Last Minute Plans: Make Music Chicago

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 21, 2011 2:30PM

Today, Chicago joins 460 cities around the globe for a free, 1-day music festival going on simultaneously worldwide. Make Music Chicago presents an assortment of performances all day long in venues all across the city, celebrating music of all genres by both amateurs and professionals. So wherever you are, chances are there’s a free concert happening around the corner.

Presented by Rush Hour Concerts at St. James Cathedral, the event is inspired by Fête de la Musique, a music festival that began in France 30 years ago and has since spread to an international level. It takes place on June 21 of each year, and today is the first time Chicago will participate.

The festivities begin at 9 a.m. and keep going almost 12 hours, taking over public spaces like the Hancock Center and Chicago Cultural Center. Highlights of the festival include Sousapalooza at noon at Daley Plaza (50 W Washington), where you can bring your instrument and contribute to a handful of Sousa marches, follow directly by an opera and show tunes sing along. At 4:30 p.m. over at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (251 E Huron), students from the Suzuki-Orff School of Music will perform pieces by Beethoven and Mozart.

The grand finale will take place from 5:45-9 p.m. at St. James Cathedral (65 E Huron) with 19 performances taking place on five stages both inside and outside. The whole thing ends around 8:20 p.m., when the audience will gather to form a big public chorus and sing Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago.”

Check out the event’s ridiculously long schedule organized by location, time or genre.