Here are five can’t-miss acts at the 2023 Jazz in the Gardens in Miami Gardens

From a music festival perspective, Miami-Dade County has a little something, something for everybody.

Hip-hop heads have Rolling Loud. EDM fans have Ultra. Latin music lovers have Calle Ocho. Soca enthusiasts have Carnival. The list goes on and on.

Still, there’s nothing quite like Jazz in the Gardens. Held at Hard Rock Stadium March 11 and 12, the Miami Gardens festival brings together some of the brightest R&B acts past and present with a sprinkle of gospel. More than that, the festival showcases the diversity of South Florida’s Black community. Aunties and activists. Bahamians and Haitians. Public servants and the public they serve. Wide swaths of the community flock to Miami Gardens to witness what can best be described as an in-person version of the Saturday morning cleaning soundtrack.

After a more heavy hip-hop lineup in 2022, the festival has returned to its R&B roots for 2023 with a splash of dancehall and the same sprinkle of gospel . There are a lot of heavy hitters on this list so it’s tough to narrow down to five. No disrespect to Jilly from Philly, a legend in her own right with at least one classic album in “Who is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1” (mind your business if you see me belting my heart out to “The Way”).

Without further delay, here’s five acts you don’t what to miss this who I’m looking forward to seeing: