April 21, 2023 I Event
Make Music Day Returns This June
Make Music Day, the worldwide day of making music held annually on the summer solstice, announced the return of its program with more than 4,000 live, free music-making events across the U.S. to be held on Wednesday, June 21. Make Music Day is celebrated globally by people in more than 1,000 cities around the world, including 120 cities in the U.S., where it has spread quickly after debuting in New York in 2007.
The world’s largest annual music event celebrates and promotes the natural music maker in everyone, regardless of age or skill level. Last year, 104 U.S. cities organized 3,189 free Make Music events on June 21, with more than 100 concerts each in New York City; Cincinnati; Kansas City, Missouri; Madison, Wisconsin; and Salem, Oregon.
Make Music Day activities are free and open to anyone wanting to participate.
In a new global highlight, “Make Music, Make Friends” will connect school children aged 7–13 from Australia, China, Italy, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S. on Make Music Day. Ten classes from each country will create a musical greeting video, share it with schools from different countries, and have their students watch the musical messages on June 21 to expose them to different regions and cultures.
Other national highlights of Make Music Day 2023 will include: Flowerpot Music, which, for the fourth year, will allow participants across the country to perform a composition by composer Elliot Cole and directed by percussionist Peter Ferry using an unlikely percussion instrument: the flowerpot. Appropriate for musicians and non-musicians alike, participants can join a group and create outdoor soundscapes through easy-to-learn games.
Another highlight will be #MySongIsYourSong where songwriters and composers of all styles and walks of life will join in a global song swap where they’ll learn a song by another artist and hear theirs covered in return.
Finally, Sousapalooza will take place in multiple cities, including New York City, Chicago and Lansing, Michigan, with large groups of brass and wind musicians assembling in parks and plazas to play the music of John Philip Sousa. Anyone is invited to download the music, bring their horn and join the band.
A full schedule of events will be posted on the Make Music Day website in early June. Make Music Day is presented in the U.S. by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance.
