SAVE THE DATE: AFRO ROOTS FEST IS COMING TO MIAMI BEACH JUNE 2026!
This year Afro Roots Fest brings to you: Asere Social Club! A multidisciplinary performance program presented as part of the broader 2026-2027 Afro Roots Fest by Community Arts and Culture (CAC), Asere Social Club explores the intersections of Afro-Cuban music, oral history, and community storytelling through concerts, lectures, and workshops. Co-produced with the Koubek Center in Miami, the Colony Theatre, and with the support of the City of Miami Beach and Mid Atlantic Arts, this event builds on CAC’s history of presenting cultural programming that celebrates the evolution of African heritage in Florida.
Featured artists this year include, but are not limited to, three internationally acclaimed Afro-Cuban performers: Lazaro Galarraga, a founding member of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba and master vocalist of Yoruba traditions; Roman Díaz, a Grammy-nominated percussionist and folklorist, and more. These artists will be supported by the house bands Cortadito Cuban folk and Country group, and Irawo Osa, an Afro-Cuban Ensemble that is are direct descendant of the famed Muñequitos de Mantanzas. Together, they represent multiple generations of Afro-Cuban expression.
CAC first launched Asere Social Club in early 2025 in collaboration with the Wolfsonian–FIU and the Koubek Center. The event drew a capacity audience and was praised for its powerful blend of music, poetry, and cultural storytelling. Building on that success, CAC is expanding the program as a key component of the Afro Roots Festival.
The Afro Roots Fest has spanned Alachua, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties, presenting concerts, workshops, and lectures annually. Each event has been produced in collaboration with local partners and supported through grants, contracted services, and in-kind contributions.
With its deep artistic merit and growing community impact, Asere Social Club is quickly emerging as a cornerstone program within the Afro Roots Fest, advancing CAC’s mission to expand access, deepen cultural dialogue, and honor the enduring influence of the African diaspora arts in Florida and beyond.
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE RICH HISTORY OF AFRO ROOTS FEST:
Afro Roots Fest has historically celebrated the widespread influence that Africa continues to have on music and furthers the mission of Community Arts and Culture, which is to foster an appreciation of the arts and culture through education. It is as much about root African culture as it is about the syncretism of it with Western cultural traditions.
Originating in 1999 at the now-defunct Tobacco Road, Afro Roots Fest has become one of the area’s longest-running music festivals. Named one of the “10 Best Music Festivals in Miami” by the Miami New Times, it was crowned the “Best Music Festival” in the 2019 “Best of Miami” issue. Past performers have included Amadoun & Mariam, Sun Ra Arkestra, Alsarah, Fatoumata Diawara, Fulu Miziki, Salif Keita, Vieux Farka Toure, Toubab Krewe, and Roberto Torres, among many others. Since 2018, the event has become a nomadic affair that now includes separate concerts in markets such as Gainesville, Jupiter, Miami Beach, Doral, and Islamorada.
Through multi-act concerts, events at area schools, panel discussions, musical workshops, and showcases, Afro Roots Fest has consistently delivered top-shelf musical acts, opportunities for networking and Q&As, teaching moments, and a sense of global goodwill, all the while celebrating Pan-African and Caribbean cultures.
From its humble beginnings as a performance featuring the Sun Ra tribute band Afro Polyphonic Space Orchestra to its current incarnation featuring dozens of acts in several countries over several months’ time, it has always been about the music. Afro Roots music.
