Making Music Fest 2025: Celebrating the Art and Craft of Music
We’re excited to announce the return of Making Music Fest, a week long event celebrating the art and craft of hand-made music at the Phoenix Forge makerspace. From April 1st – 4th, we’ll be hosting workshops, talks, demos and performances from music makers across the valley.
Anybody can experience the makerspace through 4 music-themed classes across our work areas, including guest workshops from expert craftspeople from our community. Or join us for special guest lecture and performance by the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, exploring the histories and futures of roots and folk music.
On April 4th from 6pm-9pm everyone is invited to a free, all-ages First Friday showcase in collaboration with Trunk Space. Spend the evening at the Forge and hear performances from musicians creating ‘hand-made’ music, support local artists at a Stinkweeds Records pop-up, or make your own music with crafts and instrument demos.
Want to join in the celebration? Sign up on the form below to RSVP and be the first to get the full line-up of performances and workshops.
Music-Themed Workshops
April 1st
Violin Luthiery & Varnish-Making
Learn about the history, design, and restoration of instruments in the Violin family and make your own traditional spirit-based varnish with guest instructor Nathan Francois.
Make a Cowbell
Already got a few cowbells lying around? You can always have more. Head into the metal shop to bend, hammer and rivet this Walken-approved instrument.
April 2nd
Build a Bluetooth Speaker
Combine electronics and 3D printing to assemble a rechargeable Bluetooth speaker with custom embossed grilles
Sew your own Guitar Strap
Make a handsome, personalized guitar strap complete with a pick-holder from genuine leather cut on the laser cutter and stitched on our heavy-duty sewing machine.
Note: If you’re not a Phoenix Forge member, you’ll need to create an account through our member portal at the button below to access workshops. Don’t hesitate to call or email us for help!
Guest Presentations
April 3rd, 6-8PM
Black Banjo Reclamation Project: Making Roots Music and the Future of Folk
Join Súle Greg Wilson & Hannah Mayree as they tell histories of music across the African diaspora and engage communities in a dive into American folkways that are still in the making. The topic central to this workshop is their work of fabricating gourd banjos through their work with the Black Banjo Reclamation Project.
The Black Banjo Reclamation Project is a creative eco-system that curates musical, cultural and land-based healing opportunities for Black, Afro-Diasporic communities around the world to work with the banjo as a tool for reclaiming ancestral wisdom & creating Afro-futures.
First Friday Showcase
April 4th, 6-8PM
In collaboration with The Trunk Space, we’re hosting four local musicians who are expanding definitions of making-music—from reinterpreting traditional forms, to exploring what is possible with electronics and sound. Featuring Caleb Daley, Michael Krassner, Joe Willie Smith, INADRM, and students from the PVCC Singer/Songwriters.
Just past the stage, you’ll also be able to…
- Support local artists by shopping at the Stinkweeds Records pop-up shop, open throughout the night.
- Make your own music with crafts, including repurposing old vinyl records from Zia Records. Or tinker on an analog synthesizer with Seth Kasselman.
- Experience the work of Mikale Kaminer, Open Streams: Collective Convergence—an interactive audio-visual installation that both visualizes and sonifies the explosive growth of open-source education in creative practices.
