Press Releases

Create Miami’s Official Anthem

Published

7 months ago

March 6, 2026

South Florida Insider

Miami Has Never Formally Adopted an Official Anthem; A New Contest is Asking the World to Write One. Elevate Miami and Guitars Over Guns in collaboration with the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami Launch “Elevated Tracks 305.”

March 4th, 2026

Miami is one of the most musically influential cities in the world. From Latin pop and hip-hop to jazz and electronic music, its sound has traveled globally. Yet unlike cities such as New York or San Francisco, Miami does not have a formally adopted anthem.

That may be about to change through a new independent, community-driven cultural initiative.

Elevate Miami and Guitars Over Guns are launching “Elevated Tracks 305” in collaboration with the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. The global open call invites creators anywhere in the world with a meaningful connection to Miami to compose an original, contemporary anthem that captures the city’s rhythm, complexity, resilience, and cultural influence.

Submissions open March 4, 2026 and close March 30, 2026.

The initiative is supported by iconic global artists and industry leaders with Miami roots, including Grammy-Award winning songwriter and producer Rico Love, Latin Grammy and Grammy-Award winning singer-songwriter Jon Secada; Latin Grammy and Grammy-Award winning songwriter and producer Rudy Pérez, and Latin Grammy award-winning producer, songwriter, and Frost School alumnus Danny Flores. The Distinguished Jury includes Julio Bagué, Vice President Latin Division East Coast and Puerto Rico at peermusic, Chad Bernstein, Founder & CEO of Guitars Over Guns, and award-winning faculty members from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.

Open to all genres, including Latin, pop, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, fusion and beyond, the competition will award a total of six winners, three adults and three youth. In each category, first place will receive $10,000, second place $2,500 and third place $1,000. All winners will also receive citywide and national amplification through media, live performances and digital platforms in 2026.

“The Frost School of Music has had a profound impact on the arts, music, and cultural scene in Miami since the school opened its doors nearly 100 years ago. In that time, our institution has cultivated and supported talented songwriters whose music has etched itself into people’s hearts and minds,” said Dean Shelton G. “Shelly” Berg of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. “Our esteemed faculty and renowned alumni are proud to lend their expertise to select songs by a new generation of Miamians, identifying fresh musical anthems that will capture the spirit of the city today and for generations to come.”

“Guitars Over Guns has helped young artists find their voice and tell their stories for nearly 20 years,” adds Bernstein. “This initiative honors those voices alongside established creators and industry leaders. It reflects Miami’s full creative ecosystem – intergenerational, diverse, and fearless.”

Joe Deitch, Founder of the Elevate Prize Foundation, Elevate Cities, and Elevate Miami, described the project as emblematic of Elevate’s broader mission.

“Elevate Miami is designed to spark bold, joy-filled moments that strengthen belonging, connection, and civic pride at scale,” said Deitch. “Elevated Tracks 305 is more than a contest. It is an invitation for creators to help define how this city presents itself to the world for the next generation.”

Final winners will be determined through a 50 percent jury and 50 percent public vote model.

By aligning Guitars Over Guns’ deep community impact and Elevate Miami’s ambition to reimagine civic engagement, along with the prestige of the Frost School of Music, Elevated Tracks 305 sets a new standard for how arts institutions and civic platforms can collaborate to create enduring cultural artifacts.

Winners will be announced in early May. Learn more at: www.elevatecities.org/miami/elevatedtracks305/

Songs may be submitted at elevatecities.submittable.com

About Elevate Miami / Elevate Cities
Elevate Cities is a bold new civic platform incubated within the Miami-based Elevate Prize Foundation, founded by philanthropist Joseph Deitch. Elevate Cities is pioneering a national model for city-scale renewal through culture, storytelling, and public celebration. Its first initiative, Elevate Miami, experiments with creative contests, awards, and shared rituals designed to help cities become the versions of themselves and amplify what’s working. Learn more at www.elevatecities.org

