Mayor's Office

Get ready for Madison’s annual free buffet of musical merriment! Make Music Madison returns Wednesday, June 21 to a coffee shop, community center, front porch, local library, or park shelter near you. The first day of summer will be filled with music from one corner of the City to another, inviting us to celebrate the longest day of the year together, outdoors, investing in our local creative economy.

Every year on June 21, the city becomes a stage with hundreds of free live music performances popping up in every neighborhood. This will be the 11th year of this annual one-day, citywide, free, community music event. Musicians represent all genres, styles of music, skill levels, and ages. Public and private spaces throughout our community are excited to host their talent and provide a platform for whatever “music” or live sound performance an individual or group wishes to produce.

Madison is not alone though in this celebration. At least 17 other cities in WI, 120 cities nation-wide, and 1,000 across the globe are coming together on this same date to be a part of international Make Music Day. Beginning in 1982 in Paris as Fête de la Musique, Make Music Day is about bringing communities together to celebrate the power of live music and its importance to our lives and our creative economy. A group of dedicated citizens with guidance and support from the City of Madison and the Madison Arts Commission, who are still major funders of the project, founded our local chapter spearheading this wonderful celebration, Make Music Madison, in 2013.

Last year the event featured 472 registered performances at 182 venues with over 1,000 individual musicians. This year we challenge our community to grow this to at least 500. Registration for performers and venues is open now through May 25 at makemusicmadison.org. Registration is free. All are welcome in this community wide celebration of live musical entertainment.