Thirty years is a long time. In 1988 Ronald Reagan was president, the singer Adele was born, Bill Cosby was a beloved figure, and Rhythm Foundation began introducing South Florida to musicians from all over the world. Their focus as a non-profit organization is to increase global awareness through the presentation of live music. Over the last three decades through concerts, festivals and events they’ve presented musicians that otherwise Miami would probably never get a chance to see.
While many of the musical acts sing in foreign languages, they’ve found a way to bring in bands with lyrics English only listeners can sing along to as well. Some of my personal favorite Rhythm Foundation sponsored moments include seeing the Swedish troubadour Jose Gonzalez do a mean acoustic cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, Seu Jorge leading the crowd at Hollywood ArtsPark through a rendition of “Mas Que Nada,” and hearing Beirut play their first ever and thus far only Miami show.
Since 2015, The Rhythm Foundation has been in charge of managing Miami Beach’s North Beach Bandshell which since then has been their home base for open air shows. That will be the site of their thirtieth anniversary party, that will be held Saturday, May 19 at 6PM. The event is a fundraiser, so the tickets are steep at $125 a person, but that includes open bar and hors d’oeuvres until 8 PM, a year long membership, and with proceeds going to The Rhythm Foundation the knowledge that your money will be spent bringing interesting and phenomenal musicians to South Florida.
The night will have a silent auction, tunes spun by DJ Benton, and the centerpiece performance by Marco Benevento, the jazz rock pianist whose bio compares his music to “a vision that connects the dots in the vast space between LCD Soundsystem and Leon Russell.”
This article was written by David Rolland, music journalist and author of the novel The End Of The Century.
Watch Marco’s 60’s inspired video for “Dropkick.”
