Buskers to take over the streets of downtown Miami

A fire show in Coconut Grove in 2011

So many things that Coconut Grove would have hosted seem to have moved to downtown Miami or midtown, but the good part is, we're just a few minutes away and we can enjoy these events.

Music and entertainment are key elements needed to enliven any area. And downtown Miami is doing that with impromptu street performances on Friday, September 19. The Miami Center for Architecture and Design (MCAD) is kicking off its LivelySteps! series with busker style performances featuring local artists such as Bad Apples Brass Band, 6th Street B-Boys and The Tribe. 

The Lively Steps! series, a winner of The Miami Foundation’s Public Space Challenge, launches during the 3rd annual DWNTWN Art Days. MCAD’s location is a prime spot to activate Downtown and encourage others to do the same. The Miami Foundation created the Public Space Challenge to cultivate better local parks, plazas, playgrounds and open gathering spaces and increase the demand for improved public spaces across Miami-Dade.

“We believe that street (or in our case steps) music/entertainment is a key element missing in downtown Miami” says Cheryl Jacobs, Executive Vice President of MCAD and AIA Miami. “We plan to create regular music, spoken word and poetry readings on the steps in front of our building, every Friday afternoon”. 

MCAD’s home, the Old Post Office Building in Downtown Miami, is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1912. The east façade is a perfect setting for outreach into the neighborhood. New York, New Orleans and Seattle, to name of few, have wonderful live performers throughout their cities, making the experience of traveling on foot through a city special. 

MCAD will also serve as the central hub for all things DWNTWN Art Days - related from September 19th – 21st. 

The event on Friday is from 4 to 8 pm. The Miami Center for Architecture and Design is located at 100 Northeast 1st Avenue. This event is free.