Corey Whitmore at a sound board.
Corey Whitmore is the first musician-in-residence for Make Music Madison.
This year’s Make Music Madison is the biggest since Madison began celebrating the event in 2013. This year it’s joining more than 1,000 other cities worldwide.
As of June 19, there are 675 registered performances scheduled on this year’s summer solstice, says managing director Meri Rose Ekberg, up from 2022’s 474 performances — more than a 42% increase. The day’s festivities will also include workshops and other events for music lovers, along with three open mic locations.
It’s the first year the event has a musician-in-residence: Madison music educator, producer and audio engineer Corey Whitmore, who has focused on recruiting more hip-hop and R&B artists and tracking down PA sound systems to loan out to performers.
Whitmore and the Overture Center both contributed PAs for the day’s festivities.
The Make Music Madison team’s efforts were successful, with more hip-hop and R & B-focused events and performances scheduled to take place over the course of the day. Ekberg estimates that there were nine hip-hop performances last year “and this year we have 47. So quite an improvement thanks to Corey! And the majority of these are people playing two-to-six shows on the day.”
That includes more than eight hours of hip-hop at Demetral Park’s Juicee and Friendz event featuring Madison-based Juciee Monroe and 11 other talented hip-hop and R&B artists performing for most of the day.
Ekberg hopes to continue having a musician-in-residence, and says the group is applying for grants and looking for sponsors for the position.
Whitmore stresses that Make Music Madison is a celebration of music for everyone by everyone. “It’s inclusive of people at different points in their musicianship, meaning you have the person who just started, who may have only played guitar for six months, and you have a group that’s been together for 20 years also playing.”
Whitmore is preparing his young sons to play the drums and guitar on stage with him on Make Music Madison Day.
“I encourage anybody and everybody, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing for a long time or not. If you can find a spot and try it out and get some experience, it’s worth it.”
There will be performances and events in Madison’s coffee shops, front porches, parks and more from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
To learn more about different performers and where they are playing, see Make Music Madison’s website for an interactive map and a schedule.
There will be three open mics at the end of the evening. Sherman Terrace, which will be hosting music all day, has an open mic from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. Or, musicians can head to the Memorial Union Terrace open mic from 7 to 9 p.m. All are also welcome to eat, drink and be merry at 208 Merry Street’s outdoor open mic from 5 to 9 p.m.
Collaborative music-making is encouraged on Make Music Day, with eight mass appeal events taking place this year. There are percussion and harmonica workshops, and even a gathering at Madison Youth Arts Center where kazoos will be provided.
Nedra Bobo-Boyles will be hosting a hambone workshop at the Madison Children’s Museum from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Hambone is an African drum technique where the body is used as a drum set to produce different sounds.
There will even be music on the river, where Yid Vicious is calling for canoers, kayakers, SUPers and rafters to join the band in a musical journey down the mighty Yahara. Anyone can bring a “seaworthy instrument” or their singing voice, or watch and join in the fun from shore.
