24 June 22-28, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times b e s T o f m i a m i ® 2 0 2 3 B E S T S O LO M U S I C I A N Viper @viper.sounds (Instagram) Ever since Vanessa Perez was little, she enjoyed playing piano and writing. Nearly two decades later, the Cuban-American artist has become a one-woman show performing in local venues. The singer-songwriter wears many genre caps, and her sound exists somewhere in the middle of the indie pop, alternative rock, house, and soul Venn Diagram. Her lyrics lean on vulnera- bility, and often touch upon themes of changing identity, rejection, and staying true to one’s true self. She’s already released several singles — “Wake Up and Find Peace” and “VIP VIA” — but has announced that she’s putting together her first EP. B E S T S O N G W R I T E R Eric Garcia juggerknottheatrecompany.com/the-blues-opera Whether with his four-man-band Juke or solo as Uncle Scotchy, Eric Garcia is a seasoned per- former and no stranger to the stage. But The Blues Opera presented a new challenge. With the help of the Juggernaut Theatre Company, Garcia invited audience members into a facsim- ile of a Little Havana home, where he per- formed songs that recounted the emotional turbulence he endured when he served as the caregiver to his aging parents until they died. It was a tightrope-walk of a show that aimed to touch hearts and entertain ears. File this one under “Mission Accomplished” — the show’s closing date kept getting pushed back in re- sponse to popular demand. B E S T E M E R G I N G AC T Cedric Brazle cedricworld.com Cedric Brazle is bringing begging back to R&B. We’re not referring to the panhandling kind; we mean the “on bended knee” strain of R&B pleading that used to spark romance between potential lovers or revive a relationship. A Jack- sonville native, Brazle grew up in a musical family — his uncle was a Calypso singer — and decided to pursue music full-time while at- tending Florida Atlantic University. After years of cutting his teeth in the local R&B scene, the budding artist recently released a six-song EP, …What I Know Now, as an extension of his 2020 EP If I Knew Then…. With feathery har- monies, vulnerable lyricism, and seductive crooning, Brazle’s new tracks feature all the trademarks of traditional R&B, as he confesses his romantic pitfalls on “Product of Love,” as- sumes responsibility on “My Fault,” and sings with a flirtatious falsetto on “Sexy Lady.” “Ev- erything I’ve done has been off the backs of art- ists who are in Miami,” Brazle says. “Whether it was a concert piece or performance, I’ve always collaborated with people who live here. I wouldn’t be able to build anything if it wasn’t for the talent that’s here.” B E S T D J ( DA N C E ) Nii Tei nii_tei (Instagram) Hit ’em deep in the heart and keep ’em moving: That’s the name of Nii Tei’s game. The Ghana- born DJ moved to Miami a decade ago, but his inspiration from home never faded. Merging electronic music with Afro influences, Nii Tei produces a sound that adds oomph to any set. Tei’s hypnotic sets sucker-punch the crowds at Club Space, Floyd, Eagle Room, and the local party series Coconut Groove. His modus ope- randi is one part homage to dance culture and one part devotion to the sounds of his youth. The new father took a short break but he’s back and he’s not hard to miss: round eyeglasses, a big smile, and a head that bops up and down to the music he spins oh, so well. B E S T D J ( A F R O B E AT ) DJ Aya @manlikeaya (Instagram) Every Saturday night, Red Rooster’s pool hall, the Shrine, pulsates with a fusion of Afrobeat, Amapiano, and Caribbean rhythms so hypnotic that by midnight the dance floor’s completely packed with gyrating bodies. It’s all thanks to Cameroon-born DJ Aya (aka Leslie “Aya” Aya- for) who’s often perched inside the DJ booth manning the 1s and 2s. Ayafor, who was raised in Fort Lauderdale, credits Kwaito, a subgenre of South African house music from the ’90s, for influencing his signature sound, which has be- come a crucial note in Miami’s diasporic night- life scene. You can also catch him at his monthly party, Stamped, at the Copal Rooftop Bar above Pez Loco in Wynwood. “It feels great to offer a space where it’s unapologetically Afri- can,” Aya says. “Stamped is not just a party. It’s a community. It’s a celebration of not only Afri- can music, but everything African.” B E S T DA N C E C L U B Domicile 6391 NW Second Avenue Miami, 33150 @domicile.miami (Instagram) There’s a new club in town. Don’t worry — you don’t have to dish out $3,000 for a table. At Domicile, a threadbare venue nestled deep in Little Haiti, $20 for a ticket is usually all you need to drip sweat from every pore until 5 a.m. surrounded by punks, goths, depraved ravers, and photophobic creatures of the night. The median BPM runs close to 140 inside, but there’s an area out back to chill out and water is reasonably priced. The club has hosted techno’s dark royalty, including Rebekah and Aadja, making it a long-awaited home for DJs who spin too fast for anywhere else. Fair warning: Domicile is usually 18-plus, but mix- ing with kids is a small price to pay (did we mention the price of admission?) for an au- thentic warehouse-club aesthetic in this sky- scraper-plagued city. B E S T PA R T Y ODD Floyd 34 NE 11th Street Miami 33132 fl oydmiami.com Sister System (Alexis Sosa-Toro), True Vine (Santiago Vidal), and Jonny From Space (Jona- than Trujillo) have been painting the town with ad hoc parties throughout Miami and even the Everglades. But the trio’s monthly residency at Floyd, dubbed ODD (as in Objects Don’t Dance), features the underground’s best sound cache of downtempo, left-field, psychedelic, and techno, including Danny Daze, Ben UFO, and Aurora Halal, with prime spots from locals. LED tube lights are installed for each party in a different pattern that flickers and bounces across the ceiling in sync with the music, imbu- ing the flowery, pink space with a dark and ee- rie vibe. The objects might not dance, but the people sure do. B E S T L AT I N PA R T Y Perreo Galáctico @perreogalactico (Instagram) Perreo Galáctico is an amorphous, shape-shift- ing party. It pops up in a new venue and with a different theme biweekly, but the one crucial constant is the thunderous blast of Daddy Yan- kee, Wisin y Yandel, Rauw Alejandro, and other reggaeton legends. This traveling Latin bash was started by TikTok sensation Karen Ponce; previous perreo themes have included Y2K, emo night, cowboys, and aliens. For the scoop on where they’re popping up next, check the Instagram account. You can reserve tickets ahead of time or buy them at the door. B E S T I N T I M AT E M U S I C V E N U E Savage Labs Wynwood 2451 NW Fifth Avenue Miami, 33127 786-597-3320 savagelabswynwood.com Amid the tourist-luring murals and selfie-tak- ers of Wynwood, there is at least one haven for locals: Savage Labs, a small music venue where patrons sometimes sit cross-legged on the floor just a few feet from live acts when the velvet so- fas reach their capacity. Come for the tunes from up-and-coming Miami artists but stay for the community vibes. Claustrophobes, fear not: It’s intimate but there’s always enough wiggle room to dance and a lush outdoor patio if you need a breath of fresh air. There are usually products by local small businesses available for purchase, too. B E S T V E N U E F O R LO C A L AC T S The SandBox 6752 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, 33141 305-397-8375 @thesandbox.miamibeach (Instagram) Lately, Miami has seen the closing of a lot of live venues that booked local acts — Churchill’s Pub, Las Rosas, the Center for Subtropical Af- fairs (its replacement, Understory, hasn’t been Arts & Entertainment
