The City of Santa Monica will partner with Make Music Los Angeles this Friday to join a countywide celebration by hosting musical performances throughout the day in Palisades Park.
The event is based on France’s Fête de la Musique, a national musical holiday inaugurated in 1982.
Make Music Los Angeles/MMLA is an 11-hour celebration of music taking place on the summer solstice, Friday, June 21, from 11 am to 10 pm.
Music performances will pop up organically with concerts taking place in a variety of locations, including community gardens, plazas, schools, courtyards and parks.
The festival has become an international phenomenon celebrated on the same day in more than 460 cities in 110 countries.
Amateurs, students, professionals and established artists are all invited to perform. Musicians and other participants volunteer their time and talents and admission to all events is free.
“Our hope is to inspire new creative works, develop new audiences and celebrate our cultural differences by crisscrossing the county and discovering the hidden musical gems L.A. has to offer,” said MMLA Founder/Executive Director, Dorsay Dujon.
In addition to musicians being able to perform in Santa Monica parks, on sidewalks and at the beach, the City will host a stage in Palisades Park at Santa Monica Blvd. from 11:45 am to 6:45 pm.
The day kicks off with “The 100 Hohner Harmonica Project”, where attendees can participate in a community lesson and performance led by Tom Nolan, musician, leader of the Tom Nolan Band and Dean of Students at Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences.
The project encourages people to have fun while learning to play. Hohner harmonicas will be generously donated to the public by Hohner, a 156 year old musical instrument company, and Alfred Music, the world’s largest educational music publisher, will be donating sheet music.
Other featured musicians include the band Under the Sky, playing acoustic folk-grass, west coast roots rock, Chicago blues/jazz and more; Tee-m, a pop balladeer, who has been selected as a Music Connection Magazine’s 10 Hottest Unsigned Artists five years in a row; renowned cellist Jen Kuhn; Desi Ramone who plays exclusively Johnny Cash, Johnny Ramone and Johnnie B Goode; Bernadette Bentley, an English songwriter whose lyrics are inspired by life in the margins of East London; Dave Ellis, a teacher at Santa Monica’s McCabe’s Guitar Shop who plays Spanish, flamenco and classical guitar; Jaq Mackenzie, a John Adams Middle School student and singer/songwriter; Rhythm Child, performing soulful percussion music for children, and national recording artist Katrina Carlson, performing songs from her new CD “Sunshine State of Mind” that blend catchy hooks, feel-good lyrics and upbeat grooves.
“By participating in Make Music LA, Santa Monica aims to provide a platform for local musicians and expose residents and tourists to some of our unique, homegrown talent,” says City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Supervisor, Allison Ostrovsky.
For more information about Make Music LA, contact Dorsay Dujon, 323.377.7444; Email: [email protected], or go to www.MakeMusicLA.org.
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