A Music Lover's Guide To Miami

For great jazz and a bottle of wine with some friends, head over to Lagniappe, a jazz club modeled after a New Orleans wine house. Lagniappe is found in Midtown and offers delicious meats, cheeses, toasted breads, jams, and an amazing selection of imported wines from all around the world. Local and guest jazz bands play their best, making for a wonderful date night spot. Lagniappe has glowing lights strung in the trees and mismatched garden furniture – the perfect place to sit out on a cooler night.

Basement, a seatless club on Miami Beach, hosts some hot DJs, and aside from being a great place to dance till dawn, the club also has a bowling alley and ice rink. Tired of the typical club and want to try something different? Round up some friends, have a few drinks, dance to some great EDM under flashing lights, watch the live dancers, and go for a spin around the ice rink.

Churchill’s Pub, boasts the motto, “a sort of English pub,” and brings a little bit of the UK to Miami. The place is grimy, dark, and by NO MEANS glamorous, but the hole-in-the-wall pub brings some of the best local bands to the stage and has even given some successful bands their first start. The pub has weekly jazz nights and hosts open mic nights, where people can come and read poetry, rap, and debut their band. Local talent, often leaning toward hard rock and metal, really shines here. Break out your black clothes and boots, grab a cheap $3 beer from the bar, and prepare to hear from local goodies.

Love EDM and looking to dance to some of the best DJs, hit Club Space in Downtown Miami. Dance until the sun comes up on their rooftop terrace and enjoy a few drinks. Club Space is a typical dance club, but without the South Beach club mess and a much lower cover charge than, say, Miami Beach. Have a great time full of flowing alcohol, great music, and great company.

Brick, a bar located in the Wynwood arts district, is the perfect place to grab a beer or whiskey sour and dance to some great hip-hop. Get there early to avoid a long line, because the place gets more and more packed as night rolls on, and the line winds into the nearby residential streets. The 1920s’ home-turned-beer garden is decked out with twinkling lights, tables to sit and relax or talk, and plenty of space to twerk.

Ball and Chain, a jazz club and lounge that was popular in the 1930s–1950s, once hosted huge names like Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Louis Armstrong. The lounge was reopened in September 2014, and now is one of the best spots to hit for great Latin dance tunes, great Cuba-inspired drinks (like mojitos), and an overall great time. On Fridays, a DJ takes center stage to play some of today’s best Latin songs, and the place is packed with wall-to-wall people dancing. Dancers come out periodically with confetti, sparklers, and dazzling costumes for a show. Feeling overwhelmed? Head to the back area to a pineapple stage with a band playing Latin songs or jazz, and grab a drink and some fresh air.