Make Music Day, an annual global celebration that features more than 4,000 free, outdoor concerts, music lessons and jam sessions in the U.S., returns this year on June 21. The all-day musical celebration on the summer solstice, which brings people of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels together to make music, will feature more than 50 U.S. cities hosting major celebrations. The list includes New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Boston MA, Chicago IL and Detroit MI, plus the entire states of Vermont and Rhode Island, with smaller festivities popping up in other communities nationwide. Make Music Day encourages all people to experience the pleasure of making music. 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.
Highlights of Make Music Day in the U.S. will include Sousapaloozas in six different cities, bringing together hundreds of brass and wind musicians to play the music of John Philip Sousa; Street Studios in five different cities, where DJs and producers bring their gear and engage passersby in the spontaneous, collaborative production of original music on the street; and more than 150 Mass Appeals across the country, gathering musicians to play together in large, single-instruments groups. Instruments with Mass Appeal events include guitars, harmonicas, accordions, flutes, percussion, trombones, bassoons, French horns, synthesizers, ukuleles, djembes, harps and voices.
Make Music Day, which began in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique, has since grown to include more than 750 cities across 120 countries. It’s presented in the U.S. by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the non-profit Make Music Alliance.