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Make Music
Milwaukee

About

2024 is our eighth year for Make Music Milwaukee!  Whether virtually or in person, we always look forward to celebrating music in Milwaukee with you on June, 21st.

Make Music Milwaukee is part of Make Music Day, the worldwide music celebration held each June 21, the summer solstice. Featuring concerts, performances, music lessons, jam sessions and other musical events on streets, sidewalks, parks and public spaces in Milwaukee and across the U.S. Make Music Day encourages all people, of all musical abilities, to celebrate the joy of making music.

Over 1000 cities around the world have celebrated Make Music Day! 

It all started 40 years ago in France.

In 1982, Jack Lang and his staff at the 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, store fronts and mountaintops.

And, 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.

Four decades later, the holiday has spread throughout the world and is now celebrated in more than 120 countries. In the U.S., the presenting sponsor is the NAMM Foundation.

Check out highlights from Make Music Milwaukee HERE!