This is a friendly reminder that Culture Lush is now on a monthly schedule for the summer! I’ll be back at the end of the month with July highlights for you.
And in case you missed last week’s June highlights issue, here’s what’s left for the month…
Jump to: Music, Theater, Dance, Indie Cinema, Book Talks, or Festivals & Such
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Theater
Gablestage: Eureka Day
Gablestage closes out their 2025-26 season with a play I’ve been looking forward to all year. Eureka Day, the Tony Award-winning play by Jonathan Spector, is a hilarious send-up of superwoke parent culture that got rave reviews for its Broadway run last year. The action follows the hyper-polite and painfully correct school board of an elite Berkeley, CA private school, trying to keep the peace when a mumps outbreak triggers all-out parent war.
Through June 14th, 7pm evenings, 2pm matinees, Gablestage at the Biltmore, $40-$60
Neighborhood: Coral Gables
Nearby Eats: Zitz Sum, Rò Steakhouse, Zucca | Drinks: Sospiro Wine Bar, Armstrong Jazz House
The Book of Mormon
Arsht Center presents the touring production of The Book of Mormon, a show that breaks so many rules, it’s hard to believe it’s even legal, much less the 10th longest-running show on Broadway. If you’ve never seen it, be prepared to spit out your expensive show-drink while enjoying the Tony-winning score and modern musical bangers like I Believe.
June 9th-14th, Ziff Ballet Opera House at Arsht, $48-$188
Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District
Nearby Eats: ViceVersa, Klaw, Bunbury | Drinks: Casadonna, Kaona Tiki Room
Music
Tal Cohen at The Burrow
New Coral Gables private salon/bar The Burrow welcomes Grammy-winning jazz pianist Tal Cohen and his trio. Born in Israel, raised in Australia, and now based in Miami, Cohen’s style blends Middle Eastern and Jewish melodic influences with the harmonic depth and spontaneity of modern jazz. Since most Burrow nights are members only, this is a good chance to get a look inside.
Friday, June 12th, 8pm, The Burrow, $85 Early Bird / $95 Door (includes open bar)
Neighborhood: Coral Gables
Nearby Eats: Cantina Leon (new!), Buccan (new!), Salumeria 104 | Drinks: If you haven’t had enough, head to John Martin’s or Bodega
Orquesta Akokán at the Bandshell
Orquesta Akokán, photographed by Casey Liu.
The Rhythm Foundation, in partnership with Deuterman Productions, presents one night in Havana with Orquesta Akokán, a Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban big band that has been lighting up stages worldwide since they burst onto the scene in 2018 with a reenergized, 21st century take on Cuban mambo. This official video for their hit Con Licencia, gorgeously shot in Havana, gives you a taste.
Saturday, June 13th, 7pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $47 (or $532 for a 6 person VIP cabana!)
Neighborhood: North Beach
Nearby Eats: Marc’s Artisanal Pizza, Double Luck, Taquiza | Drinks: Conventillo, Lido Champagne Bar
More Music:
Thursday, June 11th: The 41st annual Community Arts Program summer concert series kicks off with genre-bending cello duo Empire Wild, at 7:30pm at Coral Gables Congregational Church.
Friday, June 12th: The Mainly Mozart Festival concludes with trailblazing chamber ensemble Poiesis Quartet, presenting a program of emotional contemporary work, plus Brahms’s Piano Quintet with festival director and pianist Marina Radiushina, at 7:30pm at UM’s Knight Center for Music Innovation.
Saturday, June 13th: Orchestra Miami continues its new chamber music series, Saturdays at Trinity, with a concert of French Art Nouveau works by Ravel and Faure, at downtown’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, at 7pm.
Saturday, June 20th: Day One of the second annual Gospel Fest at the Arsht Center presents Grammy-winning gospel star Jekalyn Carr, at 7pm.
Sunday, June 21st: Pioneering New Orleans MC Juvenile, whose 1998 classic 400 Degreez brought Louisiana bounce to the world (see Back That Azz Up), visits the Miami Beach Bandshell for one night only, at 7pm.
Thursday, June 24th: The Community Arts Program summer concert series continues, with jazz saxophone phenom Langston Hughes II and his quartet, at 7:30pm at Coral Gables Congregational Church.
