Communities around the world are planning Make Music Day festivities, with over 4,000 free, outdoor concerts, music lessons, and jam sessions taking place in the US alone on June 21. The annual global celebration of music brings people of all styles, ages, and skill levels together to make and enjoy music.
Make a plan to join in the fun this year! U.S. cities hosting major celebrations include New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), St. Louis, San Jose, Seattle and the entire states of Vermont and Rhode Island, with smaller festivities being held in many other communities around the world.
Visit MakeMusicDay.org to find one near you—and create your own by sharing your favorite songs with your children, families, and friends.
Make Music Day celebrates and promotes the natural music-maker in all of us, regardless of ability. Every kind of musician—from bucket drummers to opera singers—pours onto streets, parks, plazas, porches, rooftops, gardens, and other public spaces to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers.
Based on France’s “Fête de la Musique,” a national musical holiday inaugurated in 1982, musical events take place in more than 750 cities in 120 countries, including the U.S., Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Lebanon, Ivory Coast, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, and Japan.
Here are a few highlights of the larger events planned for June 21, 2017:
- More than 175 Mass Appeal events nationwide will bring together musicians of all levels and ages to make music in large, single-instrument groups led by experienced facilitators. Instruments with Mass Appeal events include guitars, harmonicas, accordions, flutes, percussion, trombones, bassoons, French horns, synthesizers, ukuleles, djembes, harps, voices, dulcimers, and more. Free guitar, harmonica, ukuleles, drum and other instrumental lessons are also being offered.
- In New York City, a celebration of “peace songs” across the generations will compose the songbook for an ensemble performance of hundreds of guitars in Union Square Park. Prior to the concert, guitar teachers will give free lessons.
- Sousapaloozas in Chicago, Cleveland, Iowa City, and Minneapolis-St. Paul will bring together hundreds of brass and wind music musicians to play the music of John Philip Sousa.
- Street Studios in Cedar Rapids, Chattanooga, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, and San Jose will feature DJs and producers bringing gear and engaging passersby in the spontaneous, collaborative production of original music on the street.
Learn more at MakeMusicDay.org, and join the celebration! #MakeMusicDay
