Okeechobee Co-Founder and Bonnaroo Super Jam Producer Launches Miami Beach Pop Festival
The creative forces behind the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival have a new Florida festival set for one of North America's most beautiful beaches.
The creative forces behind the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival have a new Florida festival set for one of North America’s most beautiful beaches.
Steve Sybesma and Paul Peck, founding partners of Frameless Creative, have partnered with Miami promoter Bruce Orosz of ACT Productions to launch Miami Beach Pop, a three-day festival in the city’s busy South Beach neighborhood, scheduled for Nov. 8-10 at the beachfront Lummus Park.
“We want to do something that’s never been done before — a pure celebration of Miami Beach,” says Peck, who said he’s planning a diverse lineup that draws from rock, pop, Latin, reggae and the many different cultures and musical influences that can be found throughout South Florida. Peck says he hopes to produce collaborative peformances between artists at Miami Beach Pop, as he did for Okeechobee, which ran from 2016 to 2018 and featured a PoWoW! jam session that matched The Roots with Chaka Khan, Solange with Michael McDonald and Gallant and singer Miguel with Arcade Fire‘s Win Butler.
Peck also co-produced Bonnaroo’s Super Jam and tells Billboard that he wants to bring the collaborative music concept to Miami Beach Pop.
“The programming is going to be more boldly diverse then any other festival, represented in superstar artists collaborations that I love producing and that I’m known for,” Peck says. “It’s those kinds of musical experiences that are never going to happen again. That’s what I’m always chasing. That’s the magic of festival.”
Miami Beach Pop will also be a celebration of the iconic South Florida island city, that’s home to fashion models and international cultural figures, as well as pastel-colored Art Deco architecture and Latin and Carribean influenced cuisine. Sybesma says the famed boulevard Ocean Drive will be closed to vehicle traffic for the event, adding “the city and community are fully embracing this event” which has been in the works for several years.
Miami Beach Pop is not connected to the 1968 Miami Pop concert where Jimi Hendrix recorded his iconic live album, but Peck said the concert is a nod to the early live music movement and the power of an iconic festival site to transform the live experience.l
“The physically inspiring natural environment reminds us that we’re all connected to the earth,” Peck says. “It’s about the celebration of connection to each other and to the earth. It’s getting away from the screens that are in front of us all day and breathing fresh air, seeing amazing music and meeting new friends. Festivals to me are all about discovery, whether that’s new types of music, flavors or new friends. It’s about adventure and experiencing things that will never going to happen again.”
Sybesma says the festival is expecting 35,000 fans in the first year and will be announcing the lineup in mid-June, with its celebrity chef choices and craft beer selection to follow. Learn more at miamibeachpop.com.
