The American Song

The American Song is a new Make Music Day initiative, capturing the stories and experiences of ordinary people from around the country at this unprecedented time.

In 2020, working through our local chapters, the Make Music Alliance lined up fifty people of all ages with a story to tell, one in each of the 50 States, along with fifty professional songwriters in a variety of styles.

On the morning of June 21, Make Music Day, each songwriter video chatted with one interviewee for an hour. In the afternoon, they wrote a song inspired by their conversation. That evening they did a second video chat with the person and gave a live, private performance of the song they just wrote.

Here are the compositions put together 1) for a Hawaiʻi kamaʻāina, Tracy Lawson, and 2) by a number of Hawaiʻi composers: Chase Kauhan, Rachael Scott, Ryan Higgins, Marrianne Bacon, and Keao Cockett. Watch each video by clicking below or see the full playlist from all 50 states here.