March is my favorite time of year in Miami. Even though I’m not Pitbull, today is March 5th and I’m feeling like Mr. 305 (zing!)
By Nue Agency’s Jesse Kirshbaum
Last night, I helped set up a poetry reading at my favorite members club, The Moore, for my cousin Aubrey Marcus. Aubrey is a NYT best-selling author who has taken his publishing business into his own hands by launching “Love To The Seventh Power” under his new outfit, Chakaruna. After selling Onnit, his supplements business, to Unilever, he began work on his next killer product, Korrect. I’m proud of his consistent evolution and glad to see him in action out here in Miami.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending the 2nd annual Montreux Jazz Festival in Coconut Grove. The festival’s co-founder, Jon Batiste, performed all three nights with a fantastic ensemble including Willow Smith, Chaka Khan, and Janelle Monáe. The night I went featured an unreal cast of Cuban Jazz artists lead by Cimafunk. It was one of the best jams I’ve ever witnessed.
The fun doesn’t stop, though, with the BMI Latin Awards Dinner slated to honor the best songwriters in Latin music. Being here in Miami is a consistent reminder of how much awesome music is coming from the Latin world. Right now, I’m most excited about Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana’s new collab project, ASTROPICAL.
This coming weekend we’ll have Ms. Lauryn Hill’s curated lineup at Jazz in the Gardens, featuring Wyclef, Busta Rhymes, and Doechii. Lauryn and Doechii on the same bill? On the same day? In Florida!? Pssshhht! That’s fire.
The next day, DJ Cassidy is doing his Pass The Mic with Slick Rick, Fat Joe, and many more of my favorite hip-hop icons.
Miami’s sports, music, and tech scenes have their own ecosystem now, too. More and more companies are building venues, launching leagues, creating festivals, and building mega-offices down here, all helping to develop the city. There’s always somebody visiting for a special event, vacation, or conference because Miami’s hospitality can’t be beat. When I look at this place and all of the changes happening, I feel like I’m in a city being built for the future.
Speaking of conferences…
- For my music/tech heads, the first annual Miami MusicTech Summit promises to be a jam session of ideas. Do you remember the OG MusicTech Summit in SF? Same organizers, new area code.
- For my music managers, the MMF-US Miami Summit returns March 21st. The invite-only gathering is shaping up to be another fantastic collection of minds and, yes, I’m doing a keynote.
- For the racquet sport fanatics, the Second Annual RacquetX is March 22-24, overlapping with the The Miami Open. This week is being dubbed American Racquet Week. I’m interviewing Evan Zedar, co-creator of the Coco Gauff sneaker, at New Balance. Think “How I Built This” but for product launches and live on stage.
To round out the month there’s Miami Music Week, Miami Tech Week, Ultra Music Conference, and a whole smattering of performances, shows, and events like Sweat Records 20th Anniversary. To top it off, Tyler, the Creator is bringing his Chromakopia: The World Tour to the Kaseya Center.
Miami is like no other place in the world. The style, the people, the culture…it’s its own thing. Having an office and team here allows us to deeply engage in these spaces and understand some of the advantages and opportunities. For brands, having a presence here is critical moving forward. Miami is a hotbed for entertainment, tech, art finance, hospitality & music. Some months it connects more than others but when I think about March in Magic City, there’s no place I’d rather be.
Jesse Kirshbaum
Co-Founder of Nue
