Last year, the inaugural North Beach Music Festival shot new life into South Florida’s flagging jam band scene, which hasn’t had a jam festival since The Langerado Music Festival shuttered in the late aughts. This year, North Beach is bringing the improvisational, free-flowing rock made famous by Phish and the Grateful Dead back with twice the bang. We’re talking an additional stage, an additional day, separately ticketed late-night shows at the Citadel, and longer sets, half of which festival organizers promise will last at least 75 minutes. Moe., who dressed in animal onesies for their performance last year, will play two headlining sets on Friday. Lotus and Lettuce will headline Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The rest of the lineup has both local jam bands and those from more developed communities around the country, including Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Keller Williams, Brandon “Taz” Niederaur, Shira Elias and more. The festival appropriately takes place at the 1960s-era Miami Beach Bandshell, a curvy Art Deco performance space between the palm trees, and its adjacent park.
The Specs
- Tickets come in three levels: General Admission, VIP and VIP Platinum. All are available for one, two or three days except for VIP Platinum, which must be coordinated through a concierge. Three-day GA tickets start at $255.
- GA tickets are cheaper on Friday than on Saturday and Sunday. Friday-only GA tickets cost just $65; Saturday and Sunday tickets cost $99. Friday-Saturday tickets cost $170; Saturday-Sunday tickets cost $200.
- Festival ticket holders have priority for late-night show tickets.