Cymande

Miami Beach Bandshell · Miami Beach · March 25, 2026

Review by Shemme Lee

★★★★★ 5 / 5 — UNMISSABLE

Opening act: The Animeros

SETTING THE SCENE

The night arrived soft and breezy — the kind of Miami evening that feels almost conspiratorial, as if the weather itself knew something special was coming.

Opening act The Animeros wasted no time making that promise feel real, rolling out a Santana-esque warmth that eased the crowd into a steady, swaying groove — latin guitar tones curling through the open-air Bandshell like an invitation.

By the time DJ Rich Medina took over with a set of old-school funk and soul remixes, the crowd had already found its rhythm.

People drifted in unhurried, finding their spots, nodding along. The energy was relaxed, convivial — the easy confidence of a crowd that knew exactly what they were there for, and trusted the night to deliver.

HIGHLIGHTS

When Cymande finally took the stage, they wasted no time making their intentions clear.

“Dove” unfurled like a memory you didn’t know you’d kept. “Bra” hit with a deeper, more ceremonial weight. But it was “Brothers on the Slide” that stopped time entirely — Donald Gamble unleashing a bongo solo so locked in, so alive, that the audience seemed to hold its collective breath.

Richard Bailey on drums was a force of nature behind him, driving the groove forward with the kind of precision that only feels effortless because of how hard it’s been earned.

“The kind of night that reminds you why live music exists in the first place.”

STAGE & PRODUCTION

The lighting designer deserves their own applause. Warm ambers and burnt oranges bloomed across the stage during the uptempo numbers, the whole Bandshell feeling like a late-night juke joint bathed in candlelight. Then, without fanfare, cooler blues and deep tonal reds would bleed in for the more introspective moments — a visual exhale that told you to lean in and listen harder.

The band’s arrangement on stage was equally considered: horn and woodwind players spread across stage left like a brass choir, keys anchoring stage right, vocals centered and commanding, and percussion elevated at the back — visible, prominent, impossible to ignore.

THE PERFORMANCE

There is a looseness to Cymande that belies just how tight they truly are. Every exchange between musicians felt like a conversation — give, take, call and response.

Richard Bailey’s extended drum feature during “Brothers on the Slide” was the evening’s most electric moment, the kind of solo that makes you forget where you are and simply surrender to the pulse of it.

ARTIST & AUDIENCE

Ray Simpson opened the show with a warmth that felt less like a performance and more like a homecoming. He addressed the crowd with genuine affection — not the rehearsed patter of a touring band going through the motions, but the quiet assurance of someone who knows they have something real to offer. “You’re in for a treat,” he told us. He wasn’t wrong.

ONE SMALL NOTE

If there’s any complaint to be lodged, it’s the oldest one in the book: it was over too soon. The set left the audience wanting more — which, depending on how you look at it, is less a criticism than the highest possible compliment.

VERDICT

If you’ve been a Cymande devotee since the beginning, this show will feel like a reunion with something sacred. If you’re only just discovering them — welcome. Either way, what awaits you is lively, soulful, psychedelic funk that doesn’t ask for your attention so much as it simply takes it, gently, and doesn’t give it back. See them.

https://cymandeofficial.com