Sweat Wins New Times' Best of Miami!!

Dear Friends,

Lots of terrific news!! Read on for all the latest and scroll down for one of Miami's best upcoming concert and event listings...

First, we're happy to announce that the 4th year in a row, we've been awarded BEST RECORD/CD STORE in the New Times Best of Miami poll!! Not only that but The Vagabond won Best New Bar, "Can You Rock A Little Softer?" (Raffa + Rainer's acoustic showcase night Wednesdays at Churchill's) won Best Open Mic and tons of other Sweat friends including Jose El Rey, Rachel Goodrich, Harold Golen Gallery, Afrobeta, DJ Induce, The Rhythm Foundation, The Postmarks, Poplife and many more received kudos too!! Congrats to them and all the winners for making Miami a better place to live.

This week at FRIDAYS AT THE VAGABOND, we are excited to present a live performance by AWESOME NEW REPUBLIC!! The ANR boys will be kicking it old-skool like they used to in Sweat #1's backyard - warpaint, sweatpants and hits and covers galore!! It's going to be a full-on party so don't miss it. Showtime is midnight outside and there are $1 Stella drafts and PBRs before 12 too!!

RAG*TRADE's Grand Reopening is 2 weeks away!! If you're a local designer, a band with some cool shirts or local artisan of any sort, come on by to see about selling and/or consigning your stuff to the shop. We're expecting a big crowd at the party so make sure your stuff is in stock!!

Calling all bands!! This summer Sweat is partnering up with the MOCA to present a series of three "BATTLE OF THE BANDS" events in conjunction with their awesome new exhibition "Sympathy For The Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967." The events will be on Thursday June 26th, July 24th, and August 28th. The winner of each event will receive a brand new Epiphone guitar courtesy of Gibson!! To enter, simply drop off a CD with your BEST track at Sweat or the MOCA, with your band's name and full contact information clearly labeled on it. The contest is for all unsigned bands over 18 and the deadline is June 6th so don't sleep on this great opportunity for exposure!!

Last but not least - FINALLY - new issues of VICE magazine are at Sweat!! The "History Issue" features Shane MacGowan of The Pogues on the cover, the ever-amusing Dos and Don'ts, early photos by Ryan McGinley, and much more!! It also includes a sneak-preview of Chuck Palahniuk's "Snuff" which happens to be the next SWEAT BOOKS Book Club selection (which from what we've read so far is quite a doozy...). We're one of the only places in Miami to get VICE and while it's a free mag, we pay cash money to ship it here so buy a beverage or a CD or any damn thing in the store and a copy is yours.

Much love and check out our rad upcoming in-store events below!!

Cheers,
Lolo, Jsin + the Sweat crew

P.S. There is an awesome video segment about Sweat Records airing Monday, May 19th at 7.30pm on ART STREET on WLRN Channel 17 - tune in!!