III Points starts next week, and once again Miami can expect one of its signature events to take flight. Being from a different generation — one allegedly more diligent and less obsessed with carrying a designer metal water bottle everywhere — I’ve spent the past week listening to artists I’ve never heard of. It’s been fun. It’s also a reminder that III Points remains one of the few Miami events where large numbers of brand-new discoveries still feel possible.
This year brings two nights, five city blocks, 294 artists, and 13 stages. The festival returns to Mana Wynwood, hopefully not for the last time. One of our more prominent billionaires, Moishe Mana, sold the property to our newest prominent billionaire, Ken Griffin, for a cool billion. Griffin then folded the Wynwood real estate into his newly announced $3 billion commitment to Carnegie Mellon University’s Miami campus — roughly $2 billion of which is tied directly to the land. In Miami, cultural space is always one billionaire’s mood swing away from disappearing, so let’s hope the $10 million Griffin dropped into potential Governor Byron Donalds’ political committee buys at least a little love for loud music and late nights. Losing the location wouldn’t be surprising, but it would be sad. For now, though, we still get the full sprawl: two nights, five blocks, 294 artists, 13 stages.
I wish an old head like me could tell you more about those 294 artists, but alas, I’m no longer hip enough to pretend. I know some of the headliners — throwbacks like Lil’ Kim and Bone Thugs‑N‑Harmony go way back. I’ve enjoyed Flying Lotus, Men I Trust, Connan Mockasin, Danny Brown, and Parcels, so I’ll try to catch them Friday. Saturday brings Blood Orange, Four Tet, and Tricky. That’s about as far as my knowledge goes.
Generally, the formula that works best at festivals like this involves what we might call the Ibiza / Club Space / Berlin / Ultra sound. It still works. If that’s you, expect two full days of it.
Like the constellations surrounding Art Basel, III Points has built its own orbit — Satellite events stretching across the city, pulling in venues, promoters, and artists eager to ride the wave. It’s a welcome expansion: more rooms, more nights, more chances for Miami’s ever‑growing music scene to show off the places, spaces, and people shaping its sound.
All of this is powered by a trifecta: Insomniac bringing the national muscle, III Points guru David Sinopoli steering the vision, and Club Space + Factory Town supplying the local backbone. It’s a creative arrangement, a practical one, and in Miami, that’s about as good as it gets. Let’s hope it stays intact, because right now, it’s working splendidly.
So people, grab your makeup, your clothes, your outfits, your designers. I’ll be the Woodstock‑generation guy wandering between stages. If you see me, point me toward the Lil’ Kim set and away from anything involving glow sticks.
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