Bâoli on Collins runs as a restaurant by night and a celebrity-driven dance floor after dinner, the kind of South Beach room where the meal slides into a DJ set and the bottle service starts walking past 23:00.
Tip: Reserve a table to skip the door wait; the conversion from restaurant to club happens around 23:00 most weekends.
Address: 1906 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater is the 2,200-seat Art Deco hall on Washington Avenue where Live Nation books touring rock, hip-hop, Latin and comedy acts through the year.
Tip: Orchestra rows behind the soundboard sound best. Doors usually 19:00 with show at 20:00; Lincoln Road parking garages are the easy lot.
Ball & Chain on Calle Ocho has run live Cuban music since 1935, the restored Little Havana jazz-era nightclub where Billie Holiday and Chet Baker once played and where the Saturday Pachanga still draws a salsa floor.
Tip: Live jazz starts Thursday to Saturday around 18:00, then bands roll through to close. Saturday Pachanga from 21:00 is the dance night.
Hoy Como Ayer on Calle Ocho is the small Little Havana music room that took the old Café Nostalgia space and books live son, timba, trova and Cuban jazz Thursdays through Sundays.
Tip: Thursday to Saturday from 17:00 to 02:00, Sunday afternoon sessions noon to 20:00. The room holds about 200, so arrive early on band nights.
Café La Trova on Calle Ocho is the Julio Cabrera and Michelle Bernstein room that runs cantinero-style cocktails alongside live Cuban music and a small salsa floor every night the kitchen serves.
Tip: Reserve a dinner table for the early band sets; the bar takes walk-ins and the late-night dance crowd builds after 22:30.
The Miami Beach Bandshell on Collins in North Beach is the open-air 1961 amphitheater run by Rhythm Foundation, with global music, jazz, hip-hop and free city-sponsored programming through the year.
Tip: Many shows are free or low cost; bring a cushion for the bench seating. Sunset shows in winter are the sweet spot for weather.
The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater is the 2,200-seat Art Deco hall on Washington Avenue where Live Nation books touring rock, hip-hop, Latin and comedy acts through the year.
Tip: Orchestra rows behind the soundboard sound best. Doors usually 19:00 with show at 20:00; Lincoln Road parking garages are the easy lot.
The Olympia Theater on East Flagler is the 1926 Vaudeville and silent-film palace that now runs as a 1,567-seat concert and performing arts room in the heart of Downtown Miami.
Tip: Sightlines are best from the center mezzanine. Parking is easier at the InterContinental garage two blocks east toward Biscayne.