Make Music New York Summer 2023

Now in its 17th 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 the longest day of the year. The NYC music celebrations take place simultaneously with similar festivities in over one hundred US cities and more than 800 cities around the world — a global celebration of music making.

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 along and enjoy the first day of summer in a spirit of celebration.

Among the hundreds of concerts each year, Make Music New York includes a number of special and signature projects, including “Mass Appeal Concerts,” in which dozens of musicians band together to perform pieces written for a specific type of instrument.

Make Music New York will proudly partner with the Department of Transportation to activate a record number of plazas and Open Street; with dozens of BIDs — 161st Street, Atlantic Ave, CORMA, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Montague Street, North Flatbush — and with fellow NYC presenters and cultural institutions including: Apollo Theater, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Music School, Bryant Park, Governors Island, Joe’s Pub, LES Ecology Center, National Park Service, Neighborhood Venue Alliance. New York Botanic Garden, New York Public Library, Pier I, Port Authority of NY & NJ, Richard Rodgers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park, Seaport District, Third Street Music School, Times Square Alliance, Uptown Grand Central, and many more.

Find the full schedule via the link below!