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

The event’s stated mission celebrates the musician in all of us, connecting New Yorkers to their communities and with each other, bringing bold new artistic creations to life, uniting diverse communities in a spirit of celebration and energizing the shared social spaces that make NYC a cultural capital.

Make Music New York is held every summer solstice on June 21st – the longest day of the year – and Make Music Winter, a complimentary series of participatory musical parades held each winter solstice on December 21st – the longest night of the year.

On these special “music holidays,” music makers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds are encouraged to take center stage and share their skills and passions through live performances in public plazas and parks, on sidewalks and in front of shops, and in partnership with cultural institutions and businesses across all five boroughs.

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.

Make Music New York is inspired by France’s “Fête de la Musique” (World Music Day), a national musical holiday inaugurated in 1982. Ever since, the festival has become an international phenomenon, celebrated on the same day in more than 750 cities in 120 countries, including Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Lebanon, Ivory Coast, Australia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, and Japan.