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Make Music, Make Friends connected school children from Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, U.K., and the U.S. on Make Music Day, sharing videos of their performances with each other. Watch the Full Playlist
#MySongIsYourSong invited songwriters from around the world to learn a song by another artist, and hear theirs covered in return. Watch the Full Playlist
Critical Impact brought together school bands across the U.S. to play a powerful new piece by composer Brian Balmages, in a salute to music education. Watch the Full Playlist
Congratulations to all who took part in last month’s Make Music Day!
We’ve crunched the numbers, and a stunning 5,453 free music-making events took place in the U.S. on June 21 – a new record – along with performances by thousands more musicians in countries around the world who celebrated the day.
Check out 227 press clips about Make Music Day 2025, from media outlets in 87 U.S. cities, to learn about events you may have missed!
Make Music Day would never have gotten so big, so quickly, without the transformational support of NAMM and the NAMM Foundation, representing the generosity and philanthropy of the music products industry.
While the NAMM Foundation has supported the infrastructure behind Make Music Day, individual NAMM members such as Elixir Strings, Harman, PRS Guitars, Rhythm Band Instruments, Sweetwater, and Vic Firth have become core partners, donating instruments and promoting music-making for all on June 21.
This year we celebrate 10 years of NAMM’s partnership. Read more here.
Thank you, NAMM!
- “‘Find joy’ at this massive free music event taking over Phoenix for 1 day only,” by Ed Masley, Arizona Republic
- “Make Music Day to feature dozens of free concerts by local artists throughout Connecticut,” by Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant
- “How a French holiday turned into a global music day, and which Texas cities are participating,” KTSM Austin
- “Worldwide Make Music Day coming June 21. Here are the Florida events,” by C.A. Bridges, Tallahassee Democrat
- “Make Music Day celebrates free, live music around Houston — and the world,” by Michael Hagerty, Houston Public Media
- “Make Music Madison adds Global Choir Project for 12th-annual celebration,” by Anna Hansen, Wisconsin State Journal
- “‘Make Music Day’ events add to Ann Arbor’s character and identity,” by Ana Longoria, WEMU
- “Wil Russoul on music, community and the festival that’s changing everything,” by Darnell Sue, Aberdeen Daily World
- “Musicians will play for free around town, and the world, on ‘Make Music Day’,” by Alysia Gray Painter, NBC 4 Los Angeles
- “Watch 70-plus concerts for free during San Jose’s Make Music Day,” by John Metcalfe, Bay Area News Group
Find more in our 2025 Press Archive
For the third year, Make Music, Make Friends connected school children aged 7-13 around the world for Make Music Day, to share videos of their musical performances with each other.
38 teachers in Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Turkiye, and the US had their kids create a musical greeting video, shared it with schools from different countries, and had their students watch these musical messages this week in honor of Make Music Day.
Makey Makey joins Make Music Day for the 4th time in 2025. Using this circuit board, plugged into a computer, performers of all levels can turn everyday objects into touchpads and use them to make music.
This year, Makey Makey is donating kits to Make Music chapters around the country and helping them make homemade giant floor pianos and other participatory “Mass Appeal” events and installations on June 21.
Thank you, Makey Makey!
New York has been a proud part of the global Make Music Day since 2007, when New York City’s June 21 celebration began.
In 2025, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Make Music Day is getting louder and stronger across the Empire State!
Check out global tabla master Samir Chatterjee at the inaugural Make Music Woodstock, join a full day of workshops and jam sessions at the new Make Music Wyoming County, play along with Suzuki strings, electronic percussion, wind bands, and a samba band in Troy, rock out in an underground “weir chamber” for the 11th annual Make Music Ossining, cross paths with a tugboat outfitted with a Wurlitzer organ and playing down the East River in NYC, and much, much more.
The joy of music-making can show up anywhere on Make Music Day: out on the street, in a park… or behind the wheel of your car.
On June 21 from 12-4pm, Harman invites the public to step into a Cadillac parked outside the JBL Store in New York City, outfitted with a 19-speaker AKG Dolby Atmos sound system for a stunning immersive experience.
Inside the Cadillac, one at a time, guests will sit in the front seat and choose a song to sing, from a short playlist of Atmos-mastered songs. And sitting in the backseat will be 3 professional back-up singers, dressed to impress, who have learned the background vocal parts to each song and will be singing along!
All are welcome to join what will truly be the world’s best karaoke experience. Many thanks to Harman, a crucial supporter of Make Music Day for the last ten years, for sponsoring this event.
Three years ago, the innovative Ann Arbor District Library brought Make Music Day to their Michigan city of 120,000 – this year, it has grown by leaps and bounds!
Make Music Ann Arbor’s 56 confirmed events next Saturday include bands at the farmers market, on front porches, in art galleries, and inside a barn, while library branches are offering an array of interactive events: a modular synth workshop, folk song jam, brass band parade, and much more.