Now-a-days when you think about music festivals a few things come to mind. Insert – Big Name Artist to headline, throw in a ton of mid-level indie bands you read about on Pitchfork and mix in a few DJs on the side and call it a day. After that you can wipe your hands clean, pat yourself on the back because you’ve just solved life’s biggest mystery and programmed yourself the best music festival ever!
Related: III Points 2015 | Warm-Up Mixtape
We’ve seen this time and time again…*cough*cough* – Coachella, ACL, Lollapalooza, Ultra, EDC, Outside Lands, Govs Ball. Believe me I’m not too happy about this either because I love all these festivals, I really do. But festival programming is a different beast and the safe bet is usually the one you go with. It drives ticket sales, crowds, media, all that shit.
Unless you’re III Points Music, Arts & Technology Festival – who’s putting the counter, back in counter-culture with its Miami-centric line up taking a page out of the old festival playbook – book new acts not safe ones. I know, many of you might not believe this, but there was a time and a place where if you wanted to listen to a lot of new music you never heard before, you went to a music festival. It wasn’t all about celebrities and fashion. In an age before the internet, this was the only way you could get exposed to different scenes, new genres and up & coming artists – it sounds awesome right!?!
It is or at least it was – that’s why we’re excited about III Points this weekend. Because for those of you traveling and new to the Magic City you get to hear exactly how Miami sounds when the tourists leave and the locals come out to play. These are the Djs we vibe to, the bands that fill up our music venues and the musicians that play the soundtrack to our city. So for the next three days be appreciative, participate and if you have a chance to catch some of the acts on this list, know they’re reppin Dade County.
Ms. Mada
Photo Credit: Michal Ignition
Why you should check her out: A Miami fixture for the last few years you can find Ms. Mada playing resident DJ for the folks at LinkMiamiRebels laying tracks weekly at Trade and Story Nightclub.
Favorite Track:
Pirate Stereo & Santiago Caballero
Why you should check them out: These two dudes are responsible for making Bardot on Tuesday night an institution in our city. They’re also responsible for helping you save money on Saturday night with their E11even After Hours parties. Not to many times in your life can you tell someone you showed up to a strip club and never spent any coin. For that, we’re thankful *insert – praying hands emoji*
Favorite Track:
Dude Skywalker
Why you should check em out: These guys understand what the deep playa means. And no, we’re not talking about being stuck somewhere in the ocean between Miami and Nassau. It involves dust, extreme heat and fire, a lot of fire. If you follow us, you get it, Dude Skywalker gets it – plus their remixes are fire!
Favorite Track:
Mr. Brown
Why you should check him out: Any fan of wax, needles and the appreciation of strictly vinyl sets can see why we’d place Mr. Brown on this list. Some of our favorite Miami moments are set to this guy’s rhythm and anyone visiting our city needs to do us a favor and partake in the vibes he puts on.
Favorite Track:
Danny Daze
Why you should check him out: We gotta give credit to the homie, when the credits due. Mr. Daze has been putting on for our city since day numero uno. Since then his skills as a selektor and producer have taken him across the world. So it’s only right he gets a slot at a hometown festival looking to do big things. We’re excited to see what type of vibe this homecoming brings.
Favorite Track:
