14 January 16-22, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | Remember the Names Ten Miami bands to watch in 2025. BY CATHERINE TORUÑO P eel past the many layers of EDM and reggaeton, and you’ll find a plethora of local bands keeping the Miami music scene alive. If there’s something the Magic City is known for, it’s unfortunately not its robust local rock music scene — but it should be. From punk to jazz and everything in be- tween, Miami is bustling with musicians who pour the chaos of Miami life into their music. As New Times mentioned last year, although the cost of living keeps rising, local musicians continue to put hours of DIY work into their music. Miami, support your local music scene. In alphabetical order, New Times has picked ten active Miami bands to follow, sup- port, and keep an eye on in 2025. Anemoia: If you frequent Miami music hubs such as Lagniappe or the Bridge, you’re bound to run into the members of Anemoia — Armando Lopez on drums, Aaron Lebos on electric guitar, and Andres Ferret on bass — who often play in different bands. But when the seasoned musicians come together as Anemoia, their groove is electrifying. The psychedelic funk trio is currently in the studio, working hard on writing and recording their fourth album. Cypher: Hard- core band Cypher — featuring Flipp on guitar, Cristina Ameller on drums, Ethan Molina on bass, and Jordan Tyler Blake on vocals — only recently burst into the scene with a distinctive blend of thrash and punk. Promising to release a debut EP in the next month or two, the band has teased what’s to come with the recent single release “Target,” which is ideally heard live while thrashing around in a mosh pit. Folktale San Pedro: I’ll never forget seeing Folktale San Pedro serenade a heartbroken audience at Las Rosas the night the Allapat- tah venue shuttered its doors with only one day’s notice. While a long line of eager punks waited outside of the bar, hoping to get into the Miami gem one last night, the few who were lucky to make it danced the pain away to Folktale San Pedro’s melodic indie rock. New Times’ pick for “Best Band” in 2021 has recently embraced a dance-inspired indi- etronica and synth-pop direction, always with a sprinkle of silliness led by singer and rhythm guitarist Paco Villafane alongside drummer Javier Nin, guitarist Q Barreto, and a rotating bassist. The band is currently put- ting the finishing touches on the follow-up to its 2023 debut album, Romance Romance. Foom!: Foom! isn’t just a band but also a “Foom family,” unified by long-time collabo- rations with some of South Florida’s most tal- ented musicians. On stage and in the studio, Foom! features an array of rotating musicians, including saxophonists, trombonists, pianists, guitarists, drummers, and singers, to create a full sound and high-energy environment alongside clever rap lyrics. Although the list of collaborators is long, the current lineup in- cludes Max “Papa” Trullenque on bass, Dylan Hall as MC, Angel Perez on piano, Mitch Mattox on the drums, and Eduardo Clavijo on the tenor saxophone. The band is recording new music, which they often dub “Florid- acore” because they embrace the innate influ- ence of South Florida’s diverse community and genres, such as Caribbean, jazz, hip-hop, rock, and Latin. Iliad: Since banding together in 2022, four- piece group Iliad — David Cisneros on lead guitar, Arkii Cala on bass, Tobias Steensma on drums, and Juliet Bradley on vocals — has clearly defined its shoegaze, ‘90s-alt-rock melancholy sound with influences such as Paramore, Slow Pulp, Feeble Little Horse, Momma, and My Bloody Valentine, most no- table in the band’s debut album Slug released last year. After promoting the album on a South Florida tour, the band returned to working on new material. J.L.G.: Led by singer Jordan Guadalupe, postpunk, new wave group J.L.G. has ce- mented its name in the music scene, most no- tably through Freaky Friday, a live music series Guadalupe founded alongside musician Hadee Dosani. The band performs at every it- eration of Freaky Friday at the Sandbox Stage. J.L.G. has also played a few shows in Los An- geles, across the Sunshine State, and recently returned from playing at Nirvana’s former stomping grounds, Central Saloon, in Seattle. After releasing a few singles in 2024, J.L.G. is ready to ramp it up in 2025 with a new EP. Ladyboy: Ladyboy’s live show is an incredi- ble experience. Most recently, I caught the ga- rage-rock punk band’s chaotic set at III Points. ▼ Music Iliad’s sound is indebted to bands like Paramore, Slow Pulp, Feeble Little Horse, Momma, and My Bloody Valentine. Folktale San Pedro is working on a new music for 2025. Photo by Cameron Gonzalez / @cameroongonzoo Photo by Cristina Ruso / @crisskross MIAMI IS BUSTLING WITH MUSICIANS WHO POUR THE CHAOS OF MIAMI LIFE INTO THEIR MUSIC.
