Live Arts Miami Presents Small Island Big Song  Indigenous Voices Sing Out Amidst Sea Level Rise

Miami Dade College's (MDC) Live Arts Miami, one of Miami's first and boldest performing arts series, presents Small Island Big Song, a globally acclaimed collective of musicians representing 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans in a live concert on Friday, Feb. 25, at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach.

Showcasing their music in Miami for the very first time, Small Island Big Song is renowned for its gorgeous, multidisciplinary performances combining music, spoken word, and film that address the impacts of sea-level rise and climate change on their delicate homelands. Having toured Europe and Asia to wide acclaim, the local premiere of this groundbreaking and unforgettable project represents an exciting new chapter in the project's history, connecting beyond the Indian and Pacific into the Caribbean. Small Island Big Song presents a contemporary and relevant musical statement for our city, connecting two regions on the frontlines of the environmental challenges we face today.

A global clarion call for climate action, the live concert draws together the authority and perspectives of first nation elders framed in a theatrical narrative amid panoramic visuals and expressed in one universal language - music. The audience experiences a musical journey across the breadth and into the soul of island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The ensemble draws on a roster of respected indigenous artists whose unique lineages mixed with their diverse contemporary styles - roots-reggae, beats, R&B, folk & spoken-word, establish a contemporary musical dialogue between cultures as far afield as Madagascar, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Taiwan, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), creating "One coherent jaw-dropping piece" as described by Rob Schwartz - Billboard.

Small Island Big Song will be in residence for a week in Miami, engaging in a variety of educational events for MDC students and the general public. A field trip is scheduled for middle and high school students in collaboration with local environmental organization Dream in Green and Miami-Dade County Public School's Cultural Passport Program, where students will enjoy a mini-concert and talk with the artists. Community engagement is also planned to facilitate cross-cultural collaboration and solidarity between Miami-based Caribbean artists and Small Island Big Song artists.

About Small Island Big Song

Small Island Big Song is a multi-platform project uniting the seafaring cultures of the Pacific and Indian Oceans through songs, a contemporary and relevant musical statement from a region at the frontline of the Climate Crisis. Founded by Taiwanese producer BaoBao Chen and Australian music producer and filmmaker Tim Cole in 2015, the two have been recording and filming with over a hundred musicians in nature across 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The outcomes include an award-winning album, a feature film, outreach programs, and a live concert that has toured around the world across four continents reaching over 170K+ live audiences since the world premiere at SXSW 2018.

WHAT: Small Island Big Song

WHEN: Friday, Feb. 25, 8 p.m.

WHERE: North Beach Bandshell

7272 Collins Ave., Miami Beach

TICKETS: $35 General Admission at www.NorthBeachBandshell.com.

For more information about this performance, visit www.liveartsmiami.org.

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