Jezebel, Miami's Boundary-Pushing Club Night, Celebrates Three Years

Three years on from its debut, Jezebel remains one of Miami's most exciting club nights.

Run by a trio of Miami natives — Luis Yepez, Milo Cano, and Juan Mejia — the promo started when the three wanted to throw a birthday party for some friends. They got permission to throw the event on a Tuesday at ATV Records, where Yepez worked, and managed to draw more than 100 people while flouting the city's COVID restrictions.

That first party's success inspired them to think bigger, and Jezebel, named after the Sade track, began pairing cutting-edge, out-of-town DJs with adventurous locals.

"It was something that we were always wanting to do," says Mejia, who DJs under the moniker Liquid J and formerly Jan Anthony. "And through doing this, we found what the city was lacking, and what spaces we could fill and how to fill them."

Jezebel's curational ethos became driven by a desire to "make risky things approachable and unfamiliar," according to Mejia. The party's lineups eschew the commercial dance music that dominates Miami nightclubs, instead featuring a who's who of local talents, from veterans like Nick León and Danny Daze to new-schoolers like Pressure Point and Saturnsarii, alongside the best of underground dance music from around the world.

Buzzy techno DJs from New York, like Aurora Halal and DJ Voices, and club technicians like Kush Jones and Ace MoMA, have spun at the party. Breaks-related genres have been a focus: accomplished jungle and drum 'n' bass spinners from across the pond, like Tim Reaper, Sherelle, and Sully, have all debuted in the city thanks to Jezebel.
Yepez believes the Jezebel approach of bringing new sounds to Miami offers an alternative to the usual notions of exclusivity found in nightlife, where simply being willing to come and hear cutting-edge, unfamiliar music confers status. "We want our guests to feel exclusive, but everyone can be included in it," he says. "It's accessible; everyone feels like they can be a part of it. But it also just feels exclusive just for how different it is."

The party hit a slight hitch in late 2022 when the closure of ATV Records robbed it of a regular space. Mejia decided to move to New York the following year, but rather than complicate things for the promo, the move enabled Jezebel to grow. The trio has taken advantage of the white-hot Brooklyn club scene, furthering established links with DJs there, and brought the party to buzzy NYC venues like Good Room in Greenpoint.

However, Jezebel is poised to go bigger and better in its third year, starting with a birthday bash at its new home base, Mode. The new speakeasy-style bar in downtown's Flagler District will host the party starting with its third-anniversary party on Saturday, January 20. Yepez says it's the first place that felt like the right fit for the crew after trialing other spaces around the city throughout 2023. It's also the first time they've been able to program a spot with multiple rooms.
"There were venues that presented opportunities for us," he says, "and at the end of it, it never felt like home. And now, with this one, it has an upstairs floor and a downstairs floor, low ceilings, and a quality sound system. So there we see us having the capability to do something more consistent and bring back the energy that we used to do with our parties."

"Not having venues that fit our style kind of slowed down our roll, so I'm looking forward to having that once again with Mode," Cano says. DJing as Milo Ziro, he'll be on the lineup in room one alongside two Jezebel regulars, New York's DJ Swisha ("one of the best technical DJs I've ever seen," says Mejia) and Miami's Berrakka. Headlining will be Kansas City native Huerco S., who's best known as an ambient musician but also DJs with a style that Mejia describes as "animalistic."

"He's also a wicked dance floor DJ. He plays with extreme tenacity in a very rugged yet balanced and aggressive approach," he says. Mejia will also fly down from New York to play a Liquid J set. He'll be in room two alongside local legend Terence Tabeau, of whom he's a great admirer. "Me, Luis, and Milo were teenagers going to the Electric Pickle and seeing Terence Tabeau open up for all these incredible acts. And most of the time, Terence was the set of the night," he adds. "The man is pure music; he has records on records on records for days."

Speaking of local love, the crew is also starting a new Thursday night party, Metro Mover, designed to give headlining slots to Miami acts that often serve as openers for out-of-towners. Mauricio, the Invisible will headline, playing alongside Winter Wrong and Bort back-to-back with Milo Ziro in room one. Room two will feature Lotusoph and Benton. That party debuts at Mode on January 25, and it's free.

Jezebel: Year Three. With Huerco S., DJ Swisha, Berrakka, Terence Tabeau, and more. 10 p.m. Saturday, January 20, at Mode, 2 S. Miami Ave., Miami; mode.miami. Tickets cost $20 to $30 via ra.co.