Disco Biscuits by Jesse Borrell
For its third year running, the North Beach Music Festival continues to fill that sweet spot for South Florida fans of jam bands, funk and improvisational music. The 2023 edition will be held at the Miami Beach Bandshell on the first weekend in December, during that awkward pause between Thanksgiving and Art Basel where it often feels like there’s nothing to do in Miami.
It was a different time when founder Gideon Plotnicki first imagined the event. “I moved to Miami in 2019,” Plotnicki tells PureHoney. “Then the pandemic happened. That was when I dreamed up this fest during that time when we were unable to attend concerts.”
The first edition in 2021 featured headliners such as Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Spafford, and required guests to have proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. People could congregate with fewer restrictions for the 2022 festival, which Plotnicki remembers fondly.
“There were so many great moments,” he says. “It was very special to have Lettuce close things out, and then to see Lotus playing in the park with all the lasers shooting through the palm trees was great.”
The 2023 lineup features Friday and Saturday night headliner the Disco Biscuits and Sunday headliner Cory Wong, supported by more than a dozen other acts. “We take a variety of factors into consideration when deciding who plays,” Plotnicki says. “We try to pick bands that haven’t been able to make it Miami, bands that were due to come. Once we find the headliner we can find a lineup to surround it.”
Cory Wong
Plotnicki describes the Disco Biscuits as the inventors of “jamtronica,” a wonderfully descriptive name for their blend of jam-band freeform and electronic music. The Philadelphia four-piece have been around for nearly 30 years, plying a sound that is also variously described as livetronica, trance fusion and psytrance.
While the Biscuits are frequent visitors here, having played everywhere from the old Langerado music festival to Revolution Live to the Miami massive Ultra, fellow North Beach headliner Wong is making his South Florida debut. The funk and jazz guitarist produces a poppy, upbeat sound and feel as he noodles his way across the fretboard. He’s also a prolific recorder: In a little over a decade Wong has cranked out a dozen albums. He’ll have a wealth of material to draw from when entertaining South Floridians for the first time.
Say She She
There are a bunch of newer, emerging bands that Plotnicki is excited not just to book but to see play. They include Eggy, a traditional jam quartet from Connecticut, and Sunsquabi, Coloradans who, not unlike the Disco Biscuits, put a more electronic, dance-y spin on their music. He also mentioned Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, a Nashville-based guitarist who, on his website, promises “three chords and the truth, and then on the other side it’s exploration and bravery.”
It’s always dicey to ask a concert organizer which up-and-coming act is a must-see; they’ll usually respond that it’s like asking a mother which is their favorite child. But Plotnicki doesn’t hesitate: “Say She She. I’m really excited about them. No one knows them now, but by this time next year everyone will know who they are.”
Erica Falls
A quick listen to this all-female, Brooklyn- and London-based trio reveals a timeless, laid-back kind of groove that would play comfortably in the hippest of lounges. But you also wouldn’t be surprised if you learned they were a lost disco act from the ’70’s.
Also on tap are Erica Falls & Vintage Soul, from New Orleans, who are as the band name describes — purveyors of a classic sound strongly influenced by their very musical hometown. That’s Falls singing with Aaron Neville and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band on “Stompin’ Ground,” which won a Grammy in February for Best American Roots Performance.
The Big Easy thread continues with George Porter Jr., bassist for the mighty Meters, leading his other band, Runnin’ Pardners. On the homegrown front, The Heavy Pets, from Fort Lauderdale, harken back to the formative jamming and mellow rock of the Grateful Dead. Miami’s Electric Kif stir funk, rock, soul and jazz into a heady, energetic brew.
The North Beach Music Festival runs 4pm Friday through 10pm Sunday, December 1-3 at the Miami Beach Bandshell. northbeachmusicfestival.com ~ David Rolland
