I am happy to say that locally, there is some truly fantastic shit going on.  I’ve said it before that Miami is the next Seattle in that there are a ton of talented acts ready to pop…

Awesome New Republic are one of the best bands out right now, period.  They consider themselves to make “pop” music but have utilized just about every genre of modern music in their songs.  They got a lot of press recently when Leighton Meester of Gossip Girls sang one of their tracks.  The notoriously picky Pitchfork.tv site just debuted their latest video which is a must-see:

Awesome New Republic – Digital World:

¡MAYDAY! are a local hip hop act that take it to the next level.  They play with live musicians and did a track last year that Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley did guest vocals for!  They have a super dedicated local following with a street team and everything.

Otto Von Schirach is a local favorite for his bass-heavy electronic music. He’s toured the world and put out a record on Mike Patton’s esteemed Ipecac record label.  He did a cracked-out cover of “When Doves Cry” for a Prince tribute years ago at Sweat Records and now “Sliced Doves on Codeine” is one of his most-requested tracks.

Rachel Goodrich’s music is so original she needed to invent a new genre for it: shake-a-billy!  She plays guitar, banjo, harmonica, a mean kazoo(!) and has been likened to a female Bob Dylan, with some Grateful Dead, Buddy Holly and Django Reinhardt throw in.

Here’s a short piece on Rachel from the local PlumTV affiliate.

Last but not least one of my personal favorite local acts is Life of Seals.  They’re dreamy and melodic but with a more bombastic sound…imagine if The Postal Service rocked out a bit more.  They create a huge wall of sound live and it’s hard to believe that band consists of only two guys.