Early Summer Highlights

The Culture Edit, June 1st-July 4th

Author

Susan Bannon
June 01, 2025

The Miami Symphony Orchestra gives a free concert in Peacock Park each Fourth of July.

I think we can all agree that nobody lives in Miami to enjoy the summer here. Events dry up, half of your friends are out of town at any given time, and the sun (or rain) seems to have a personal vendetta against you. So it’s difficult to find something positive to say once June rolls around - even for me, your intrepid city cheerleader.

Difficult, but not impossible! So here goes…

For one thing, it’s much easier to book those impossible-to-get reservations at the city’s top spots. The Infatuation Miami put together this handy list of summer priorities for us, so no excuses. (I’d start with Bar Bucce - best pizza crust I’ve ever had!) Same goes for new or typically packed bars like Conventillo, Dante’s Hifi, Miami Sound Bar, Magie, Brother’s Keeper, and Gramps Getaway.

Then there’s the traffic - it’s better! So if you do find somewhere you want to go, you can get there in less than an hour.

Okay, that’s it. I didn’t say it would be a long list! Anyway, below you’ll find a rundown of events through the Fourth of July, and I’ll be back in a month with late summer highlights.

Let’s get planning...

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please share it! If it was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by email or by text - or both!

Ongoing Theater

Actors’ Playhouse: The Girl on the Train

Actors‘ Playhouse presents The Girl on the Train, a new play based on Paula Hawkins’ internationally bestselling novel that will keep audiences guessing until the final moment (unless, of course, they’ve already read the book or seen the movie). The story revolves around Rachel Watson, a troubled woman entangled in a web of intrigue and deceit as she becomes intertwined with the lives of strangers she observes during her daily train commute.

Performances through June 8th, Actors’ Playhouse, $50

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Gablestage: Fat Ham

Gablestage presents the South Florida premiere of Fat Ham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play that relocates the story of Hamlet from a windswept Danish castle to a fly-swatting North Carolina BBQ pit. The familiar storyline follows Juicy, a queer Black kid with a lot on his plate already before his father’s ghost shows up, demanding vengeance. Called “hilarious yet profound” by The New York Times, James Ijames’ play was a hit on Broadway after winning the Pulitzer in 2022.

Performances through June 15th, Gablestage, $40-$50

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Wednesday, June 4th

Tall Tales at O Cinema

O Cinema presents an encore screening of Tall Tales, a unique collaboration between Radiohead singer and songwriter Thom Yorke, legendary producer Mark Pritchard, and visual artist Jonathan Zawada. A “fairy tale for the modern world,” this groundbreaking visual album takes viewers on a trippy journey through musical genres and narrative landscapes, touching on rising seas, AI, political power, and consumerism - all under iridescent skies.

7pm, O Cinema South Beach, $12-$14

Neighborhood: South Beach

Also on June 4th:

Friday, June 6th

Mainly Mozart Festival Finale

The 32nd annual Mainly Mozart Festival concludes with a celebration of the music of Vienna, featuring violinist Joshua Brown, a laureate of the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition, and pianist (and festival organizer) Marina Radiushina. Performed at UM’s gorgeous new Knight Center for Music Innovation, the program traces Vienna’s musical legacy from it’s Classical golden age through modernity, with pieces from Mozart, Schubert, Kreisler, and Brahms.

8pm, UM’s Knight Center for Music Innovation, $40 ($13 Students)

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Nearby Eats: Beauty & The Butcher, Recoveco, Fiola | Drinks: Fox’s, Ivy Rooftop at THesis

Also on June 6th:

  • LnS Gallery hosts its monthly gallery night, showing off its current exhibit - Postcards, a new series of tactile, layered collages by artist William Osorio, from 6-9pm.

  • Books & Books celebrates the opening of a new exhibit in its Coral Gables bookstore, a series of drawings, prints, and woven textiles by Cuban-born artist Raimundo Travieso, from 7-10pm.

Friday, June 13th

Vampire Weekend at Bayfront Park

Indie rock darlings Vampire Weekend bring their distinctive sound and fun-loving stage presence to Bayfront Park for a summer evening concert on June 13th. One of the final stops of the Only God Was Above Us Tour, Part 2, the setlist will cover hits from their four previous studio albums, as well as the title album, released just this past April. The band made a somewhat quirky choice of opening acts for its Florida stops (maybe not surprising for an outfit that unironically uses the harpsichord), tapping Turnstiles - a Billy Joel tribute band from Boynton Beach.

