We proudly presented our final Open Mic Night of the season as part of Make Music Boston Day on the Prado! On June 21, 2024—the longest day of the year_the streets of Boston come alive with hundreds of free live music performances and events for all ages and genres of music!
Make Music Boston is powered locally by Boston Music Project. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician—young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion—pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers.
We look forward to another great Open Mic Night season this fall. Stay tuned for details!
HISTORY OF MAKE MUSIC DAY
It all started 42 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 music would be everywhere, all around each city: street corners, parks, rooftops, gardens, and store fronts.
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: the country shuts down on the summer solstice and musicians take over. Almost 11% of French people (7 million people) have played an instrument or sung in public for the Fête de la Musique, and 64% of the country (43 million people) comes out each year to listen.
Four decades later, the holiday has spread throughout the world and is now celebrated in more than 1,000 cities in 120 different countries.
