11 May 28 - June 3, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | PLAN YOUR WEDDINGS | CORPORATE EVENTS SOCIAL EVENTS Dream Event VIEW OUR EVENT SPACES WWW.THERUSTYPELICAN.COM at 3201 RICKENBACKER CWY, KEY BISCAYNE, FL 33149 | 305.361.3818 BE SOCIAL WITH US! /RUSTYPELICANMIAMI Makes sense Common will join Nu Deco Ensemble in Miami this November. BY SHAWN MACOMBER G roundbreaking Miami-based hybrid orchestra Nu Deco En- semble will add yet another marquee name to its already impressive list of collabora- tors when the Grammy, Emmy, and Acad- emy Award-winning socially conscious hip-hop icon Common joins the group for two Florida performances, including a Nov. 12 stop at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall. “We are honored and excited to welcome Common, a true hip-hop legend and one of the most important artists of his generation, to the Nu Deco stage,” Nu Deco CEO and Co- Artistic Director Sam Hyken tells New Times. “Like Water for Chocolate, Be, and Electric Circus are three of my all-time favorite hip- hop albums, and his music has been part of my life for years. This is a collaboration Nu Deco has dreamed about for a long time, and our audience is already thrilled to experience his artistry through the sound and energy of the orchestra.” Founded in 2015 to “create transformative musical experiences which inspire and con- nect by building a collaborative, inclusive and sustainable community of artists, students, and audiences,” past collaborators with Nu Deco Ensemble have included Wyclef Jean, Macy Gray, Ben Folds, Kimbra, Stephen Mar- ley, Kishi Bashi, and many others. In addition to its unique sonic reinterpretations, the organization also runs Nu Deco Imagination, a series of no- cost concerts, workshops, and masterclasses for K-12 students throughout Miami-Dade; the Nu Deco NXT youth ensemble for 7th-12th graders; and Nu Deco Access, which has donated more than five thousand free tickets to “ensure that underserved communities in Miami-Dade county can experience live music.” Does the Nu Deco Ensemble approach resonate? The more than 15 million global streams of their originals and collaborations would seem to suggest yes. As an artist who has been able to blur and transcend the boundaries between music, poetry, acting, film, television, modeling, production, and activism throughout the last thirty-five years, Chicago-born Common would seem a prime candidate to paint across Nu Deco Ensemble’s self-described “ultimate canvas for elevation, transformation, and connection through music.” We won’t have long to wait to find out for certain. Common with Nu Deco Ensemble. 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Adrienne Arsht Cen- ter, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-949-6722. Tickets cost $70 to $298 via arshtcenter.org. [email protected] Common will join the group for two Florida performances. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Children in Conflict PAST NU DECO ENSEMBLE COLLABORATORS HAVE INCLUDED WYCLEF JEAN, MACY GRAY, BEN FOLDS, KIMBRA, STEPHEN MARLEY, KISHI BASHI, AND MANY OTHERS. | CROSSFADE | t Music
