Traditional music
When the Spaniards arrived in Florida in the 16th century, they encountered two Indian nations: the Tequestas, of which only archaeological remains remain, and the Seminoles. Fierce and strong warriors, the latter were able to resist extermination, protected by the inhospitable nature of the Everglades. Like other Native American nations, the music of the Seminoles had a ritual function: some were used to enter into communication with the ancestors or in trance, others to appease the spirits of nature. Music was also used during gatherings, known as powwows. Among the instruments frequently used by the Seminoles are the mouthbow, a kind of jew's harp formed by a bow of about twenty centimeters, on which a string is attached; the flute, often pierced with six or seven holes; the drum, made of a hollow tree trunk on which animal skins are attached to each 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 the end of December and the beginning of January is a good way to discover the culture of the first peoples of the region, especially their crafts and their music. And to further explore, in the Big Cypress National Preserve is the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, a museum dedicated entirely to the life of the Seminole people, with a rich collection and many striking reproductions showing how the first inhabitants of this region 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 important and particularly dynamic in Miami and in the region, and as a result there are many great 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. It is also the case of Camila Cabello, born in Cuba but living in Miami since childhood, who regularly invites the colors of her island of birth in her music.
Florida is an undeniable land of pop. The region is a fertile ground to cultivate the hits and since the 1970s, with the disco cardboard KC and the Sunshine Band, the groups of Florida multiply the national successes, even international. In the 1980s, it was Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine who had a string of hits, then shortly after in the 1990s, Florida contributed to the wave of boy bands with two of its main entities: the Backstreet Boys and N Sync, both formed in Orlando. More recently, it is T-Pain from Tallahassee, Flo Rida from Carol City or Ariana Grande from Boca Raton who are associated with important successes.
In Miami, the big concerts are organized in places like the FTX Arena or the Fillmore Miami Beach, which also has the distinction of inviting many French stars like Patrick Bruel or 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 the opening of clubs until 5 am and the abundance of drugs gave a great boost to the electro scene. But the real boom came in 1985 with the first edition of the Winter Music Conference, a large gathering of electronic music professionals where the musical trends of the dancefloors were decided the following year. Associated with its festival, the famous Ultra Music, which takes place the same week, the WMC has clearly participated to place Miami on the map of electronic music. Quickly, under his impulse, a whole scene was set up, clubs opened and ran at full speed and artists started to distinguish themselves like Jellybean Benetiz (a close friend of Madonna), Danny Tenaglia and David Padilla (two legends now known by a niche audience).
Today, Miami is home to a very dynamic electro scene, where EDM (a noisy style not very fine) is king, embodied notably by Steve Aoki, superstar DJ adored as much as criticized, native of Miami.
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.
