Magic City Music Tour
This virtual music map tour takes you on a musical journey through some of Miami-Dade County's most popular places for musical immersion.
The Miami-Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment introduces its free Magic City Music Tour! This virtual tour guides users through the music evolution of Miami-Dade County. Musicians from around the world come to Miami-Dade for its distinctive landscapes and infrastructure, beautiful natural light, talented crew base, and cultural diversity.
Today, the Miami sound is evident in its music festivals, live music venues, concerts, music schools and recording studios, giving artists and audiences a wide range of musical resources. This virtual tour takes you on a musical journey through some of Miami-Dade County's most popular places for musical immersion.
The Miami Sound
The Miami sound was born out of a second layer beneath the sound of Motown in the 1960's. Each city across the United States had its own unique sound, and Miami’s early pioneers had lasting impressions on the music being made in Miami today. Many early soul music artists like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, James Brown and Aretha Franklin and others made Miami a stop on their concert tours and changed the landscape of the downtown area in the process. But Miami had its own homegrown musicians like Betty Wright, Clarence Reid, Little Beaver, Willie Clark and Helene Smith (the First Lady of South Florida Soul) who laid the foundation of what would come later in Miami’s musical history.
It was not just Motown that influenced the Miami sound. It was musicians from the Caribbean, Africa and other populations that melded together in Miami. This laid the foundation for what would come later with the likes of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, KC and the Sunshine Band and Uncle Luke. Funk, soul, disco, rock and electronic are all music genres that have all had a foothold in Miami and helped shape its unique sound.
Live Performances
Miami has been and continues to be a must stop for musicians to dazzle audiences and fans. Some of the most memorable performances have taken place in Miami like the Prince performance in the rain at Super Bowl XLI and Elvis Presley’s concert at the Olympia Theater.
Music Videos
With glorious sunny beaches, world-renown nightlife hotspots and beautiful outdoor spaces, as well as incredible production-friendly hotels and local crews, Miami is a top location for filming music videos. There are many locations throughout Miami-Dade County to capture the look and feel that artists need to convey their message to fans.
Recording Studios
There are many recording studios in Miami-Dade County and artists like Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees and Eric Clapton to name a few have recorded albums there.
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds.
Music Festivals
Miami-Dade County has a long and rich history of music festivals from the Miami Pop Festival in 1968 to Ultra Music Festival of today.
Live Music Venues
Miami-Dade County has many places to see live performances from arenas to intimate supper clubs and everything in between. No matter the kind of music you like, you will always find a venue featuring artists from the up-and-coming to the famous.
Music Schools
Music and performing arts schools are where students begin and continue their artistic journey. Many popular artists today started out taking music lessons and Miami-Dade has great places for students young and old to learn new skills.
GET FOCUSED on Miami
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