Mass Appeal Guitars Brings Players Together to Jam
It’s four o’clock on Sunday afternoon.
The sun in shining. It’s a bit steamy, but who cares?
It’s Make Music Day in NYC and that means it’s time to jam.
Union Square park was packed with guitar players who agree!
For this year’s summer solstice the park was crowded with guitar-loving folks of all ages.
On hand to share insight and some quick guitar lessons were the wonderful folks from the New York City Guitar School, the event’s co-hosts.
Opening the festivities was a down and dirty, bluesy set from The Bones of J.R. Jones. This one-man-band really knows how to lay it all down! With a resonator guitar, a big kick drum, a hi-hat and tamborine and an occasional harmonica, The Bones of J.R. Jones really enthralled the crowd and left them wanting more!
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Check out a clip of The Bones of J.R. Jones here:
Up next was the fabulous play along, with songs led by a variety of great local performers. These included:
“Blank Space” led by NYC singer-songwiters Craig Kierce and Melinda May featuring the cool kids of New York City Guitar School.
Acoustic Nation’s Laura Whitmore leading “Bubbly.”
A special guest performance by several dads of NYC who came to rock on Make Music Day for the song “Cruise.”
The Good Good playing “Go Your Own Way.”
“Stay With Me” led by Shane Chapman, NYCGS Director of Online Services and frontman of Anacortes.
“You Might Think” led by Bandits On The Run.
Unfortunately the day ended on a wet note, when the heavens opened up in the middle of The Cars' “You Might Think,” leaving us soaked and scrambling.
Our final act, Danielia Cotton, was unable to go on, as the gear on stage was sopping wet and done for the day.
Fortunately our hardy guitar troops were not, and we gathered together after the squall passed to play a few more tunes and soak in the awesomeness of the afternoon.
Thanks so much to Guitar Center for providing backline and for the day’s sponsors: Martin Guitar, Ernie Ball Strings, Tech 21, Guitar World’s Acoustic Nation and The New York City Guitar School for making the day wonderful.
Check out our photo gallery below!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
“I was in full fear that I had just repeated someone else’s song – it was way too accomplished for the kind of stuff I had been writing”: Gavin Rossdale remembers the moment he wrote Bush’s biggest hit – and thought he’d stolen it
“Clapton’s manager says, ‘George Harrison wants you to do the tour and play all the slide parts – he doesn’t want to do it’”: When rhythm guitar hero Andy Fairweather Low was recruited by a Beatle to play slide – even though he’d never played slide before