LIV has been leading the pack in Miami’s club scene since it debuted in 2008 as the crown jewel of the Fontainebleau Hotel’s unprecedented billion-dollar renovation. With top-tier talent (Skrillex and Bieber once performed in the same weekend) and insane six-figure bottle service (Mark Cuban allegedly dropped more than 100 grand on a single bottle of champagne in 2013), LIV quickly showed the nightlife world that Miami’s best days are not in the past. “Our grand opening was for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show and, each night since, we’ve continued to change production and create a new party on a nightly basis,” says owner David Grutman.
But even the giants must learn to adapt. And one of LIV’s biggest challenges came last summer as the club closed for months to undergo a $10 million renovation. “We’ll never stay complacent,” says Grutman, referring to the overhaul that added more than 400 digitally controlled LED panels to create choreographed light shows that take up the club’s entire domed ceiling. On its sneak-peek weekend—in typical star-studded fashion—Travis Scott, Skrillex and Lil Wayne performed on the brand-new stage. “The new look gives fans more of a 360-degree experience, and you’ll know what I mean once you’ve experienced it,” says Grutman, hinting at a shift in programming. “The world changes on a constant basis, and so does music. Fridays will remain open format, Saturday we’ll have dance music and LIV On Sunday remains the biggest hip-hop party in the world, but we have new surprises on Wednesday and Thursday that will launch in the next couple months.”