If you didn’t post about it, did it even happen? We’re all spending more and more time glued to our screens in this digital age, and nowhere is that more apparent than being out and about in Miami. The entire city can feel like one giant backdrop for the perfect social media post.
But popular Downtown Miami nightspot Jolene Sound Room is pushing back against the glow, urging guests to break the habit and live in the moment by announcing that it is now a phone-free space.
“We invite you to be present, to let go and be one with the dance floor,” the venue wrote in an Instagram post last week, before adding, “We will be covering all phone cameras and we encourage to keep [it] away at all times.”
Phone-free clubs have been a staple in techno capitals like Berlin for years, and Jolene joins a growing list of venues putting stickers of the phone cameras of partiers in an effort to foster deeper human connection and respect for artists without worrying about being recorded.
In an interview with the Miami New Times, co-owner Coloma Kaboomsky (who also runs Club Space) said:
“With phones becoming an extension of most people, we want to encourage being present and stepping away from the digital world while we partake in what we consider to be the ancestral practice of gathering around the sound of drums.”
Tucked underneath the historic Julia & Henry’s building on Flagler Street, Jolene is a retro-inspired dance club steeped in history. It sits in what is believed to have been Al Capone’s liquor stock tunnel and is designed to evoke a 1970s recording studio aesthetic, making it a hotspot for music lovers who prefer a curated auditory experience over a mega-club atmosphere.
And there’s something quite refreshing about shutting off your phone and taking in all the vibes. Who would’ve thought?!
📍 200 E Flagler St, Miami, FL 33131
