The DIY festival with a lineup of Miami-based artists showcases a growing scene that’s not just EDM and house DJs.
Like most indie groups , the Miami - based bandMustard Servicecame up hopping on bills and getting on any stage they could to showcase their dazed - out , breaker - steep indie pop . But in 2019 , after three years of playing shows together , the five - patch radical was ready to curate their own effect , says principal guitarist Gabriel " Nuchi " Marinuchi .
So they booked out an onetime Christian church — but the vision was n’t to host justanyshow . " We want to make it like a fete , " says drummer Adam Perez , explaining how they wrangled a handful of their friends from the region and beyond onto the bill and found local trafficker to sell art and food .
Friends were staff the bar , Miami Guitar Center was there sell custom guitars , and outside of the church — which their acquaintance do to knock down out in lights — there was a food motortruck and games set up up . As for the band , singer / guitarist Marco Rivero Ochoa and keyboard player Leo Cattani were meddlesome acting as the door guys , not realise until just before their readiness that they ’d have to notice someone else to hold their post when they actually performed their headlining show .
Mustard Service|Photo by Opal Estelle
While the band agrees it was " really DIY , " Zest Fest — the event nominate after their first record album , 2017’sZest Pop , and their self - describe auditory sensation of the same name — is still run low strong today .
The fete has since dilate into other cities outside of their South Florida house like San Diego and LA and theirbiggest - ever Miami iterationis coming up on August 5 . To celebrate the spillage of their third albumVariety Pack(out August 3 ) , the grouping will be cast their tardy Zest Fest with a lineup of all Miami - base band at theMiami Beach Bandshell .
The fete has become a mode for the band , made up exclusively of Miami natives , to show some love to the local scene they came up in . While Miami has a reputation for boil out Soundcloud rapper and DJs — thanks to its copiousclubsand EDM fete — Mustard Service is among the stripe putting the DIY scene on the map and play up the eclectic Miami music landscape .
" This [ Zest Fest ] will really be even more local , " pronounce Marinuchi , noting it ’s at a " Miami - ass venue " near the beach and reckon , as Cattani says , " a very , very big name for Miami Beach house physician . "
The batting order is an ode to their hometown , too . Because while the first looping of Zest Fest admit a chemical group from New York , this time around features exclusively fellow scenesters . They call for their " closest homies " in the post - cheesy groupDonzii , the jazz - indie fusion quartetSeafoam Walls , and indie outfitBetter Than Thisto join them , withFish Dip Freestyleon as MC . After play Zest Fests on the West Coast , they all agree they ’re " absolutely " look forward to this record book release return .
The Miami picture has expand quite a mo in the backwash of Mustard Service and their age group of friends in other DIY groups . Rivero Ocho says the metropolis was mostly home to pelvis - hop , salsa or reality music , and a flake of EDM , until indie band likeJacuzzi BoysandMagic City Hippiesstarted to give out out in the mid-2010s .
Photo by Opal Estelle
" I think back going with Nuchi to aFolktale San Pedroshow , which is another local Miami band , and they were trifle a house show , ” articulate the lead singer . “ I remember thinking like , ' Holy piece of ass , people are act indie rock in Miami , ' which was , for me , unheard of . "
The dance orchestra also excuse the grandness of piazza likeSweat Recordsin the expansion of the aspect , and the now - defunct venue Churchill ’s Pub , where Perez says crowds were uprise over the eld from regulars to bigger groups .
apart from one of their friends who managed to nip several hundred in his backyard for events , most of the gigs from uprise acts were held in distance in the outskirt of the city that had the " spirit " of sign shows ( " because Hispanic parent do n’t let their Kyd throw parties , " Rivero Ochoa jokes ) , taking over spaces like terpsichore studio apartment after hour ; warehouses , including one calledLucid Gallery ; and storage units .
Photo by Opal Estelle
" masses would rent out a warehousing unit for a calendar month and one weekend would be rap nighttime , another weekend would be psychedelic rock-and-roll , another weekend would be everything mix , " River Ochoa explains .
That transonic diversity is what Mustard Service identifies as the most singular aspect of the Miami scene — and perhaps what ’s most deserving celebrating . A reputation for clubbing , want of smaller music locus , and Miami ’s locating in a difficult region to tour , “ kind of force the Miami sound to be eclectic , " Marinuchi aver .
" Sometimes you ’ll say , ' They have an LA sound , ' ' They have a Brooklyn auditory sensation , ' but here it ’s a free - for - all , " the guitar player shares . " We ’ll have the hardcore dance band , the indie band , and then the folk ring all play together . "
Cattani chime in , " I ’ve been to show where a punk stria opens for an indie band , which then opens for a ska band"—only for Rivero Ochoa to come in with , " We’veplayedthose shows . "
" And then there ’s a rapper somewhere in there , " Cattani continue , with Perez supply , " And a DJ set at 1 am . "
That eclectic method is what they love about their scene and one of the principal rationality they ’ve stayed , in addition to reasons like fiscal stableness , comfort , and their love for the city ’s Latin culture . In fact , all of Mustard Service comes from Latin declension , and they incessantly find themselves inspire by the Latin euphony they hear throughout Miami .
" Some of the best musicians that I ’ve seen play live were playing salsa , " Roberto Ochoa say . " Sometimes you ’ll randomly catch a hardening of salsa musician in some corner playing , and they ’re unbelievable . They can be playing to five citizenry , but they love the music so much that they would play to zero . For me , that ’s super inspiring . "
There are many reasons Mustard Service loves their city , but the striation themselves are a reason to screw Miami , too . They ’re among the musician continuing to make the tantrum all the more eclectic and give it the space to boom with undertaking like Zest Fest . If you make it to this class ’s , you ’re sure to see that energy radiating from the band and the residuum of the bill as they take the bandshell point .
