June 29, 2026
Save the Date: Make Music Winter on December 21, 2026
June 29, 2026
Thank you to our national sponsors!
June 29, 2026
Global Video Highlights
Make Music, Make Friends connected school children from Australia, Germany, India, Mexico, South Africa, Turkiye, U.K., and the U.S. on Make Music Day, sharing videos of their performances with each other. Watch the full playlist with videos from 33 schools!
#MySongIsYourSong invited songwriters from around the world to learn a song by another artist, and hear theirs covered in return. Watch the full playlist with over three dozen videos.
And check out recap videos from Make Music Turkiye, Make Music Mexico, Fête de la Musique Leipzig (Germany), France’s Ministry of Culture…
June 29, 2026
Make Music Day – thank you!
Congratulations to all who took part in last Sunday’s Make Music Day!
Reports are still coming in, but at least 5,000 free music-making events took place in the U.S. on June 21– along with performances by thousands more musicians in countries around the world who celebrated the day.
Check out 178 press clips about Make Music Day 2026, from media outlets in 79 U.S. cities, to learn about events you may have missed!
June 20, 2026
Make Music City of the Week: Berkeley, CA
Make Music Berkeley’s impressive debut includes over four dozen free concerts in plazas, sidewalks, parks, patios, and storefronts across the city!
Presented by the Downtown Berkeley Association in partnership with Visit Berkeley and Councilmember Shoshana O’Keefe, the event includes a diverse range of musicians of all ages and skill levels. Join a neighborhood kazoo band, cheer on the globally-inspired musicians at the World Cup Stage in Downtown Berkeley Plaza, or listen to a 13-year-old who writes songs about her life traveling full-time on a sailboat with her family.
Visit the Make Music Berkeley website
June 20, 2026
The Route 66 Playlist
Since its creation 100 years ago, America’s immortal Route 66 has inspired countless songs by Nat King Cole, The Eagles, Nelson Riddle, Woody Guthrie, Alan Rhody, and many more.
For the highway’s Centennial celebration in 2026, Make Music Day chapters along the route from Chicago to Santa Monica are hosting special events on June 21 to highlight the highway’s central role in music history.
Take a Sunday drive, roll down the windows, and explore the music of the Mother Road for yourself!
June 20, 2026
Selected Press Previews
- “Let songs shine: ‘Make Music Day’ will brim with free pop-up shows around SoCal,“ by Alysia Gray Painter, NBC4 Los Angeles
- “Music is free – and everywhere – on Sunday for Make Music Madison,“ by John Hart, Wisconsin State Journal
- “Phoenix will transform into a citywide music festival this weekend,“ by Benjamin Leatherman, Phoenix New Times
- “Rochester joins global Make Music Day, community invited,“ Rochester First – News 8
- “Make Music Salem honors late co-founder in its 11th year,“ by Hailey Cook, Salem Reporter
- “On the Beat: Make Music Day Returns,“ by Chris Farnsworth, Seven Days (Vermont)
- “Texas cities transformed into stages for Make Music Day,“ by Abbey Bowling, KDAF – CW33
- “International event “Make Music Day” heads to Grand Rapids for first time,“ by Nicole Stoner, Fox 17 Morning Mix
- “Fairfield to host free Make Music Day performances June 21,“ by Tracey O’Shaughnessy, CT Insider
- “Make Music Day,“ Living East Tennessee, WATE News (Knoxville)
Find more in our 2026 Press Archive
June 17, 2026
Make Music State of the Week: New York
New York has been a proud part of the global Make Music Day since 2007, when New York City’s June 21 celebration began (marking its 20th edition this year)!
In 2026, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Make Music Day is getting louder and stronger across the Empire State.
Wake up to a boombox procession at 5:23am for the inaugural Make Music Chatham, listen to storefront serenades in downtown Troy and jam with a samba band, join a “River of Song” choral procession in Manhattan, hear the Library Jazz Band on the waterfront promenade in Yonkers, come to a ukulele meetup in Ossining (ukes provided), celebrate Father’s Day with music in Albany, check out local bands in Buffalo, and much, much more.
June 17, 2026
Mass Appeal Percussion: Vic Firth, Rhythm Band Instruments
The harmonica events are just one part of our Mass Appeal initiative, an 18-year Make Music Day tradition which brings together people of all levels and ages to make music in large, single-instrument groups.
Vic Firth, setting the standard for percussion since its inception in 1963, is providing over 1,000 pairs of free drumsticks to 35 bucket drumming events around the country this year! No experience necessary – to take part, all you need is a beat in your heart.
In another beloved Make Music Day tradition, Rhythm Band Instruments, makers of the pitched hollow plastic tubes called Boomwhackers®, is donating percussion kits to 17 communities for participatory Mass Appeal percussion events, with a variety of Boomwhackers, egg shakers, and rhythm sticks to make music accessible to everyone.
Thank you, Vic Firth and Rhythm Band Instruments!
June 17, 2026
Easttop Harmonicas For All
Everyone is invited to make music in public on June 21 – even those who have never played music before, or who don’t own an instrument!
Making this idea a reality, Easttop Harmonica has come on board to sponsor 32 harmonica events in the US this year, where anyone can get a free, high-quality harp to play on Make Music Day (and take it home afterwards). Many events are hosted by outstanding local harmonica players – including New York’s Jiayi He, Madison’s DeWayne Keyes, and Salem’s Chris Estes – who are leading harmonica jam sessions and providing free beginner lessons for all.
Since Easttop’s founding in 1997, the company has made an indelible mark on the harmonica world, making instruments of the highest quality and supporting festivals, educational initiatives, and international events that help promote and grow the harmonica community. Thank you to Easttop!