Make Music Hartford is a live, free musical celebration on June 21 across the city, coordinated by the Greater Hartford Arts Council.
What is Make Music Hartford?
Make Music Hartford is a part of the international Make Music Day movement which brings free, community-wide, outdoor musical celebrations to hundreds of cities worldwide! Every year, the celebration is held on June 21, the summer solstice, in more than 1,000 communities around the world.
Make Music Hartford will feature musicians of all abilities and music from any genre. Sidewalks, parks, front porches, and public spaces throughout the city will become stages for local musicians to perform and for all to enjoy. Everyone is invited to participate in this international day of music by performing, providing an outdoor space, appreciating, or volunteering. It’s all for the love of music!
Make Music Hartford is brought to you by the Greater Hartford Arts Council as part of our mission to inspire all people to participate and invest in the arts.
Make Music Hartford: Winter Edition returns in 2020, but it will look a little different. Due to COVID-19, this year’s event will be virtual experiences you can enjoy from home.
Make Music Hartford: Winter Edition
With the Winter Solstice comes Make Music Winter. On Monday, December 21st, the Greater Hartford Arts Council will share posts on social media and here on our Make Music Hartford website.
You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see what we share!
A number of special events will be hosted by the Greater Hartford Arts Council as well as community partners in the Greater Hartford region and around the world.
Musicians will bring music and holiday cheer to nursing home and long term care facility residents. Musicians will visit Anthology of Farmington to perform outside of residents’ windows. Videos of performances will be shared on social media.
Make Music Hartford’s Winter Jazz Trail will not be stopped by the pandemic, it will just go virtual! Four jazz bands will share jazz standards and originals in video format. This series is coordinated by local music advocates Matt Chasen and Florence McNutt. Performances will be shared on social media.
Key of Dee (aka Dee Davis) will perform a special Make Music Winter music video released on social media.
If you’re looking to support Make Music Winter and local musicians this holiday season, but looking for a way to do it without looking at a screen, we’ve got you covered. Tune into our Make Music Hartford playlist on Spotify while you bake cookies, decorate for the holiday season, or relax by the fireside. Our Make Music Hartford committee will share links to some of our favorite cookie recipes this season.
with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency
Your support makes programs like Make Music Hartford possible. Discover branding opportunities for your company and help us connect people through music.
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact Roxane Sanders rsanders[at]letsgoarts.org
Make Music Hartford is a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire all people to participate and invest in the arts. Help us make events like Make Music Hartford possible.
Donate Today
Every 3rd Tuesday of the month add some much needed funds to local musicians’ virtual tip jars!
Are you interested in helping us plan Make Music Hartford? Contact city administrator, Amanda Roy, for more information on how you can be involved.
Special thanks to the volunteer photographers who helped capture Make Music Hartford in photos and videos:
“We bake with love” is the motto for Scotts’ Jamaican Bakery. What more could you ask for in a longtime local business? For over 40 years, the Scott family bakery has been a staple in capital region cuisine with what started with one flagship bakery that expanded into three total branches. It only made sense toContinue Reading »
Nelson Bello has certainly made the rounds. As an alumnus of both the original Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and a student of Jackie McLean, Nelson has made a career out of collaborating. In addition to being an active recording artist, he serves as both accompanist and bandleader in several groups in the regionalContinue Reading »
If you’ve made it out to Black-Eyed Sally’s for a Jazz Monday, chances are you’ve seen Kirk play. If you’ve attended events with a jazz trio, your chances are even higher. Essentially, Kirk is one of Hartford’s go-to drummers for all things jazz. Having just graduated from The Hartt School’s inaugural Master of Music inContinue Reading »
Hartford Courant: “Sounds of summer: Hartford’s Make music 2019 celebration had the city singing” (June 21, 2019)
WTNH: “Make Music Hartford Bigger Than Ever ” (June 20, 2019)
Hartford Courant: “Make Music Hartford Celebrating the winter solstice with parade, concerts, drink specials at area bars” (December 17, 2018)
National Make Music Winter Press Release: “Make Music Winter to Expand Nationwide This December 21” (October 17, 2018)
Hartford Courant: “Hartford Joins Global Make Music Day with Concerts Around the City” (June 21, 2018)
Hartford Courant: “Music to Fill the Streets as Connecticut Joins Global Make Music Day” (June 18, 2018)
USA Today: “Where to Celebrate Make Music Day Across the Country” (June 15, 2018)
Patch: “Free Concerts Set for Make Music Day in West Hartford” (June 15, 2018)
Billboard Magazine: “Make Music Day To Return This Summer With More Than 4,500 Concerts” (April 4, 2018)
Rolling Stone:“‘Make Music Day’ Plots 4,500 Free Events, Concerts Nationwide” (April 3, 2018)
National Make Music Day Press Release: “Make Music Day 2018 Returns On Thursday, June 21” (March 28, 2018)
Hartford Courant: “Connecticut to Join Global Make Music Day” (March 14, 2018)
WILI 95.3 FM, Windham Arts Radio Review: Interview with Aaron Friedman of the Make Music Alliance (February 28, 2018)
Make Music Alliance: “Media Resources”
Get in touch with us…
Amanda Roy
Director of Community Impact
Greater Hartford Arts Council
aroy[at]letsgoarts.org