Traditional music
When the Spanish arrived in Florida in the 16th century, they encountered two Indian nations: the Tequestas, of whom only the remains of archaeological memorabilia remain, and the Seminoles. Fierce and strong warriors, they were able to resist extermination, protected by the inhospitable nature of the Everglades. Like other Amerindian nations, Seminole music had a ritual function: some was used to enter into communication with the ancestors or into a trance, others to appease the spirits of nature. Music was also used at gatherings, known as pow-wows. Among the instruments frequently used by the Seminoles are the mouthbow, a kind of jew's harp formed from a bow about 20 cm long, to which a string is attached; the flute, often pierced with six or seven holes; the drum, made from a hollow tree trunk to which animal skins are attached one to the other; and finally the maracas or rattles, often used by the shaman during incantation dances. The Miccosukee Everglades Music And Crafts Festival, held in the Everglades between late December and early January, is a great way to discover the culture of the region's first peoples, particularly their crafts and music. And to take your discovery a step further, in the Big Cypress National Preserve you'll find theAh-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, a museum entirely dedicated to the life of the Seminole people, with a rich collection and many striking reproductions showing how the region's first inhabitants once lived.
Classical music
While Florida has not produced any notable composers - but one great musician, Constance Weldon (1932-2020), the first woman to play tuba in a major American orchestra - the state does have some interesting ensembles and stages. Before its demise due to financial problems in 2003, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra (in Fort Lauderdale) was arguably the state's most important orchestra. Led for much of its existence by British conductor James Judd, the ensemble was, along with the Miami Opera (the "Florida Grand Opera" or "FGO"), the major musical institution in the Miami area. Since then, the well-funded Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jacksonville Symphony, Florida's oldest ensemble (founded in 1949), have been the most important philharmonic entities in Florida. The Jacksonville Symphony has made a name for itself in the past with its many prestigious guests: Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Pavarotti, Mstislav Rostropovich, André Previn, Ravi Shankar and Duke Ellington.
In Miami, besides the Opera, there is the New World Symphony. Founded in 1987 by Michael Tilson Thomas as a springboard for young talent, the New World Symphony offers a full season of concerts in the New World Center. This hall with its futuristic architecture was a former Art Deco cinema, beautifully restored by Franck Gehry in a modern and ultra design style. A splendid hall, like theOlympia Theater, also a former movie theater converted, which also hosts concerts of the New World Symphony in addition to operas, ballets and other shows.
Popular music
The Latin community, especially the Cuban one, is obviously large and particularly dynamic in Miami and the surrounding area, and as a result there are many pop hits tinged with various Latin American aesthetics. One of the most famous examples is undoubtedly the rapper and singer Pitbull, of Cuban origin and very fond of reggaeton. The same is true of Camila Cabello, who was born in Cuba but has lived in Miami since childhood, regularly inviting the colors of her native island into her music.
Florida is undeniably a land of pop. The region is a fertile breeding ground for hits, and since the 1970s, with the disco chart-topper KC and the Sunshine Band, Florida bands have been racking up national and even international successes. In the 1980s, it was Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine who scored one hit after another, then shortly afterwards in the 1990s, Florida contributed to the boy band wave with two of its main entities: the Backstreet Boys and N Sync, both formed in Orlando. More recently, Tallahassee's T-Pain, Carol City's Flo Rida and Boca Raton's Ariana Grande have been associated with major success.
In Miami, big concerts are held at venues such as the Kaseya Center or the Fillmore Miami Beach, which also has the distinction of inviting numerous French stars such as Patrick Bruel and IAM.
Latin music
Given the size, richness and diversity of the Latin American communities present in Miami, almost every Latin American musical genre is present here and in South Florida. Thus, it is common to hear Colombian cumbia, irresistible thanks to its unique backbeat; salsa, obviously, given the proportion of Cubans living in the city, a fusion of son, jazz, mambo and Caribbean rhythms such as merengue; merengue, a pure product of the Dominican Republic with Hispanic-African influences; or the famous reggaeton, a Puerto Rican derivative of Jamaican dancehall that is played on a loop around the world.
Lovers of salsa - and Latin music in general - should not miss Ball And Chain, a great bar open since 1939 in Little Havana and a true reference in Latin music in Miami.
Electronic music
The history of electronic music in Miami can be traced back to the 1980s, when clubs open until 5 a.m. and an abundance of drugs gave the electro scene a major boost. But the real boom came in 1985 with the first edition of the Winter Music Conference, a major gathering of electronic music professionals where the musical trends of the following year's dancefloors were decided. Combined with its festival, the famous Ultra Music, held the same week, the WMC played a major role in putting Miami on the electronic music map. Under its impetus, a whole scene was quickly established, clubs opened and ran at full speed, and artists such as Jellybean Benetiz (a close friend of Madonna), Danny Tenaglia and David Padilla (two legends now known to a niche audience) began to make their mark.
Today, Miami is home to a very dynamic electro scene, where EDM (a noisy style with little finesse) is king, epitomized in particular by Steve Aoki, a superstar DJ from Miami who is adored as much as he is criticized.
Hip-hop
Perhaps one of the most typical products of Florida is found in hip-hop: booty bass. Born in Miami (it is also called " Miami Bass "), this little Floridian cousin of rap appeared in the 1980s in the hands of several young producers before being widely popularized by the group 2 Live Crew, from 1986 with the release of its first album 2 Live Crew Is What We Are. Characterized by a very heavy and agile bass line, the iconic Roland TR-808 beats and particularly licentious lyrics (the term "booty" refers to the buttocks), booty bass is a sweaty and particularly controversial rap.
Since that time, Florida rap has maintained a constant boil. The region has largely contributed to the dirty south aesthetic, typical hip-hop of the American south, and has produced many artists who have made and still make history: Rick Ross, the boss with the tenor voice, Kodak Black, who tells better than anyone else about street life in Florida, Denzel Curry, a new and very thoughtful voice, or Smokepurpp, Ace Hood and Plies, three rappers who have marked their time.
A few of the genre's top acts regularly perform at Sunfest, a five-day beachfront music festival in West Palm Beach that schedules about 50 concerts for an audience of about 300,000 people.
