
Hello Miami!
Charlie Puth is at Hard Rock Live tonight, the Marlins are hosting Tampa Bay at loanDepot right now, and the FIFA Fan Festival at Bayfront has fully hit its stride this week. Rosalia played Thursday and by all accounts it was a show worth bragging about for a while. The Book of Mormon opens at the Arsht Center on Tuesday and the Dolce and Gabbana show at ICA Miami closes in nine days. There is a lot going on. Let's get to it.
— Matthew Larsen

Best Events June 5 - June 8
Fri, Jun 5, 8pm: Charlie Puth: Whatever's Clever World Tour at Hard Rock Live — Charlie Puth brings his current tour to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood tonight, joined by Lawrence and Ally Salort. It is a polished production and Puth is genuinely one of the better live performers working right now. Tickets required.
Fri, Jun 5, 7:10pm: Tampa Bay Rays vs Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park —A Friday night baseball game in Miami is one of the better low-key summer evenings this city offers. Cold beer, open-air stadium, and a game that gives you permission to sit outside for three hours without guilt. Tickets from around $15.
Ongoing thru July 5: FIFA Fan Festival at Bayfront Park — Still going strong. Free entry, live match screenings, food and drinks, and a waterfront location that makes it hard to leave early. The first Miami World Cup match is June 15. Free.
Jun 9-14: The Book of Mormon at the Adrienne Arsht Center — The nine-time Tony Award winning musical opens Tuesday at the Ziff Ballet Opera House. It has been running on Broadway for fifteen years for a reason. If you have never seen it, this is the Miami run to catch. Tickets from $47 at the Arsht Center box office.
Thru 6/14: From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce and Gabbana at ICA Miami — Nine days left. Free admission and genuinely one of the more impressive exhibitions the Design District has hosted in years. Worth going on a weekday when the crowds are thin.
Thru 8/23: Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture at PAMM — Still running through August. Over 100 works exploring sport and culture from a global perspective. The timing with the World Cup in town makes it feel especially relevant right now. Free the first Thursday of each month.

Hidden Gems
A monster-themed cocktail bar hiding on the second floor of a food hall in Little River — Head up to the mezzanine of the Citadel food hall in Little River and find Bar Kaiju, a tiny red-lit cocktail bar that seats about a dozen people and has one of the most creative menus in Miami. The drink list is laid out like an anime comic book with each cocktail named after a mythical monster. It was just ranked among the top 100 bars in North America for the second year in a row. Thursday through Sunday starting at 7pm. 8300 NE 2nd Ave, Second Floor.
A proper Italian aperitivo bar tucked inside a downtown hotel that most people walk right past — ViceVersa at The Elser Hotel on NE 5th Street is a James Beard-nominated bar running one of the most considered cocktail programs in the city. Co-owner Valentino Longo, formerly of the Surf Club, built the menu around Italian vermouths, bitters, and amaros. The negroni variations alone are worth the trip. 398 NE 5th St.
A vinyl listening bar in Wynwood where the sound system is the whole point — Dante's HiFi is not a nightclub and not a typical bar. It is a room built around a high-end analog sound system where DJs spin from a serious record collection while you drink cocktails and sit with the music. The kind of place that is hard to explain until you are inside it. Reservations accepted. 2620 NW 2nd Ave.

Local News
Florida property tax special session moves toward a vote. The special legislative session called by Governor DeSantis earlier this week is moving faster than expected, with committee votes already underway on proposals that would restructure how homestead property is assessed in Florida. Miami-Dade homeowners stand to see meaningful changes to their tax bills depending on which version of the proposal passes. A full floor vote is expected before the end of next week.
Miami Beach launches free sandless sandbag distribution ahead of storm season. he City of Miami Beach is hosting two free sandless sandbag distribution events for residents this month. The sandbags are pre-filled and ready to deploy and Miami Beach is offering them at no cost as part of its early storm season preparedness push. Check the City of Miami Beach website for dates and pickup locations.

Miami Featured
The Tower Theater on Calle Ocho in Little Havana opened in 1926 and was one of the first theaters in Miami to integrate. It closed for decades, was restored in 2002, and is now run by Miami Dade College as a cultural venue and cinema. What most people miss is that the building still has its original neon sign, one of the last surviving examples of that era of Miami signage. At night when it is lit up it looks like something from a different century, which technically it is. Walk by after dark and look up.

Miami Trivia
Last week's answer: C) 2006. The Miami Heat won their first NBA Championship in 2006, defeating the Dallas Mavericks four games to two, with Dwyane Wade winning Finals MVP.
This week's question: Calle Ocho, the heart of Little Havana, is named after which street number in Miami's grid?
A) 6th Street B) 7th Street C) 8th Street D) 9th Street
Reply to this email with your answer. We'll reveal it next week.