About Guitars Over Guns
Guitars Over Guns is an award-winning creative youth development nonprofit serving Miami for nearly 20 years. Through music, mentorship, and industry access, GOGO empowers young people to find their voice, build confidence, and pursue purpose. Its innovative artist ownership model centers youth agency while supporting production and amplification, and its alumni are increasingly shaping Miami’s cultural future. Learn more at https://www.guitarsoverguns.org

About the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami

Established in 1926, the highly acclaimed Frost School of Music at the University of Miami is one of the top music schools in the world. In addition to being repeatedly recognized as a top music business school by Billboard magazine, the Frost School is listed as a top music school by Downbeat Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, InTune Magazine, Musical America Worldwide, Niche, College Factual, and U.S. News and World Report, among others. Students choose to attend the school for its innovative and dynamic curriculum; real-world opportunities in the U.S. and abroad; award-winning, highly regarded faculty; access to local Latin music record labels, festivals, and artists; and its state-of-the-art campus in Miami, one of the top music cities in the world.

Students who attend the Frost School benefit from its “THIS AND” approach to education thanks to its priority on combining traditional concentrations with cutting-edge programs that equip students with the artistic, technological, and entrepreneurial skills needed for success in today’s world. Referred to as the Frost Method®, this unique approach enables students to become well-rounded musicians and industry professionals. Around the world, Frost School alumni are known as being “Frost Built,” a term that’s become synonymous with the music creators, performers, educators, therapists, technologists, and industry professionals of the future who are ready to realize their professional passions, establish themselves as leaders, and make real contributions to society – thanks to their multidisciplinary education. Learn more at frost.miami.edu.

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Palace Miami Beach Is Going All Out for LGBTQ+ History Month

Published

1 day ago

October 1, 2026

McKaela Lulic

Drag brunches, rooftop parties, a Courage Wall, Halloween chaos and meaningful moments of community are taking over Ocean Drive this fall.

October 1, 2026

There are some places in South Florida that just feel like Miami, and Palace is absolutely one of them.

The drag. The music. The brunch. The people walking down Ocean Drive who suddenly realize they’re part of the show. If you’ve been, you know.

But Palace Miami Beach has also spent nearly four decades being something much bigger than a fun place to spend a Sunday afternoon. For generations of South Florida’s LGBTQ+ community, it has been a place to show up, be seen, find your people and celebrate exactly who you are.

And this October and November, Palace is leaning into all of it.

For LGBTQ+ History Month, the Ocean Drive icon is rolling out nearly two months of events that somehow manage to include drag, dating, voter registration, comedy, rooftop pool parties, Halloween, Thanksgiving and some genuinely meaningful community moments.

It is a lot. In the best possible way.

First Up: Love, Drag and a Very Palace Start to October

October 1 kicks things off with Love Is a Drag, Palace’s first singles dinner club and networking mixer.

Because apparently even dating is more fun with Palace involved.

Guests can meet over dinner, drinks and conversation before the evening rolls right into Welcome to the Family: Drag Turnabout, a three-night event where Palace staff get their own full drag transformations and compete onstage. Poizon Ivy Lords, CC Glitzer and Tiffany Fantasia will each host a night from October 1 through 3.

Already, we’re off to a very strong start.

But what we really like about this entire lineup is that Palace isn’t treating LGBTQ+ History Month as just another reason to throw a party. The parties are definitely happening, but there’s purpose behind them too.

Throughout October, Palace will host nonpartisan voter registration and civic engagement events, with Miami Beach commissioners joining Tuesday programming throughout the month. The goal is simple: make it easy for people to get registered, find voting resources and connect with local leaders in a space where they’re already comfortable gathering.

We love that.

The Courage Wall Might Be Our Favorite Part

Then comes October 11, National Coming Out Day, and this is where the calendar gets especially meaningful.

At exactly 10:11 a.m., Palace will unveil The Courage Wall, a community installation built around one sentence:

“I found the courage to…”

That’s it.

Guests get to decide how the sentence ends.

Maybe it’s coming out. Maybe it’s finally being yourself. Maybe it’s supporting someone you love, leaving something behind, starting over or speaking up when it would have been easier not to.

There’s something really lovely about taking all of those individual stories and putting them together in one place.

