III Points Music, Art + Technology Festival stormed the iconic Mana Wynwood with a weekend full of impressive performances from highly-anticipated acts as well as art installations from eclectic artists that truly embodied the definition of Miami’s notorious art and music scene. The festival completely sold out for the first time in its history as it attracted over 15,000 guests each day.
The festival is famous for bringing in local artists as well as incorporating contemporary art into all parts of the event. However, this year drew an enormous crowd with their impressive lineup featuring Gorillaz, The xx, Bonobo, Skepta, Nicolas Jaar and many more.
The festival featured art installations that varied from projected visuals to a disco ball looming by a crane over the Mind Melt main stage. Stage setups also varied from your typical outdoors setups, to more intimate house party-like warehouses that offered fresh sounds from local artists varying from electro-house to hip-hop influenced indie tracks. III Points definitely set the tone for Miami’s iconic music and art scene which brought in attendees who were ready to indulge in their favorite artists who they don’t get to see everyday.
III Points initially drew a large crowd for their top two headliners which were Gorillaz and The xx. With it being Gorillaz’s first ever South Florida performance and The xx’s first Miami performance in over four years, the excitement and anticipation was hard not to detect.
Gorillaz closed the Mind Melt stage on the first night of the event with a stellar performance that gave fans most of what they wanted. Considering their performance is a part of their current Humanz tour, the band played a mix of their new hits as well as songs from their previous albums. Songs on the set list included “Saturn Barz”, “Melancholy Hill”, “Last Living Souls”, and “She’s My Collar” in which Khali Uchis (who had her own set time at the festival) joined front man Damn Albarn for her feature on the hit song. The band closed their set with a rare performance of “Plastic Beach” which was solely dedicated to the city of Miami by Albarn himself. Although the band refrained from playing their mega hit “Feel Good, Inc” and finished their set ten minutes before schedule, guests were still mesmerized by their crisp sound and cartoon visuals.
Closing the last night of the festival, The xx completely swooned the sea of emotional fans with an incredibly energetic, yet soulful performance. Although they are currently promoting their newest album I See You, the indie group performed a balance of all their albums as they began with “Intro” and closed with “Angels”, a hit off their 2012 Coexist album. The band completely captivated the hearts and energy of fans as they stepped out of their known shells into a more open positive vibe. Both Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim provided flawless vocals with the addition of their killer bass and guitar skills, while Jamie Xx took over the electronic instruments and even gave us a taste of his electro DJ set.
The energy transcended throughout the weekend was prevalent as festival goers were able to enjoy endless amounts of authentic music all while being able to interact and be a part of art itself. The hype was real with this one, as III Points can officially dub itself as Miami’s own festival gem. Let’s see what next year has in store for the Magic City.