Make Music Middleton is a part of the international Make Music Day movement which brings free, community-wide, 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 Day events are organized with, for, and by the community.  Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public. All of Middleton is encouraged to participate.

Step into summer, reconnect with neighbors, and dive into your creativity!

It all started over 40 years ago in France…

In 1982, France’s Ministry of Culture dreamed up an idea for a new kind of musical holiday. They imagined a day where free, live music would be everywhere: street corners and parks, rooftops and gardens, storefronts and mountaintops.

Unlike a typical music festival, anyone and everyone would be invited to join and play music, or host performances. The event would take place on the summer solstice, June 21, and would be called Fête De La Musique. (In French, the name means both “festival of music” and “make music!”)

Amazingly enough, this dream has come true. The Fête has turned into a true national holiday: France shuts down on the summer solstice and musicians take over. Almost 8% of the country (5 million people) have played an instrument or sung in public for the Fête de la Musique.

Visit makemusicday.org for more information.

Make Music Middleton Launches on April 15, 2024!

Interested in performing or hosting a performance during Make Music Middleton 2024? Click below to sign up as a Performer or a Venue!

Sign Up To Participate!

Want to play? There’s always room in the band.

We welcome musicians from all genres, cultures, and ability to share your creativity with the community in Middleton. We invite musicians, rock bands, instrumentalists, singers, jazz combos, glee clubs, MCs, marching bands, church choirs, rappers, mariachis, and every other kind of musician, of any age group or skill level, are all welcome.

Got something share with a crowd?  From jam sessions to DJ lessons, samba workshops to a pop-up band, get in touch at middleton@makemusic.org.

How Can You Perform?

Anyone and everyone are welcomed and encouraged to create a Performer profile. Creating your profile is short & sweet! Within minutes, you should have access to the Make Music Middleton match-making database. While creating your Performer profile remember to give us the full scoop; by including a headshot, bio, music samples, and social media tags,  you make it easier for interested host venues to learn all about your specific talents. This may encourage them to send you an invitation to play a concert from their venue or approve of your request to perform at their venue! After your profile has been set up, you can search for participating venues and send them requests to play. All additional needs and details can be worked out via direct message on the registration platform.

We are pleased to have you join us!

Who can participate as a host venue?

Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to host musicians from their outdoor space, sidewalks, backyards, storefronts, small shops, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, cultural institutions; community gardens; even your own porch, stoop, driveway, or lawn. The only rule, ALL Make Music Day events must be free!

Please do not, however, create a Venue profile for a public park or plaza on your own initiative, as such spaces require special permits that must be secured directly by us. When you do see a public park or plaza Venue profile on the database, it was created by us and is available as stipulated. If you do not see your preferred park or plaza, please contact us at middleton@makemusicday.org.

How can I volunteer?

Make Music Middleton seeks curious and passionate volunteers. Shoot us an email, identifying who you are, where you are, your background, and what you are passionate about! Using your location and unique assets and abilities, we will find the perfect role for you! No experience necessary!

Support

Help support Make Music Middleton!

Make Music Middleton is grateful to Middleton Community Development Authority and Downtown Middleton Business Association for financial and volunteer support to get us going in 2023.

The work of a small army of volunteers makes it possible to pull this off.  If you would like to get involved, here’s how:

Become a volunteer!

Make Music Day is free for the city of Middleton, so we rely heavily on volunteers to keep things running smoothly. That means we need your help on June 21st! If you’re available on this day and would like to help, please let us know. Here are just some of the things that you might be doing throughout the day:

-Tell passersby about Make Music Middleton and answer any questions audience and participators may have.
-Take photos of your stationed event.
-Help keep our performers happy.
-Help with setup and breakdown between artists.
-Help run sound.

If you would like to volunteer at Make Music Middleton, shoot us an email.

Become a sponsor!

We value our partnership with our sponsors and will strive to serve as good stewards of the generous gifts by delivering valuable benefits and a positive partnership experience. With financial or in-kind donations, you are helping to make music accessible to everyone in our community.

If you would like to be a sponsor of Make Music Middleton, shoot us an email.

Get in touch with us at middleton@makemusicday.org