Make Music NY

Make Music New York is New York City’s only music festival for the people and by the people!

Now in it’s 18th year, Make Music New York is a unique festival of free concerts in public spaces throughout the five boroughs of New York City. All of the performances take place annually on June 21st, the first day of summer and longest day of the year. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music New York is open to anyone who wants to take part. From ten in the morning to ten at night, every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers.

Thousands of amateur musicians take the opportunity to play in public spaces, often for the biggest crowds of their lives. Professional musicians perform for new audiences, who come out from under their headphones to hear unfamiliar groups risk-free. And everyone is invited to sing or play along and enjoy the first day of summer in a spirit of celebration. With over 1,000 concerts each year, Make Music New York includes a number of signature projects: “Mass Appeal Concerts,” in which dozens of musicians band together to perform massive pieces written for a specific type of instrument; “Punk Island”; “Porch Stomp” folk festival; “Street Studios,” and many more.

Some 5,000 musicians performed in the summer of 2019. Along with concerts by individual artists, Make Music New York proudly partners with dozens of fellow NYC presenters and cultural institutions — including Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Broklyn Public Library, Governors Island, Joe’s Pub, Madison Square Park, Marcus Garvey Park, National September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York Public Library, Randall’s Island, Times Square Alliance and many more.