Grammy-nominated percussionist Sammy Figueroa and Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning Cuban vocalist Aymée Nuviola take the stage together tonight at Faena Theater in Miami Beach, blending percussion, vocals and Afro-Cuban rhythms in a single 90-minute set. The concert runs from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at the venue located at 3201 Collins Ave., and it's open to guests of all ages, with check-in starting 45 minutes before showtime.
The pairing is billed as a night where “Sammy Figueroa and Aymée Nuviola unite for a vibrant evening celebrating the rhythm, soul, and spirit of Latin jazz,” according to faena.com. The same listing describes the show as uniting “virtuosic percussion, spectacular vocals, and the irresistible rhythms of Afro-Cuban music.” Tickets for the performance start at $80, per that listing, though an earlier 2026 preview of the series from Time Out had listed tickets starting at $70 for the season.
A Season Built on Global Sound
Tonight's show is part of what Faena calls its ninth annual Jazz Series, which opened October 4 with Emma Smith. The run features nine concerts stretching from October 2026 through June 2027. The series is produced and curated by Grammy-nominated record producer and artist Rachel Faro, the venue's listing notes. One Faena event page for this same Figueroa-Nuviola pairing had referred to it as the return of the “8th Annual Faena Jazz Series,” while the theater's own concerts page and its event calendar both describe the current run as a ninth, nine-concert season — a discrepancy that appears across Faena's own materials.
The lineup leans heavily on cross-cultural sound. As Miami New Times describes it, the season brings “a globe-spanning mix of sultry jazz, Latin rhythms, Brazilian bossa nova, Indian classical influences, Argentine tango, and soulful vocals.” That same outlet calls tonight's performance “a rhythmic, percussion-driven night steeped in Afro-Cuban flavor.” Faena Theater's own concerts page echoes that framing, describing a show “driven by vibrant Afro-Cuban rhythms, expressive vocals and masterful improvisation.”
Who's Taking the Stage
Figueroa brings decades of percussion credentials to the bill, while Nuviola arrives as a Cuban singer-composer with both Grammy and Latin Grammy recognition. Faena's event page frames the two as complementary forces, noting that the “legendary percussionist” joins the “Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning Cuban vocalist” for a single evening built around improvisation and rhythm rather than a fixed setlist.
Faena's event calendar also lists upcoming Jazz Series dates featuring the Reginald Policard Quintet with Jean Caze, Etienne Charles, Danielle Angrand with Shelly Berg, VARI and the Pablo Ziegler Jazz Tango Trio, rounding out a season that keeps circling back to percussion-forward, internationally inflected jazz.
Getting There Tonight
Doors and check-in begin 45 minutes ahead of the 8 p.m. downbeat, with the show wrapping by 9:30 p.m., per the venue's own event listing. The all-ages policy means families and longtime jazz fans alike can file into the Collins Avenue theater for what's shaping up as one of the more percussion-heavy nights of the season's opening stretch.
