The Banyan Bowl sits under a geodesic dome in the middle of fourteen acres of garden at 11000 Red Road. During a concert, the peacocks sometimes call along with the band. In an October 2 Miami New Times preview, executive director Cristina Blanco described what the room offers: "you can hear a Grammy-winning artist perform under a geodesic dome in a tropical garden — maybe even with a guest spot from a peacock — and there's nowhere else in Miami-Dade that offers that."
The 2026–27 season is three series in one room: the 17th Jazz at Pinecrest Gardens, the fifth Tropical Nights and the second Sound Sessions. Each has its own subscription and its own lineup. Look at the dates side by side, though, and two of them share an ending. The jazz series and Tropical Nights both save a tribute to Antônio Carlos Jobim, the Brazilian composer behind bossa nova, for late in their runs. Jobim was born 100 years ago on January 25, 2027. If you plan your winter around the Gardens, the season's arc runs through February and April.
The Composer Who Doesn't Arrive Until February
The centennial falls on a Monday. The weekend right before it already has a booking: the 2027 Art & Design Fair runs Saturday, January 23, and Sunday, January 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are listed as coming soon. The Banyan Bowl's Jobim nights come later, on two dates seven weeks apart:
- Saturday, February 27. Baila Nova performs bossa nova and samba for the centennial as the second show of Tropical Nights.
- Saturday, April 17. Eliane Elias, a two-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winner returning to the Gardens, closes the jazz season with her own tribute to the man Miami New Times calls the Father of Bossa Nova.
The two series reach Jobim from opposite sides. Tropical Nights describes itself as a celebration of "bossa nova, samba, and Latin grooves," so a Jobim night belongs to its home genre. The jazz series gets to bossa nova only after five months of American standards, swing and film scores. Jobim's songs have long been part of the jazz repertoire, and the April show treats them that way.
What the Jazz Series Plays on the Way There
All six jazz shows are Saturdays at 8 p.m. Taken in order, the lineup moves from early swing toward the Brazilian finale.
- November 7. Allyson Briggs, the singer of Fleur Seule, joins The Dan Gabel Big Band for what the series calls "an evening of Gatsby-era glamour and Great American Songbook standards."
- December 12. Singer and guitarist Allan Harris performs a Nat Cole Christmas.
- January 16. The Sweet Tooth Jazz Band, billed as blending "the joyful energy of a speakeasy jam session with the polish of Carnegie Hall."
- February 13. The Lucy Yeghiazaryan Trio plays Valentine's Day Eve.
- March 13. Jukebox Saturday Night performs Hollywood scores from the Henry Mancini songbook.
- April 17. Eliane Elias and the Jobim centennial.
The six-show subscription is listed at $275 and $250 across two price tiers. Single shows run $55 to $60 and $45 to $50, and the Gardens says fees are included. Bought one at a time at the top tier, six shows cost $330 at $55 each or $360 at $60 each. Against that, the $275 subscription saves roughly one or two shows' worth. It also buys the Elias seat in November, before the closing night of a centennial year draws wider interest.
Tropical Nights Turns Toward Brazil
This change shows up best against last season. The fourth Tropical Nights, in 2025–26, had a Parranda Navideña, Alfredo Rodríguez's "Coral Way" record release and Chirino Acústico. That lineup leaned toward Cuban and Miami-rooted sounds. The fifth season keeps the Caribbean bookends and puts Brazil in the middle:
Date | Artist | Program |
|---|---|---|
Dec. 19, 2026 | Orquesta La Oferta | Salsa tribute to El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico |
Feb. 27, 2027 | Baila Nova | Bossa nova and samba for the Jobim centennial |
Apr. 3, 2027 | Cortadito | Tribute to Buena Vista Social Club |
Single tickets match the jazz series at $55 to $60 and $45 to $50. The three-show subscription is $150 and $135. Cortadito, whom Miami New Times describes as "Grammy-nominated Miamians," closes the series on April 3. Two weeks later, Elias closes the jazz series. Between February 27 and April 17, the Banyan Bowl hosts four Saturday concerts across the two series, and the two Jobim nights frame that stretch.
The Season Underneath the Season
The concerts come about once a month. The Gardens also runs on a weekly schedule and a December one.
The weekly one is the Sunday Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the south parking lot. In an October 20 Community Newspapers profile, Miami Culinary Kitchen is named as the operator and Susan Muci as market manager, with more than 80 vendors each week. The market runs on Sundays through the concert season, so the morning after a Saturday show it is set up in the same lot. The one listed exception is January 24, 2027, when the Art & Design Fair takes the grounds.
The December schedule is Nights of Lights, on select nights from December 4 through December 27, 6:30 to 10 p.m. The program includes light displays, performances, vendors, and Santa and the Grinch on certain dates. The Jolly Craft Corner and holiday classes are ticketed separately. Opening night, Friday, December 4, includes the tree lighting with carolers at 7 p.m. Maria Verdeja School of the Arts performs The Legend of Frosty at 7 and 8 p.m. Ticket sales are still marked "Coming Soon."
December is the busiest month on the calendar. Nights of Lights overlaps Allan Harris's Nat Cole Christmas on December 12 and Orquesta La Oferta on December 19. If you hold seats for either Saturday, check that night's lights schedule before you arrive.
During the day, general admission is $8 for ages 2 to 64 and $5 for 65 and older. Children under 2 get in free. Parking is free, and garden hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with changes for special events and holidays. The Gardens is also partway through a multi-phase historic infrastructure renovation of the Lakeview Terrace, the Pergola, the Patio and the Upper Picnic Tables overlooking Swan Lake.
Why a Village Garden Can Book This Calendar
The property was Parrot Jungle before it became Pinecrest Gardens, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It draws more than 150,000 visitors a year and holds ArbNet arboretum accreditation. Blanco has led the Gardens since September 2022, according to the Village of Pinecrest. In the same Miami New Times piece, she ties the programming back to the Village's decision to buy the land:
"I love that the Village of Pinecrest purchased this property and kept it from being developed so that it could be turned into both a beautiful botanical garden as well as cultural destination for audiences throughout the state and performers from… everywhere."
She also told the paper that keeping it going means staying "fresh" and testing "new things." The season shows that in practice. A year ago, the Gardens added a professional Dance Sampler Series and a Classical Music Series with Orchestra Miami. This year, a long-running Latin series is moving toward Brazil for one composer's centennial. Support for that kind of programming comes partly from Friends of Pinecrest Gardens, a 501(c)(3) founded in 2020 to raise money for horticultural research, education, historic preservation and cultural programming.
Sound Sessions, the youngest of the three series, opened its second season with Hazmat Modine on October 24. Its return date with Fernando Perdomo is listed differently by the Gardens and by Miami New Times, so check the Sound Sessions page before you mark a calendar. The other dates are fixed. The jazz season opens November 7, the lights go on December 4, Baila Nova plays the Jobim centennial on February 27, and Eliane Elias closes the season on April 17.
Pinecrest Gardens is one of the places that defines a Saturday night in this village. When friends or family start asking what everyday life is like on this side of Red Road, I'm glad to share what I know. With Graciela Blanco, the conversation can start anywhere, including the lawn before a show. Let's Connect.
