Let’s face it. Miami is s expensive, especially if you want to hear live music during a night on the town. However, thanks to Miami Made Festival 2012: When the Sun Goes Down, March 1 through 4, 2012, you have the chance to listen to hip local bands do their thing Miami-style — for free. Bring friends, a date or go solo, head the Arsht Center, a Knight Arts grantee, and listen to The Hongs (Thursday), Crown Company (Friday) and Roofless Records (Saturday). All three bands are premiering new songs. Especially promising is Roofless Records (Saturday), “a music/theater/dance mash-up inspired by pop culture’s most beloved variety shows.”

And that’s not all that Miami Made Festival has to offer. Even if you’ve seen the festival in years past, the coordinators have some surprises in store. The chosen artists are loosely tied by this year’s theme of Miami after dark. Miami is a city we know as vibrant and multicultural, a city that heats up once the sun goes down and the lights come on. Although the festival is heavier on theatrical performances than in years past, the 10 artists included in the festival promise to please any aesthetic taste.

They offer diverse and exciting performances, which range from experimental theater and dance to a photography exhibit. Miami Made Festival has never showcased a photography exhibit, but these photographs are special. In a “behind-the-scenes look,” Richard Martinez photographed Ana Mendez’s creation of her piece “The Body is Present” for the 2011 Miami Made Festival. So, not only is this an original exhibition created for this year’s festival, but it’s also reminiscent of last year’s. Other highlights of the festival include: Rosie Herrera’s “Dining Alone,” The TM Sisters’ “Shimmer,” The Project [theatre]’s “Beer Samplers,” Paul Tei’s work-in-progress “RPM” and Mark Della Ventura’s one-man-show “Small Membership.”

M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center, says of the festival, “Miami heats up when the sun goes down and this expanded, nighttime version of the Arsht Center’s Miami Made Festival is an opportunity to experience the inventive, cross-pollination of creativity germinating throughout South Florida. The entire community is invited to dive into the newest, groundbreaking work coming out of Miami’s vibrant cultural scene.”

Miami Made Festival 2012, “When the Sun Goes Down,” March 1 through 4, 2012, Carnival Studio Theater, Tickets: free. Free “First-Access Tickets” will be available beginning at noon on Monday, Feb. 27, at arshtcenter.org or in person at the Box Office (limit four per person). The passes provide patrons with guaranteed admission to the theater for individual performances. *$35 VIP festival passes are available now and guarantee priority access to the theater and guaranteed seating to every event. Arrive 15 minutes before performance begins.