Q&A: On the Road to III Points 2019

Photography by on February 8th, 2019 in Editorials, III Points 2019, Lifestyle

Miami, FL – February 8, 2019 – III Points, an alternative music festival in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood taking over the heart of Miami from February 15-17th. The festival, which was founded by four friends in 2013, arose as a means to represent and unite our unique, diverse South Florida Community. III Points is a platform that showcases Miami’s up and coming music acts, along with local artists from many disciplines, by placing them alongside the greatest musical and artistic minds in the world.

The fully immersive experience encompassing 100+ live performances, 6 stages, art installations, off-site activations, lectures, panels, afterparties and more. This year’s lineup taking place at Mana Wynwood is set to be the best yet, with headliners such as Tyler, the Creator, SZA, A$AP Rocky, Beach House, James Black, and more. The 2019 lineup is reflective of Miami’s diversity, showcasing versatility, and genre bending artists who open the door to creative discovery. WRE caught up with the founder of III Points, David Sinopoli, and his team to learn more about what it takes to curate the festival. Read the full Q&A below!

David Sinopoli & Erica Freshman

WRE: Tell us about the history of III Points. Who are the key players and how did it all start?

David Sinopoli: In 2013, it started with Erica Freshman and myself, it was an idea that came to me about developing this festival that would accurately represent Miami’s music scene to the world and at the same time bring some acts that weren’t getting to Miami properly because of our geographical location. Erica and I worked on a lot of the practical side of the idea and people like Tara Long, Austin Paul and other friends of mine who all helped with some of the imagery and the baseline ideas of how to stylize it. The first year there was a lot of different people who helped everyone from Lyly to Amir, Molly Hawkins from Young Turks was there and has been my partner ever since. Ross LaBrie came on in 2014 to help with a lot of the production and tech along with key players from Unreal-Systems such as Luca Sabatini and Robbie in 2016. Mark Sudack from LA, one of my more formalized partners came on about 2 years ago as well. Other key players include Michelle Granado and Ashley Solage. Michelle has been with me from the start since the Bardot years, and Ashley came on about 3 or 4 years ago.

WRE: How has III Points evolved in the past 6 years?

DS: With the flow and evolution of the counterculture scene here in Miami, pretty much we are trying to be part of the wave and help affect and guide it, but at the same time we are evolving at the rate with the sound, the light, and style with the city. We are a direct reflection of the people that take ownership of the scene here and we try to reflect that out in the atmosphere. So every year it’s grown, it’s changed, evolved and it’ll never be the same because it’ll never be the present again.

Erica Freshman, David Sinopoli, & Ross LaBrie

Ross LaBrie

WRE: What sets III Points apart from other music festivals across the country?

DS: I believe that it’s our dedication to the curation of the festival. We make sure to exhibit alternative musicians of different genres that are cutting edge and not what you would normally see here in Miami. I believe that on top of our local curation in musicians as well as visual artists is what sets us really apart from everyone else. Just the experience of attending, is something that people have to come see for themselves; it’s very different than any other festival you’ll attend in the United States.

WRE: How you do think III Points has helped make Miami a hub for live music?

DS: Artists are interested in the idea of coming to perform at a well-curated, boutique festival as opposed to coming to Miami and playing a venue for an one off show. I think since after our festival has gained some notoriety, it has become an anticipated event on the calendar of national and international bands that they have started to prepare their Southern Florida tours around us as well.

David Sinopoli

With the flow and evolution of the counterculture scene here in Miami, pretty much we are trying to be part of the wave and help affect and guide it, but at the same time we are evolving at the rate with the sound, the light, and style with the city.

David Sinopoli

WRE: III Points consistently brings big names and features a large amount of local musicians – how much importance is placed on local emerging talent?

DS: We place a lot of focus on our locals, it’s one of our core competencies as a festival. We are dedicated to continuing to further our local scene here. We found that a lot of local artists would have the desire to move to other musically populated cities such as Austin, Los Angeles or New York in order to progress their career because they felt that the counterculture scene here Miami couldn’t support them and because of this, we’d lose a lot of extremely talented musicians. We want to show Miami and other national/international attendees that we have to offer and here give the bands, DJs and artists that live in Miami something to look forward to. These artists work tirelessly all year round and dedicate all of their time to this; our part in it is just a ripple of the scene and we feel like we owe it to our city. As our scene grows, III Points will mutually grow alongside it.

Coloma Kamboosky

Travis Acker, Emily Kessler, Carlos Saavedra, & Santi Vidal

WRE: Tell us about this year’s lineup. Who are the most anticipated acts this year? Who are the most underrated?

DS: I think the most anticipated acts are going to be Rocky, Tyler, James Blake, Herbie Hancock, Beach House. Some of the more underrated acts that people should see are JPEGMAFIA, Mall Grab, Nicholas Padilla, JAILAI, Danny Daze, BEN UFO back to back Joy Orbison, Moscoman, John Maus, Khruangbin and DJ Koze.

WRE: What would you tell someone who is experiencing III Points for the first time?

DS: Come to III Points with an open mind. I think if you come in with that openness, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover something new and be moved by it. A lot can be taken out of the experience of just coming to III Points beyond the music.

Emily Kessler, Carlos Saavedra, & Santi Vidal

David Sinopoli, Travis Acker, Erica Freshman, Ross LaBrie, Sam Glennon, Lori Trigonis, Michelle Granado, Emily Kessler, Allie Darmanian-Harris, Santi Vidal, Carlos Saavedra, & Ashley Solage

III Points continues to be at the forefront of the music scene by tastefully curating and producing quality events that bring people together in a real way.

III Points Team