Winter Music Conference
Miami’s Winter Music Conference was, in its time, the world’s premiere dance music event. Before ADE or Ultra, the dance music community from around the world would descend on South Beach in late March. Although there was an actual conference that took place at Fontainebleau with panels and meetings, the real attraction was the parties, including Giant Step’s annual party. DJs of all genres and nationalities converged in one place - they performed, broke bread and partied together. It was also a place where major dance songs were first showcased and broken. By the mid 1990s, WMC was getting larger and more prominent - Giant Step’s first foray was a small event in 1996 in a bar. In 1997, we presented the memorable Nuyorican Soul party.
We returned in 1998 teaming up with Claudia Cuseta (of Maxi Records) and Kim Benjamin of (Kimco Ent) for our “Sunset Soiree” event, a large party that we threw poolside at the Raleigh Hotel from 1998-2001. Eclectic line ups included Norman Jay, Pete Heller, Gilles Peterson, Daft Punk, Bob Sinclar, and Danny Krivit. The Sunset Soiree then moved to the rooftops of The Sagamore and The Hotel on South Beach for a few years, until finding a home again poolside at iconic Delano Hotel.
When we moved to Delano, we extended the event to a three day affair showcasing DJs and love performances. By the late 2000s into the early 2010s, WMC had become a much more commercial affair with Ultra Music Festival becoming more prominent, and the music much “harder.” Our Sunset Soirees’ served as an oasis of soulful dance music music, presenting artists like Erykah Badu, Carl Craig, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Gilles Peterson, Turntables On The Hudson, Estelle, Jazzanova, Questlove, DJ Spinna, Danny Krivit etc.
From 1998-2001, Giant Step partnered with URB Magazine to produce and present “Winter Oasis” during WMC. We will be adding pictures from these historical nights at a later date.
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