make a difference through music - because the world needs a good day
Global MAD Music Day
The world really needs a good day.
So let’s give it one.
A worldwide celebration of live music, community and positive action … aiming for 1,000+ live performances across one weekend, where artists, venues and music lovers everywhere come together, raising funds & awareness for causes that matter to them, to ... MAKE A DIFFERENCE
"5 Star idea." Dean Friedman
★★★★★
Be part of it!
20th, 21st & 22nd November
make a difference
Frequently asked questions
What is Global MAD Music Day?
On one weekend, across the planet, bands and artists of all genres and abilities will come together to create an unforgettable global musical experience … while making a difference to causes that matter to them.
Friday 20th, Saturday 21st, Sunday 22nd
November 2026.
Pick your day. Include a gig. Choose your cause.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE. The aim?
1,000+ live performances around the world.
Why is it called MAD?
I wanted a name that would create interest and be easily remembered. I wanted something that would sell the idea of making a difference.
AND then it hit me, MAD is an acronym for … MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Plus I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been told that I must be mad to try it! 🤣
DOES MY GIG HAVE TO BE FOR FREE?
No!
Global MAD Music Day isn’t asking musicians to give up their fee, or venues to give up their income.
You can do it for free if you want to, but you can also play your normal paid gig and simply add something that raises money or awareness for a cause you care about.
Already got a gig on 20, 21 or 22 November? Great. You don’t need another one … make that one MAD!
And if you’re wondering how, we’ve got FREE downloadable guides packed with ideas for musicians AND venues … from selling tickets, passing the hat and paid requests to raffles, challenges, sponsorship and plenty of MAD ideas too!
Is this festival sponsored?
Not at the moment.
I’ve spent many hours trying to get sponsorship and got close several times, but eventually decided to stop chasing unicorns and get on with making Global MAD Music Day happen.
There is now some very healthy interest from organisations who could potentially help me take it much further, which is hugely encouraging.
But until something is agreed, I’m not going to pretend it is.
What's the connection with AND RADIO and who are the supporters at the foot of this website?
They are the fabulously magnanimous, music-loving folk who support my radio station AND RADIO (player below), which I built during Lockdown when so many of us were forced to take an unpaid year off.
By supporting AND RADIO, they support what I do and consequently help me make Global MAD Music Day happen. Hence their presence here.
If you’d like to support AND RADIO please do. It’s not essential, but would obviously be very welcome. Ask me for details here: info@andradio.co.uk
You can listen to AND RADIO below.
Can I raise money for Save the Children?
Absolutely! But you don’t have to. The whole principle of MAD is that you choose the cause that matters to you … local, national or global.
If you want to support Save the Children, you can do so through the Global MAD Music Day GLOBAL MAD MUSIC DAY JustGiving page, which you can access here.
All money raised through that page will be donated to Save the Children Fund, a registered charity in England and Wales (2130890), Scotland (SC039570) and Isle of Man (199).
What is the cost?
Nothing. It doesn’t cost anything to be a band or an artist or to host a gig for Global MAD Music Day. I simply want it to happen.
But, if you wish to help support the project and the ongoing costs of the website, you’re more than welcome to buy me a coffee here at: buymeacoffee.com/martinperry, thank you.
But only if you’re able. ☕
Who am I?
I’m Martin Perry, a muso from Southampton in England, UK, who just wants to make a difference. (That’s me … the amused harmonica player in the white shirt, standing next to a real musician, Tony Wright).
I’ve been a musician my entire life, juggling playing with other roles including: design, marketing, publishing, broadcasting and being a dad.
AND I was pretty good at it, working as a consultant and marketer for blue-chip organisations such as CASIO, Stena Line and TVS, as well as famous artists and venues.
So this should be a doddle!
Haha … cough.
What are my credentials for Global MAD Music Day?
I am an experienced event and festival organiser.
I proudly helped organise Southampton’s premier multi-venue festival, Music In The City, for many years. Originally as part of founder Mayor Linda Norris’s team, which she passed on to me when she retired.
Indeed, it was through MITC that I came up with the idea of how to quickly arrange festivals, which I then used successfully for the emergencies in Ukraine and following the Syrian and Turkish earthquakes.
The principle was deliberately simple: musicians and venues put on gigs, raise some money and make a difference.
Call me naive, but I don’t see why, with your help, that simple idea can’t work anywhere and everywhere.
So … I’m giving it a go with Global MAD Music Day.
Because the world needs a good day.
AND I’m hoping you think so too.
Now go and sort your GIG!
Why am I doing this before everything is sorted?
Because I think it needs to happen.
If I waited until I’d got absolutely everything sorted, chances are it’d be next year or never.
But I’ve also learned a lot since I first threw the idea out there. I’d rather take a little longer and make an actual difference than rush something just so I can say I did it.
So I’ve given MAD more time, opened it across the weekend of 20th - 22nd November, and I’m continuing to build the tools and support around it as it grows.
I’m trying to galvanise it, give people the idea, the identity, the tools and some marketing help.
Because ultimately, it doesn’t need me to put on your gig.
It needs you.
HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
SIMPLE … include a gig.
Already got one? Make it MAD. Want to organise something new? Brilliant. It’s your gig … do it your way.
Free or ticketed. Big or small. One artist or twenty. In an established music venue or somewhere that’s never hosted a gig before.
Choose a cause that matters to you … local, national or global.
Raise some money, raise awareness, do some good …
and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
You don’t need to have everything sorted before you join in. Sign up and tell me what you know so far. You can confirm the rest later.
Then download the FREE guides, templates, posters etc. I’ve created to help you make it happen and show your community - and the world - that you’re part of it.
How can you contact us?
Fill out your registration and I’ll be in touch. Or for general enquiries send me an email using the link below.
But if you want instant answers and don’t always get them, my apologies. There’s still basically me here, juggling Global MAD Music Day with AND RADIO and being a gigging musician.
I’m getting some very welcome help and interest along the way … but I don’t want to pretend there’s a huge team sitting behind this. There isn’t. Yet!
Do I have to be an actual Musician or Music Venue?
No!
If you’ve always wanted to be a musician or singer, have a go!
And if you’ve got a suitable space and want to host some live music, you can be part of MAD too.
Café, restaurant, pub, hotel, sports club, workplace, community hall … wherever you can safely and legally put on a gig.
You don’t have to be a music venue to become a MAD venue.
Big gig. Tiny gig. Festival. Pub. Café. School. Garden. Street. However you make music, it counts.
YOUR MUSIC, YOUR VENUE, YOUR CAUSE, YOUR WAY
Global MAD Music Day is an AND RADIO initiative
THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED 'MAD' GET STARTED
Global MAD Music Day grew out of AND RADIO. These are some of the wonderful people and businesses whose support for AND RADIO helped make that possible.
But please be patient. There's only me here. :)
