|
 First
off, let us wish the Rhythm Foundation a happy 20th anniversary.
The nonprofit organization, founded by Laura Quinlan, has
produced concerts for sold-out audiences that garnered critical
acclaim.
The secret to
the Rhythm Foundation’s success: world music. Rather than the
hear-today-gone-tomorrow music played on Top 40 radio stations,
Quinlan brings artists from Spain, Senegal, Brazil, China, India
and other places on the globe who are not afraid of blending
different sounds to create something new.
Quinlan
founded the Rhythm Foundation in 1987 after graduating from
college. Back then, she promoted punk rock shows at the Cameo
Theater. By 2000, Quinlan began to notice something — good music
crosses national barriers and age groups. “We try to pick
artists who are so compelling you must go and you must bring
someone with you,” Quinlan told the Miami Herald in April
2005. “I know when I feel that enthused about an artist I can
transmit it to an audience, even if they don’t know the group.”
Now, 250 concerts and festivals later, Quinlan
and the Rhythm Foundation have warmed even the hearts of a
cynical media. As Miami New Times once put it, “Without
the Rhythm Foundation, Miami would be a quieter, less vibrant
place.”
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