Cellist Mike Block Asks Musicians to 'Play for the Vote'
Want to get some positive vibes going on Election Day in the United States? Consider bringing your instrument to a polling location and making some live music - you can sign up here, as part of "Play for the Vote."
"Play for the Vote" is a non-partisan effort was founded in 2020 by cellist Mike Block, a Cleveland Institute- and Juilliard-trained multi-style musician known for innovation, collaboration and outreach. He's also just a really nice guy.
Cellist Mike Block. Photo © Todd Rosenberg
The idea came to him in his practice room at home, following a debate between Presidential candicates in the 2020 election.
"It was the last month before the 2020 election," Block said last week in an interview with CelloBello (see that full interview here.) "I was practicing while thinking about the presidential debate I had watched the night before - it was so stressful, and the rhetoric was so heated."
But as he practiced, Block noticed something interesting: he was starting to feel better.
"I was starting to relax a little bit, after playing cello," Block said. "I thought to myself, if music is making me feel better, maybe I'll go to my polling location and play for my neighbors on election day, and it will help them feel better."
Then he reflected on all the musician friends he has, and he started to think bigger: "What if everybody I know went to a polling location to play music?"
And so "Play for the Vote" began, and 2020 they signed up some 1,500 musicians performing at 700 locations across the United States.
Violinist Corinna Smith performing at the polls for "Play for the Vote" in 2020.
This year, "our goal is to activate 20,000 musicians in 5,000 polling locations, across all 50 states," Block said.
He has some big names behind him - Yo-Yo Ma took to social media to promote the effort (see that video here):
"Hello my fellow musicians," Ma said. "You are all citizen musicians. Would you all consider going to the polls, bring your instrument and play, to inspire and thank the people for doing their citizens' duty for out country. Thank you so much, and I'll see you at the polls."
"Our simple goal is to make voting a more positive, community-building experience," Block said. "We think that music has the unique power to bring people together."
"We believe that it doesn't matter who you're voting for, but everybody is actually showing up to a polling location with the shared purpose of thinking about the future of our democracy, and having our voices heard," Block saod. "So we want people to feel the shared sense of purpose that voting is about."
Want to do it? Sign up to "Play for the Vote" here! Here is a video they made about it:
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Replies
Hmm. Isn't there a danger this might be seen as a teensy bit self-promotional? Wouldn't free cake be a better idea?
Steve, if something like this promotes the calming benefits of live music, then I’m all for it. It’s a little bit like playing in a nursing home or a hospital, there’s nothing nefarious or mercenary about that. It’s just community service.
If you bring cake, are you promoting sugary snacks?
Another thing Laurie - they'd better make sure they aren't wearing red or blue. It's after the count is declared that voters will most need calming music.
Maybe they can just wear both.
So far, I haven’t heard or seen any musicians playing at my polling place; but if I did, I’d probably stay to listen for a bit.
Still, if anyone invited me to join the music-making at such a venue, I’d have to say, “Thanks but no thanks,” mainly because I don’t care to play outdoors - and because we can get cold days in early November, even here in Madison County, AL, near the 34th parallel. There’s no one I wouldn’t play for, if invited; but I’d insist on having the right conditions, and that means warm air and warm hands, with enough moisture for secure grip and reliable traction.
I played the full interview linked in the blog post - run time: 49:49. It held my interest. The only point where I markedly differed with the cellist was on a side issue he briefly touched on: voter ID. I strongly favor voter ID; and, from the coverage I’ve heard lately, 84 percent of my fellow-Americans favor it, too.
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October 25, 2024 at 11:08 PM · What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.