7pm, FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park, $30-$100

Neighborhood: Downtown

Nearby Eats: Vice Versa, Julia & Henry’s foodhall, NIU Kitchen | Drinks: Margot, Over Under

Saturday, June 14th

Nadia Kaabi-Linke: We Didn’t Know We’re Ready

Piero Atchugarry Gallery presents We Didn’t Know We’re Ready, the first Miami solo show for Tunisian artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke, curated by Silvia Cirelli. Kaabi-Linke’s multimedia works explore the “architecture of pain” that underlies the human condition. The show’s title deliberately blends past and present tenses to highlight the bridge in her work between past violence and present experience.

7-9pm, Piero Atchugarry Gallery, Free

Neighborhood: Little Haiti/Little River

Nearby Eats: Walrus Rodeo, Boia De, Blue Collar | Drinks: Phuc Yea, Zey Zey

Also on June 14th:

June 17th-22nd

Broadway at Arsht: Chicago

Finishing off its Broadway in Miami series of touring productions, the Arsht Center presents Chicago, the grandmama of Broadway swagger. What better way to cool off than with razor sharp Fosse choreography and cold, cold lyrics (“he had it coming!”) sung by some of Broadway’s most notorious leading ladies? Come early for the evening performances to catch a pre-show Fosse class and Jazz Age cocktail-making demo.

Performances June 17th-22nd, Ziff Ballet Opera House at Arsht Center, $41-$182

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Wednesday, June 18th

Faena Jazz Series: Something Else!

Faena Theatre is proud to close out its 7th Annual Jazz Series with jazz supergroup Something Else!, featuring legendary bandleader and alto saxophonist Vincent Herring. The band’s debut album, Soul Jazz, is a master class on the soul jazz genre (a crowd-pleasing mix of R&B and bebop), played by some of the best session musicians in the business. Seating at the Faena is two-by-two, and tables can be upgraded with fancy bottle service, so this is definitely a date-night booking.

8pm, Faena Theater, $65-$300

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Nearby Eats & Drinks: Make it an all-Faena night, with dinner at Pao or Los Fuegos and drinks at Living Room or The Saxony Bar.

Saturday, June 21st

León Ferrari: 50 Years of Visual Resistance

Pan American Art Projects presents a 50 year retrospective of the work of León Ferrari, one of Argentina’s most controversial artists. During his long career, his artworks critiqued the Argentine government, the imperialism of the West, and the Church, often provoking protests, including from the late Pope Francis when he was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. The gallery will also be opening The New Gold Rush, a group show exploring gold as a medium and metaphor, the same night.

6-9pm, Pan American Art Projects Little River, Free

Neighborhood: Little River

Nearby Eats: Bar Bucce, Sunny’s, Ensenada | Drinks: Zey Zey, Conventillo

Also on June 21st:

  • Bernice Steinbaum Gallery celebrates the opening of Hey, Look Me Over, its annual group show of gallery artists and unrepresented local artists, with a reception from 4-8pm.

Thursday, June 26th

FUSION: #DRIFT

Filmgate Miami and Frost Science present FUSION: #DRIFT, an immersive space odyssey at the nexus of art, AI, and science. Mounted on an epic scale at the Frost Museum of Science planetarium with elements of live performance, this work by visionary artist, sound designer, and digital creator Frédéric Deslias takes us to “the future of storytelling.” Luckily, the future of storytelling includes pre-screening cocktails, and the ticket price gets you one drink ticket.

6pm, Frost Museum of Science Planetarium, $31 (use code INSIDER for 10% off)

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Friday, July 4th

MISO in Peacock Park

This Fourth of July, the Miami Symphony Orchestra returns to Peacock Park for a free concert of patriotic favorites under the fireworks. Longtime conductor Eduardo Marturet will be leading MISO in fireworks classics like Frank von Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, along with some special guest performers. Needless to say, if you want to see this concert, you and your blanket need to be there early.

7:30pm, Peacock Park, Free

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove

Nearby Eats: Krüs Kitchen, Bellini, Bartaco (save a spot in line and have a drink upstairs while you wait) | Drinks: Mayfair rooftop, Level 6, Bodega (speakeasy, door at the back behind the counter)

Also on July 4th: 

  • The Miami Beach Bandshell hosts a special July 4th Roller Disco as part of Miami Beach’s “Fire on the Fourth” celebration. Roller Disco at 5pm, fireworks and a drone show at 9pm.

Thanks for reading! If you know a friend that would like this newsletter, please forward it. Thank you!

If someone forwarded it to you, you can subscribe here.

Any feedback? Or tips on events or restaurants? I'd love to hear from you! Hit reply and it will come directly to me.

Reply

or to participate.