As the sun sets on yet another long Miami day, the sound of beating drums rise on Miami Beach, calling adventure-seekers and creative souls.

Courtesy of Edwin Vegas

Every full moon’s eve and full moon on Miami Beach, drummers, dancers, and spectators alike unite on Collins Avenue, and can be found anywhere between 75th and 89th Streets.

According to long-time attendee of the drum circle, Mark Richards, there is no real organization behind the drum circle. Communication among the veterans and the newcomers all happens through online message boards, where the locations are determined.

Courtesy of Miami Drum Circle Facebook Group

“The sites have changed in the past and will change in the future, as a lot of the drummers will move to avoid the large crowds that develop after a few months in one spot,” he says. “It does tend to stay up around the area of 75th to 85 streets.”

The music-lovers become a vagabond group every month in order to evade their obstacles to enjoy a good time under the moonlit skies. At the top of their list are the cops that patrol the area, and tourists.

On one of the largest message boards, miamidrums.com, an angered drummer who goes by only “Mark” writes, “Police and park security are turning this into an adventure. I know one guy who got arrested for an outstanding warrant on a traffic ticket that he had paid long ago, another who got arrested for peeing in the bushes, and that’s just what has happened to the people I know…Good luck, everyone (and don’t give the cops a hard time, you won’t win that one).”

Despite the unpredictability of police drop-ins and the risk of an arrest, some, like Jose Mateo, continue to frequent the event.

Mateo, 25, is an assistant at a South Miami PR firm by day, and creator of a YouTube channel that highlights little-known Miami hotspots by night. Recently, he featured the drum circle on his channel.

“I think it’s really good, especially in a city of Miami where everybody thinks they have to put on a whole show with clothing, jewelry and cars whenever they go out,” Mateo said. “You can buy a bottle of wine and just go and enjoy the vibe. Everyone is really open and nice.”

In a city where nightclubs are at capacity one week and empty the next and storefronts are in a state of constant rotation, one thing is for sure: no matter what the conditions are, rain or shine, cops or freedom, the public will continue to flood to the streets on every full moon to celebrate life, love, music, and nature.

“I don’t want to sound like a hippie,” said Mateo. “But it’s relaxed and chill. When it’s warm and the tide is pretty low, there’s a light film covering the beach.”

“It’s magical.”