Friday, June 26th: Thievery Corporation celebrates their 30th anniversary with a tour of their signature blend of reggae, bossa nova, and dub, at the Miami Beach Bandshell at 7:30pm.
Book Talks
After The End: Dystopian Romance Night
In recent years, bodice-ripping romance has gone from niche to necessary, now accounting for over one-quarter of all book sales. Miami Book Fair, in partnership with Steamy Lit bookstore, celebrates the genre with a panel discussion featuring five leading authors in the wildly popular dystopian subgenre (sample plot: woman wakes after the fall of humanity to a world overrun by monsters and is taken captive by one… Hope he’s handsome!). Ticket prices include a box set of their latest titles.
Tuesday, June 16th, 7:30pm, MDC Wolfson Campus, $70
Neighborhood: Downtown
Nearby Eats: Tâm Tâm, Mangrove, NIU Kitchen | Drinks: Lost Boy Dry Goods, Over Under
More Book Talks:
Monday, June 8th: Bestselling author and race scholar Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. visits Books & Books to discuss his latest work, America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadow’s the Nation’s Anniversaries, at 7pm.
Sunday, June 21st: Books & Books welcomes Lady Tan’s Circle of Women author Lisa See to discuss her new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon, at 5pm.
Indie Cinema
Moonlight: 10th Anniversary Screening
Mahershala Ali and Alex Hibbert in 2016’s “Moonlight,” directed by Barry Jenkins.
Coral Gables Art Cinema presents a special 10th anniversary screening of Moonlight, Barry Jenkins’ groundbreaking Miami film that very memorably won Best Picture over La La Land that year (plus Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali). Filmed in gorgeous 4K digital on location in Liberty City, Virginia Key, and South Beach, the film’s knockout performances and heartbreaking story make it a modern-day masterpiece.
Friday, June 19th, 9pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $12
Neighborhood: Coral Gables
Nearby Eats: Luca Osteria, Zitz Sum, Dojo Izakaya | Drinks: Cebada Rooftop, Books & Books Café
More Indie Cinema:
Wednesday, June 24th: Filmgate’s monthly showcase of short films by local filmmakers is themed “Free-For-All” this month, featuring a wild mix of genres and tones. Should be fun! 7pm at Silverspot Cinema.
Dance
José Manuel Álvarez: Captura y Fuga
Dancer José Manuel Álvarez pulls from the archive of renowned photographer René Robert, whose fifty years of flamenco photography inspired Captura y Fuga, a performance where dance and digital art converge. Álvarez seeks to translate the captured moments into the present, embodying photographer and dancer alike.
Sunday, June 14th, 5pm, Carnival Studio Theater at Arsht, $88
Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District
Nearby Eats: ViceVersa, Klaw, Bunbury | Drinks: Casadonna, Kaona Tiki Room
Festivals & Such
Fairchild’s Annual Mango Festival
No city goes mango crazy like Miami, and for over thirty years, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has given us a safe space to show our love with its annual Mango Festival. The fest is partly educational, with over 400 varieties of mangos on display, but mostly about eating and drinking mangos every which way, with chefs on hand for demonstrations and tastings. The annual brunch ($135), which always sells out, features chefs from Sunny’s, Phuc Yea, and Zak the Baker this year. So if you’re interested, I’d get those tickets now.
June 13th-14th, 10am-5pm both days, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, $28 (kids are $15)
Neighborhood: South Gables
Nearby Eats: You’ll find all the (mango-related) food you can possibly eat on site | Drinks: Ditto (try the “Mango Cocktail Flight”)
Freedom Plane: Documents That Forged A Nation
On June 15th, the National Archives’ “Freedom Plane” will touch down in Miami to much fanfare, carrying a trove of original, founding-era documents that haven’t left Washington, D.C. in decades, including the Declaration of Independence and the signed Treaty of Paris. From June 20th-July 5th, you can view these living artifacts at the Museum of Miami. Visitors can also share their “Wishes for America” on the museum’s new digital mural.
June 20th-July 5th, 11am-4:30pm, Museum of Miami (f.k.a. HistoryMiami), $15
Neighborhood: Downtown
Nearby Eats: Tâm Tâm, Mangrove, Fratesi’s Pizza | Drinks: OverUnder, Lost Boy Dry Goods
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