10 Miami Bands to Watch in 2025

Peel past the many layers of EDM and reggaeton, and you'll find a plethora of local bands keeping the Miami music scene alive. If there's something the Magic City is known for, it's unfortunately not its robust local rock music scene — but it should be.

From punk to jazz and everything in between, Miami is bustling with musicians who pour the chaos of Miami life into their music. As New Times mentioned last year, although the cost of living keeps rising, local musicians continue to put hours of DIY work into their music. Miami, support your local music scene.

In alphabetical order, New Times has picked ten active Miami bands to follow, support, and keep an eye on in 2025.

Anemoia

If you frequent Miami music hubs such as Lagniappe or the Bridge, you're bound to run into the members of Anemoia — Armando Lopez on drums, Aaron Lebos on electric guitar, and Andres Ferret on bass — who often play in different bands. But when the seasoned musicians come together as Anemoia, their groove is electrifying. The psychedelic funk trio is currently in the studio, working hard on writing and recording their fourth album.

Cypher

Hardcore band Cypher — featuring Flipp on guitar, Cristina Ameller on drums, Ethan Molina on bass, and Jordan Tyler Blake on vocals — only recently burst into the scene with a distinctive blend of thrash and punk. Promising to release a debut EP in the next month or two, the band has teased what's to come with the recent single release "Target," which is ideally heard live while thrashing around in a mosh pit.

Folktale San Pedro

I'll never forget seeing Folktale San Pedro serenade a heartbroken audience at Las Rosas the night the Allapattah venue shuttered its doors with only one day's notice. While a long line of eager punks waited outside of the bar, hoping to get into the Miami gem one last night, the few who were lucky to make it danced the pain away to Folktale San Pedro's melodic indie rock. New Times' pick for "Best Band" in 2021 has recently embraced a dance-inspired indietronica and synth-pop direction, always with a sprinkle of silliness led by singer and rhythm guitarist Paco Villafane alongside drummer Javier Nin, guitarist Q Barreto, and a rotating bassist. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to its 2023 debut album, Romance Romance.

Foom!

Foom! isn't just a band but also a "Foom family," unified by long-time collaborations with some of South Florida's most talented musicians. On stage and in the studio, Foom! features an array of rotating musicians, including saxophonists, trombonists, pianists, guitarists, drummers, and singers, to create a full sound and high-energy environment alongside clever rap lyrics. Although the list of collaborators is long, the current lineup includes Max "Papa" Trullenque on bass, Dylan Hall as MC, Angel Perez on piano, Mitch Mattox on the drums, and Eduardo Clavijo on the tenor saxophone. The band is recording new music, which they often dub "Floridacore" because they embrace the innate influence of South Florida's diverse community and genres, such as Caribbean, jazz, hip-hop, rock, and Latin.

Iliad

Since banding together in 2022, four-piece group Iliad — David Cisneros on lead guitar, Arkii Cala on bass, Tobias Steensma on drums, and Juliet Bradley on vocals — has clearly defined its shoegaze, '90s-alt-rock melancholy sound with influences such as Paramore, Slow Pulp, Feeble Little Horse, Momma, and My Bloody Valentine, most notable in the band's debut album Slug released last year. After promoting the album on a South Florida tour, the band returned to working on new material.

J.L.G.

Led by singer Jordan Guadalupe, postpunk, new wave group J.L.G. has cemented its name in the music scene, most notably through Freaky Friday, a live music series Guadalupe founded alongside musician Hadee Dosani. The band performs at every iteration of Freaky Friday at the Sandbox Stage. J.L.G. has also played a few shows in Los Angeles, across the Sunshine State, and recently returned from playing at Nirvana's former stomping grounds, Central Saloon, in Seattle. After releasing a few singles in 2024, J.L.G. is ready to ramp it up in 2025 with a new EP.

Ladyboy

Ladyboy's live show is an incredible experience. Most recently, I caught the garage-rock punk band's chaotic set at III Points. Wearing a sparkly bodycon dress, Wilhelm Schalaudek's roaring vocals and witty remarks anchored the performance. At one point during the show, bassist Mario Lemus climbed on a tower of speakers, eventually throwing his bass across the stage. Next month, Ladyboy will release new music in the lead-up to the band's upcoming EP, which was recorded last year. Recently, the band has been performing outside the Magic City in New York City, Newark, and Baltimore, with Ladyboy hoping 2025 will mark its West Coast debut.

Mold!

Since relocating to Miami from Peru in 2018, musician Carlo Barbacci founded the noise rock collective Mold! with dreams of bringing a new sound to the 305. Alongside friends and collaborators, Barbacci has released the albums No Silence! in 2020 and 2023's self-titled record. Mold! has been touring relentlessly around Florida and the East Coast, playing festivals like Winterland, III Points, and Bumblefest. This year, the band will release its third album, with the first single coming in April with a music video directed by Miami filmmaker Michael Ruiz-Unger.

Mr. Floyd Larry

Led by lead singer and artist Garvey Larrieux, Mr. Floyd Larry recently dropped its 15-track album Different Place and Time, offering a melodic blend of dream pop, shoegaze, postpunk, and funk. Following a performance at III Points, the band celebrated the album's release with a show at ZeyZey. After two months of focused rehearsals, the band is gearing up to jump into the new year with upcoming shows in support of Different Place and Time. In February, the band will make its Chicago debut with Future Nobodies and Woof and then will head to New York City for the New Colossus Festival in March.

Winded

In 2024, the emo shoegaze pop outfit Winded morphed from a solo project by singer and guitarist Thrin Vianale into a full band with the addition of Nick Cody (guitar and additional vocals), James Sturges (bass), and Gunther Schenk (drums). After releasing two tracks, "Wish on the Mezzanine" and "Mercy 27," recorded with Jon Nuñez at Sound Artillery Studio, the band is currently working on a third album, with plans to hit the studio soon.