Spam Allstars and Tony & The Kings headline Live En La Playa, a free open-air concert at Lummus Park in Miami Beach on Saturday, October 10, from 6 to 11 p.m. The second annual event closes out the City of Miami Beach’s Hispanic Heritage Month programming with Latin funk, Afro-Caribbean jazz, DJ sets and a vinyl record fair.
Key Takeaways
- Live En La Playa takes place at Lummus Park, 6th Street and Ocean Drive, and is free with an RSVP.
- Spam Allstars, led by DJ Le Spam, perform the “electronic descarga” sound the band has built in Miami since the mid-1990s.
- Tony & The Kings bring Afro-Caribbean jazz to the bill, with DJ sets curated by Aaron Brown (Mr. Brown), Miami Is an Island and Tiki Tumbao Records.
- The Miami Is an Island Record Fair sells vinyl from across Latin America and the Hispanic diaspora.
- Cut and Destroy runs a free station where attendees design heritage-inspired pin buttons.
A Free Night of Miami Sound on Ocean Drive
Live En La Playa is part of OnStage!, the City of Miami Beach program that places free live performances and temporary art installations in parks and public spaces across the city. Presented in partnership with Miami Jazz Booking, this year’s edition moves the event to Lummus Park, putting the bandstand steps from the sand at the south end of Ocean Drive.
The format is built for lingering. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket and settle onto the lawn, and the five-hour window leaves room for both live sets and DJ curation between them. With Hispanic Heritage Month winding down in mid-October, the concert works as one of the season’s closing celebrations, and one of the few that costs nothing to attend.
Spam Allstars Carry Three Decades of Miami Music Into the Park
Few acts tell the story of Miami’s music scene the way Spam Allstars do. Founder Andrew Yeomanson, known as DJ Le Spam, was born in Montreal and lived in the United Kingdom, Tampa and Colombia before settling in Miami in 1990. He formed the band in the early-to-mid 1990s, starting with DJ sets layered with live instruments that grew into a full band.
The group calls its sound “electronic descarga.” The term borrows from the descargas, the improvised Latin jazz jam sessions of 1950s Havana, and the band’s version mixes Latin rhythms, funk and electronic production with turntables and samples. Spam Allstars built their following with a long-running weekly residency at Hoy Como Ayer in Little Havana before touring nationally and internationally.
That history matters on a night framed around heritage. The band’s music draws on the Caribbean and Latin American migrations that shaped Miami, and Yeomanson has described the city’s identity in plain terms: “Miami’s made of many, many sounds, and it always has been.” A Spam Allstars set on Ocean Drive during Hispanic Heritage Month puts that idea directly in front of the audience it describes.
Tony & The Kings and Local Curators Round Out the Lineup
Tony & The Kings bring Afro-Caribbean jazz to the second slot, giving the night a contrast between the Spam Allstars’ electronic edge and a more traditional jazz-rooted sound. Between and around the live sets, three local tastemakers handle the music. Aaron Brown, who performs as Mr. Brown, is joined by the Miami Is an Island crew and Tiki Tumbao Records’ Travis Acker and Lula Rios.
The curator list reflects how much of Miami’s music culture lives outside major venues. Record labels, crate-digging collectives and independent DJs keep regional sounds circulating long after the festival season ends, and Live En La Playa gives them the same stage as the headliners.
Vinyl, Pin Buttons and Hands-On Heritage
The Miami Is an Island Record Fair turns part of Lummus Park into a pop-up record shop, with vinyl spanning Latin America and the Hispanic diaspora. For collectors, the fair offers a chance to find regional pressings that rarely surface in mainstream stores. For newcomers, it is an easy entry point into the music the night celebrates.
Cut and Destroy adds a hands-on element with a station where attendees can create and customize their own heritage-inspired pin buttons. The activity keeps the event accessible to families and gives visitors something to take home besides a record.
Live En La Playa Returns After a Weather-Delayed Debut
The concert’s first edition in 2025 ran at Altos Del Mar Park in North Beach, featuring Jacuzzi Boys with Allapattah psychedelic cumbia band Sonora Tukukuy and DJ Le Spam, and was pushed to a later date because of incoming weather. This year’s move to Lummus Park places the event in one of Miami Beach’s most visible public spaces, with DJ Le Spam stepping up from DJ support to headliner with his full band.
The shift signals how the OnStage! series is treating Live En La Playa: less as a one-off and more as a recurring fixture in the city’s fall cultural calendar.
FAQs
When and where is Live En La Playa 2026?
Live En La Playa takes place Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 6 to 11 p.m. at Lummus Park, 6th Street and Ocean Drive, in Miami Beach.
Is Live En La Playa free?
Yes. The concert is free, but attendees need to RSVP in advance through the City of Miami Beach OnStage! event listing.
Who is performing at Live En La Playa?
Spam Allstars and Tony & The Kings headline, with DJ sets curated by Aaron Brown (Mr. Brown), Miami Is an Island and Tiki Tumbao Records’ Travis Acker and Lula Rios.
What is electronic descarga?
Electronic descarga is the name Spam Allstars use for their sound, which blends Latin rhythms, funk and electronic music. The term references the improvised Latin jazz jam sessions of 1950s Havana.
