ‘orchestra’, made of some of South Florida’s best Jazz studio musicians and educators is an amazingly tight ensemble with bouncy swing and big jazz sounds - a musical treat for the ear and a dance treat for the “swinger” in you.  Miami’s own Nicole Henry joins the orchestra for a little romance from the Great American Song book.  Her sound described as ‘sensual and romantic,’  is a perfect accompaniment for a bottle of champagne under the stars.

  3. • March 12, 2010 @ 5:30pm - A high-energy Latin youth sound hits the Tina Hills Pavilion when Bachaco takes the stage.  The band - named for a Leafcutter Ant found in the Amazon Rainforest and used in native sauces to create a “picante” (hot sauce) - seems a perfect fit for the series. Formed in 2007, Bachaco has opened for Grammy winning acts like “Locos por Juana” and has built quite a following in South Florida.  Singing in Spanish and English, Bachaco’s members come from Jamaica, Venezuela, Columbia and Cuba.  The group met and formed in Kendall - a Miami story if ever there was one.  The sound?  Well naturally it’s a mix of Reggae, Latin Funk, Ska, Cumbia, and Hip-hop.  Get yourself to the park and ‘bust-a-move’ to Bachaco’s musical hot sauce.

  4. • April 9, 2010 @ 5:30pm - Universal-Motown recording artists SafetySuit play the last show of the season.  The band, currently #1 in the top 20 on VH1 with their hit “Stay”, brings a pop-sensibility and powerful guitar sound that is quickly taking off - and gaining fans all over the US.  After  releasing their  debut album “Time Left to Go” the band has been touring almost non-stop.  Their next stop after their DWNTWN show is the “ VH1 Best Cruise Ever.”   Don’t miss this modern rock show and the next great band in American Pop-Music.

If the music’s not enough reason to head out, and the price (FREE) doesn’t get you there, then we’ve got one more reason – cocktails and ice-cold beer in two tents offering liquid refreshments and light food – it’s a complete night out that priced right for the times.

It practically pays to go to a show.  During breaks area business raffle off gift certificates and specials.  Did I just hear someone win dinner for two at Tre?

DWNTWN Miami Concert Series – grab your blanket, dog and a few friends and head over to Bayfront Park!

To stay up to the minute with show updates, opening acts, and after party information visit: 

DWNTWNMiamiConcertSeries.com and sign up for Eblasts, Facebook alerts, Tweets and Texts.