Later that day, Palace is teaming up with SAVE for a special National Coming Out Day Drag Brunch bringing together Palace performers, community members, supporters and local leaders. A featured cocktail during the weekend will also benefit SAVE.

And because emotional reflection and a rooftop pool party can absolutely exist on the same day in Miami, Palace will also host its National Coming Out Day Rooftop Pool Party from noon to 10 p.m. with DJs Jesus Montanez and Jrny.

Honestly, that’s kind of the whole Palace experience in one day.

And Then Palace Goes Full Halloween

Before we even get to Halloween, there’s Love Out Loud Weekend from October 16–18, celebrating couples, friends, allies and chosen families.

Then Tiffany Fantasia is taking over the rooftop on October 23 for the debut of Laughs on Top: Tiffany & Friends, a new monthly comedy series. South Florida comedian and actor Lisa Corrao joins the first show.

And then things get wonderfully ridiculous.

From October 26 through November 1, Palace transforms into Camp Palace: The Final Slay.

Yes, that’s the real name. No notes.

The week includes Deadly Dolls, Secrets from the Crypt, Slasher Night, Noche de los Muertos and The Final Girls before everything culminates with The Final Slay on Halloween night. Expect drag, costumes, themed entertainment, cocktails, food and exactly the amount of Halloween drama you’d hope for from Palace.

Palace isn’t even staying in Miami Beach for the night. The team is also heading to Wilton Manors to produce Halloween entertainment at Wicked Manors, complete with its own Mayhem Masquerade programming and costume competitions.

November Brings an Important Moment of Visibility

Once Halloween is over, Palace shifts the focus.

Transgender Awareness Week runs November 13–19, followed by Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, and Palace will use its programming to highlight transgender talent, visibility and community.

On November 20, Palace will host a special Transgender Day of Remembrance Brunch featuring an all-trans cast.

This one isn’t simply another themed brunch.

The event is designed to create space for performance and visibility while also making room for remembrance and reflection. A portion of the proceeds will benefit a local trans-inclusive organization.

Later that evening, Laughs on Top returns with comedian Brad Loekle.

Oh, and There’s Food. Obviously.

Palace’s fall isn’t only about what’s happening onstage.

The culinary team heads to Lummus Park on October 24 for Seafood Slam at the South Beach Seafood Festival, while Palace’s seasonal menu gets very into fall with a Pumpkin Espresso Martini, Harvest Pumpkin Margarita, Pumpkin & Burrata Arepa, Brown Butter Pumpkin Gnocchi and seasonal desserts.

November keeps going with an Official Latin GRAMMY Watch Party in partnership with Gilead on November 12 and, because Miami apparently needed this and we just didn’t know it yet, a Coffee Party with Oscar G on November 23.

Then Thanksgiving week brings the whole season back to one of its sweetest themes: chosen family.

Palace is planning Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving dining centered around turkey, traditional holiday favorites and a table meant for friends, relatives and the families we create for ourselves. Thanksgiving weekend closes with a November 27 rooftop pool party featuring DJ Oscar Velazquez.

This Is Why Palace Is Still Palace

What makes this lineup fun isn’t just that there is so much happening.

It’s that somehow it all makes sense together.

You can register to vote and then watch a drag show. You can write something deeply personal on the Courage Wall and spend the afternoon dancing on a rooftop. You can remember people the community has lost while also celebrating the people who are here.

That’s what LGBTQ+ spaces have always been capable of being: joyful and serious, loud and safe, ridiculous and meaningful, sometimes all at once.

After nearly four decades on Ocean Drive, Palace seems to understand that better than most.

As General Manager AJ Prasaguet put it, Palace has always been about more than what happens on its stage. It’s also about the people who walk through the doors and find community there.

And this fall?

They’re giving everyone plenty of reasons to walk through those doors.

Keep Up With Palace

With this much happening over the next two months, there’s a pretty good chance Palace will give us even more reasons to head to Ocean Drive.

Follow @palacesobe on Instagram and visit the Palace Miami Beach website for the latest events, reservations, performers and everything else they have coming up.