Ring in the Summer: Make Music Day Is June 21!

June 1, 2021

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Make Music Day, a daylong musical celebration, attracts every form of music and every kind of musician, amateur and professional alike, from the concert hall to neighborhood events and everything in between. Make Music Day is an open invitation for people everywhere to share the joy of making music on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice.

Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, it is now held in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries on June 21. In the US, Make Music Day is sponsored by the NAMM Foundation. Events are organized by community groups, media outlets, arts presenters, civic leaders, or anyone who champions Make Music Day.

And while many of the events are geared toward recreational musicians, the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF) has been working with locals and organizers to provide grants that pay professional musicians to enhance Make Music Day experiences. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, for example, the local has created multiple Make Music Day events across the city and will provide gigs for 23 AFM musicians in a range of groups that day, from steel drums and world beat to jazz and classical.

“One event we’re participating in will have the Sol Calypso steel drums band performing at a homeless teen residence that houses over 150 teens. Rhythm Band Instruments is donating percussion instruments so the teens will be able to play and keep the instruments—all of which are easily transportable,” says Tracey Whitney, president of Local 618 (Albuquerque, NM). “There is nothing more soul-affirming, after being socially distanced for a year, than making music!”

In Philadelphia, Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA) members will be playing in various locations including Harriet’s Book Store, where the owner is opening her shop that day in support of Make Music Day.

While some are individual performances, other events are specially designed for mass music-making. This year, there will be a global musical memorial to the pandemic’s devastation called “This Moment in Time.” Working with musicians and cultural partners worldwide, massive gongs will be placed in public spaces. At each location, a musician will play the gong for one uninterrupted hour at noon, marking the incalculable loss of the past year.

The nonprofit Make Music Alliance serves to promote music participation, providing tools to help manage events in each community, and foster collaboration, mentorship, and mutual support. More details and schedules of virtual and in-person events can be found at www.makemusicday.org

AFM Locals Participating in Make Music Day Events:

• Local 6 (San Francisco, CA)
• Local 7 (Orange County, CA)
• Local 10-208 (Chicago, IL)
• Local 30-73 (St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN)
• Local 65-699 (Houston, TX)
• Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA)
• Local 166 (Madison, WI)
• Local 257 (Nashville, TN)
• Local 400 (Hartford-New Haven, CT)
• Local 677 (Honolulu, HI)
• Local 618 (Albuquerque, NM)
• Local 655 (Miami, FL)
• Local 802 (New York, NY)

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