23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Celebrate go-go music at this annual event that takes over Miami this weekend
The culture and sounds of Washington, D.C.'s go-go music will fill South Florida this weekend as Miami Takeover returns to Miami Beach.
Now in its 17th year, the four-day event includes a comedy show at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Miami, pool parties, an all-white party at Urban, and two community service events. The event is expected to draw more than 2,000 people and was founded by two Florida A&M University graduates and friends, Wiley Kynard and Antwoine McCoy.
The festival began in 2007 as a going away party for Kynard, who had been offered a job in his native D.C. after having worked in Miami for about 10 years, McCoy told the Miami Herald. They brought the party back again in 2008 and every year since, excluding 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. McCoy said along the way they added in a third business partner Vincent Peden.
It's main event, The Art of Go-Go Culture and Art Fest, will feature a bevy of D.C. go-go performers which include the Black Passion Band, Top 5 Band, and the legendary Junkyard Band, who recently performed on Amerie's NPR Tiny Desk concert.
The cornerstone event, held on Saturday, will also feature visual artists from D.C. and Miami, and will pay homage to the 50th anniversary of the go-go sound, a subgenre of funk that incorporates call and response.
McCoy said showcasing go-go in Miami was a way to put the music on a national platform outside of D.C.
'We still want to also put go-go on a national platform to show that it is great music, that a lot of times it's something that has to be digested live,' McCoy said. 'You got to see the energy. You got to see the enthusiasm of not just the crowd, but also the performers as well.'
McCoy, 48, said that the featured performers are established musicians in their own right and that Top5, one of the bands performing, worked for Mary J. Blige after she heard them providing back up for another band.
'One thing led to another, and she was on tour with them,' he said. 'A lot of the band members work with major artists, whether it's keyboard players, bass players, or drummers.'
Beyond the parties and music, McCoy said the Takeover hosts two community service events, a beach clean up and free dental cleanings to children under 12 years old.
Though he lives in D.C., McCoy feels an affinity for South Florida.
'I've been coming down to Miami and going to the beaches for as long as I can remember,' said McCoy, who was raised near the D.C. area but grew up visiting family in the Miami Gardens area during summers.
The event helps visitors have a more personal experience in Miami, said McCoy. 'We wanted to show people the city through the eyes of locals who could really move around Miami.'
IF YOU GO:
What: The Miami Takeover
When: July 24 - July 27
Where: Various locations, including Miami Beach Bandshell for The Art of Go-Go
Fee: Pricing starts at $23.18 for The Art of Go-Go
Info:
