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Nestled between the pale sands of South Beach and the hustle and bustle of Collins Avenue sits the vibrant W Hotel South Beach. The seemingly hidden gem located steps from the Atlantic Ocean is one of several W Hotels where tourists and locals convene to enjoy live music.
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“Music has been such a big part of our DNA,” Carly Van Sickle, senior director, global brand marketing at W Hotels, told Billboard during a visit to the South Beach location last week. “We’ve always supported up-and-coming musicians and artists. More recently, working with Leah ‘LP Giobbi’ Chisholm [global director of music at W Hotel], our team has really been focusing on the electronic and dance scene, but also making sure that [the experiences are] still varied and connected to local culture.”
With electronic and dance music surging in popularity, and megastars like Beyoncé and Drake exploring the space, the hotel is digging even deeper into the genre by way of W Presents, an “innovative live electronic showcase” featuring artists handpicked by Chisholm, including opening acts from her organization, FEMME House, which creates “equitable opportunities” for women and gender-expansive individuals in the music industry.
The live music series, announced Wednesday (March 28), will take place in the W’s lobby/lounge area called Living Rooms. Rapper and producer Channel Tres will kick off the series with a performance at the new W Hotel Toronto on April 6.
The live music series comes on the heels of the W South Beach’s Miami Music Week celebration. The hotel hosted a series of events attended by influencers and tastemakers in the EDM scene, including Diplo and Frances Mercier.
Fans from all over the world flocked to Miami for the 10-year anniversary of Miami Music Week. The annual celebration, which was held from March 21-26, coincided with this year’s Ultra Music Festival.
W South Beach invited Billboard to attend its Miami Music Week events and installations, the first of which was an invite-only dinner at Irma’s W South Beach on March 22. The hotel teamed with Senza Fine to present a fine-dining experience co-hosted by Chisholm and Senza Fine co-founder Carlita and sponsored by Volcan De Mi Tierra Tequila.
Attendees at the W Hotels x Senza Fine Dinner in Miami Beach, FL on March 23, 2023.
Diana Zapata/BFA.com
Attendees included EDM titans and VIPs such as Diplo, Pete Tong, Damien Lazarus, Bedouin, Thomas & Julien de Bie (a.k.a. the “Parallells”), Ape Drums of Major Lazer, Anfisa Letyago, Mercier, Joplyn, Arielle Free, Spotify head of electronic dance development Ronny Ho, WME head of electronic music Stephanie LaFera, and Nü Androids founder Nayef Issa.
The menu, courtesy of DJ Tennis, featured small bites served on tennis rackets and seafood dishes such as blue crab with polenta, wild-caught swordfish, ragu paccheri pasta and fish cigars.
Day 2 kicked off with a yoga session on the beach, led by Ahana Yoga, followed by a breakfast mixer with sounds provided by a guest DJ. New York City wellness company WTHN provided cupping and custom ear seeds, while guests enjoyed fresh fruits, breakfast bites and sips of cacao.
“We want to make sure that W is showing up during cultural music moments, but showing up in a way that isn’t just always a party,” explained Van Sickle. “That’s why we had the dinner and wellness event. We know that it’s super important to take care of artists and people in the industry at large and to take care of mental health and wellness.”
For night 2, the W partnered with Mercier’s Deep Root record label for “Deep Root Tribe,” an Afro-House music event at W South Beach’s WET Deck, sponsored by El Cristiano 1761 Tequila. The event, which was held March 23 and open to the public, featured intimate sets from EDM stars including Major League DJz, &Friends, Bontan, HoneyLuv, Nico De Andrea, Ninetoes, samblacky, D’WITCHES, Gianni Petrarca, Sam Haze and a special performance from Mercier and Diplo.
Diplo and Francis Mercier perform at W Hotels x Deep Root Showcase in Miami Beach, FL on March 23, 2023.
William Perez/BFA.com
“Our Wet Decks and pools are a really good platform for music too,” Van Sickle noted. “In Barcelona, for example, they do what they call their Wet Deck summer series. Every summer [there’s] a different lineup, again, free to the public. We want the locals to come in. We want people traveling to know that if they’re looking for music experiences, they can go to W Hotel. We’re popping up in a lot of different ways. Just making sure we’re always activating around that passion point of music.”
W South Beach’s Miami Music Week event series commenced with a panel presented by FEMME House and a cocktail industry mixer at W South Beach’s Living Room. The panel was hosted by FEMME House co-founders Chisholm and HERMIXALOT and discussed creating opportunities for marginalized communities, providing safe spaces for diversity and building “authentic community” in music.
Apart from special events, exquisite rooms and sprawling views, the W Hotel further caters to music fans and creators by offering private recording studios and writer’s rooms. The Sound Suites are available at a few locations, including the W Hollywood, W Seattle and W Bali.
“Ultimately, our goal obviously is to have people stay with us, but we want to make sure that our experiences are open to others too,” said Van Sickle. “We don’t want [these experiences] to be exclusive. We’re inclusive. We want everyone to come, be themselves, have fun and experience the music.
“So it’s both sides of the artist community,” she continued. “It’s a creative space for the community, kind of like a mix of both: fans, but also for artists as well.”
Tapping into the local community is a large part of creating live music experiences at W Hotels around the world. “Local culture is a really big thing for us that we want to tap into,” added Van Sickle.
“I think that post-COVID, we want to make sure we’re bringing these experiences back in a really accessible way, but a fun, innovative, culturally relevant way too.”
Diplo is Emily Ratajkowski’s most recent guest on her High Low podcast, and the duo delved into an open discussion about sexuality and the DJ’s hesitation to put a label on himself.
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“I’m sure I’ve gotten a blowjob from a guy before. For sure,” the producer told the model. “I don’t know if it’s gay unless you like may eye contact while there’s the blowjob happening.”
He added, “Getting a blowjob’s not that gay, I think.”
Ratajkowski went on to mention an off-air conversation they had, before Diplo officially set the record straight on his sexuality. “I think the best answer I have is I’m not not gay,” the 44-year-old musician explained, adding that he is attracted to “vibe” more than a specific gender. “There are a couple guys… I could date, life partner-wise.”
Listen to the full podcast conversation here.
Throughout his career, Diplo has been romantically linked primarily to women, including Katy Perry, whom he dated briefly in 2014. In 2020, the DJ also went on a PDA-filled vacation with model and fellow producer Chantel Jeffries, though the two never made any public claims about their relationship.
Diplo also has three children. He shares sons — 13-year-old Lockett and nine-year-old Lazer — with his ex Kathryn Lockhart and also announced that he welcomed a baby boy named Pace in 2020 with former Miss Universe pageant contestant Jevon King.
Beyoncé made history at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 5), becoming the artist with the most awards in Grammy history. This year, the star won four awards, including two in the dance/electronic category.
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Diplo, who was also up for best dance/electronic recording and best dance/electronic music album at the ceremony, took to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 7) to reflect on dance music and Bey’s wins.
The DJ thanked the dance music community for “being my purpose in this life and shaping my career,” adding that the genre “has and will be the most Inclusive music of our generation,” with fans of different races, sexualities, socioeconomic backgrounds and ages all over the world. “You don’t need to be a savant or a great musician to be part of dance music u just have to love to move and have confidence,” he added.
As for the Grammys, Diplo celebrated the dance/electronic music categories being televised for the first time. “Beyoncé album was legendary (i’m a beyonce a stan remember I produced some classic dance songs for her like ’til the end of time’ and ‘girls run the world,’” he wrote. “What’s important to understand was that her intention was 100%. she did the work found the real producers and she made classics .. so she deserves her flowers . and when she won i was just proud to see my nomination on the screen in the huge arena..”
The post comes amid speculation that Diplo said “they bought that” when the camera panned to him at the Grammys after Beyoncé won the award. On Instagram, however, the producer revealed that he actually said, “I’m glad to be part of that.”
See his post below.
As the World Cup gets set to launch in Qatar later this month, FIFA has announced a prestige league of global artists for its 2022 FIFA Fan Festival.
Artists playing on the festival’s mainstage include Calvin Harris and Diplo, along with Canadian/Morroccan singer Nora Fatehi, American singer Trinidad Cardona and Nigerian singer/songwriter Kizz Daniel.
“I’ve been really fortunate to travel all over the world and experience different cultures through music,” says Diplo. “Wherever I am, Jamaica, Spain, England, China, South Africa, etc., football is a social constant. Seeing so many fans from all over the world in one place – the FIFA Fan Festival is just awesome. Really looking forward to it!”
“I’m so excited to be playing for football fans from all over the world at this year’s FIFA Fan Festival,” adds Harris.
These five shows start in Qatar on Nov. 22 with Diplo’s performance and extend through Dec. 10 when Harris closes out the event. The Fan Festival promises music, entertainment, local culture, food and games along with, of course, loads of soccer.
These live performances are just one part of the musical offerings associated with the World Cup, the global soccer event in which 32 teams — representing different countries — participate with one, in the end, being crowned World Cup champion.
As has been tradition for many years, a select number of songs officially soundtrack the tournament, and so far this year several songs associated to the World Cup have been released, with a few including “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” being part of the official FIFA soundtrack. See a list of those 2022 tracks here.
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