HONK!, also known as HONK! Fest, is a festival of activist street bands held annually onIndigenous Peoples' Day weekend inSomerville, Massachusetts. Each year since 2006, an all-volunteer organizing community invites more than 25 bands from aroundNew England,North America, and the world to participate in this free three-day event that showcases acoustic and ambulatory bands playing free music in public spaces. Since its inception, it has inspiredadditional HONK! festivals in other locations.
HONK!s so far have been staged inSomerville, Massachusetts;Seattle, Washington;Austin, Texas;Providence, Rhode Island;New York, New York;Eugene,Oregon;Montpelier, Vermont;Spokane, Washington;Rio de Janeiro,São Paulo,Brasília, Brazil; andWollongong, NSW, Australia.[1] Although each festival is locally organized and there is no central HONK! authority, they share common features. Each HONK! invites twelve to over thirty bands, who play multiple sets in outdoor public spaces over the course of two or three days. These shows are free to attend. Some HONK!s also feature aparade. The festivals are volunteer-run and get support from local sponsors.
The bands invited to play at HONK! share common characteristics: they are ambulatory, they use instruments that can be simultaneously carried and played, and they utilize little or no electronicamplification. As a result, the bands are able to play while moving. There is no generally agreed-upon label for this type of band; labels in use include "activist street band," "radical marching band," and "community street band."
Although many of the bands that play at HONK! have the phrase "marching band" in their names, they bear only superficial resemblance to a traditionalmarching band. Traditional marching band characteristics derive from their military history: they tend to feature regimented, synchronized movement and matching uniforms, and play music that has been composed and arranged in advance, with the goal of presenting the band as a cohesive unit without any differentiation between individual members. Band members are typically drawn from and affiliated with some larger organization, such as a school.
A HONK!-style street band, on the other hand, more often tends to encourage the individuality of its members: it may have a theme to its garb rather than a uniform, with individual members free to implement that theme in a manner of their own choosing; similarly, its music may offer more chances forimprovisation. Many HONK! bands incorporate traditional marching band instrumentation, sometimes augmented with other instruments or vocalists; others use instrumentation drawn from non-Western music traditions, such as those of aBraziliansamba school. A HONK! band may exist for a specific purpose—some perform primarily atactivist events, for instance—but they are typically autonomous entities not affiliated with another organization.
The longest-running HONK! has taken place in Somerville, Massachusetts'Davis Squareneighbourhood every October since 2006.[2] It was begun by a committee of members from a Somerville activist band, The Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band, who saw the need for a gathering of like-minded souls interested in applying the joy of music to the work of promoting peace, social justice, and civic engagement.[3][4][5] Since 2007, it has included a parade titled "Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet!"[citation needed] The parade features the bands along with other non-musician participants, including puppeteers and visual artists such as theBread & Puppet Theater and organizations that promote transportation alternatives and environmental and social justice, such asBikes Not Bombs.[6]
TheCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced all of their events to online.
HONK NYC! was born in 2007 whenThe Pink Puffers (Rome, Italy), Environmental Encroachment (Chicago), andMarch Fourth (Portland, Oregon), visited New York City[7] following that year’s HONK! in Somerville. Events around the city included a dinner party at the spaceThe Change You Want to See on Havermeyer Street, hosted by members of Brooklyn’sHungry March Band. This set up a tradition of creating events for bands that wanted to visit NYC and play gigs after HONK! fest. In 2008, Titubanda from Rome were presented in parties, parades, parks, and rallies.[8] In 2009, the name BONK! Brooklyn HONK Festival was adopted and used through 2011.[9] The festival was renamed as HONK NYC! In 2012.[10] In addition to small parades and free outdoor gigs, HONK NYC also has ticketed nighttime events in clubs and warehouse spaces.
HONK! Fest West has been held every spring in Seattle starting in 2008.[11] In its second year, HONK! Fest West 2009 took place in several locales around Seattle: Friday night inBallard, Saturday night inGeorgetown, Sunday daytime atGas Works Park and Sunday evening atThe Vera Project.[12] HONK! Fest West 2010 took place Friday night inFremont, Saturday afternoon in theCentral District, Saturday night in Georgetown, and Sunday afternoon at the Alaska Junction inWest Seattle.[citation needed]
HONK!TX has been held in Austin every March starting in 2011. The 2011 festival took place on EastSixth Street on Friday, in the North University neighborhood on Saturday, and, following a march through the center of Austin, in Pan-Am Park on Sunday. Subsequent years have usedSouth Congress instead of East Sixth.[13]
HONK! Fest Eugene (PKA Yonk!) was founded in June 2015 when local Brazilian percussion ensemble Samba Ja hosted SambAmore (Arcata, CA), Environmental Encroachment (Chicago), Junkadelic (Australia) along with local bands Kef, The Beatcrunchers, and High Step Street Band on 2 outdoor stages. Since then it has been held every year in theWhiteaker neighborhood ofEugene,Oregon the week following HONK! Fest West in Seattle. It features traveling groups from Seattle's festival as well as local percussion and brass ensembles. In 2017 the festival changed names from Yonk! to Honk! Fest Eugene and grew into a 2-day festival and retreat for touring bands.[14]
HONK!Oz was inaugurated in January 2015 in the community ofWollongong,New South Wales,Australia as a fringe festival of the long-runningIllawarra Folk Festival in the nearby community ofBulli.[15]
HONK!Rio was inaugurated in August 2015, taking place in various communities in and around the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[16]
HONK SP takes place in São Paulo, Brasil and started in November 2017, bringing together a vast number of groups, including Brass Bands and Carnival "Blocos", occupying the city's districts.[17]
PRONK! is a one-day festival inProvidence, Rhode Island. It happens the day after the Boston-area HONK! ends and features many of the same groups that performed in Somerville and Cambridge over the weekend.
HONK!BC is the first Canadian version of the HONK! Festival and it was organized byOpen Air Orchestra Society. It was inaugurated in August 2018 inVancouver,BC and took place at multiple venues in theCommercial Drive area (East Vancouver) such as Britannia Community Services Centre, Strange Fellows Brewing, Grandview Park and The Legion on Commercial Drive.
| Appearances | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aNova Brazil (Boston, MA) | 15 |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||
| Artesian Rumble Arkestra (Olympia, WA) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Babadan Banda de Rua (Belo Horizonte, BRA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Bahamas Junkanoo Jumpers, The (Boston, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Band Land Brass Band (Cambridge, MA) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Banda Internacional de Chelsea, La (Chelsea, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Banda Rim Bam Bum (Santiago, Chile) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Banda Roncati (Bologna, Italy) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Barrage Band Orchestra, The (Baltimore, MD) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Berkshire Resilience Brass Band (Southern Berkshires, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Black Bear Combo (Chicago, IL) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Black Sheep Ensemble (Atlanta, GA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Blowcomotion (Austin, TX) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| de:Bolschewistische Kurkapelle schwarz-rot (Berlin, Germany) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Boycott (Somerville, MA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Brass Balagan, The (Burlington, VT) | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||
| Brass Liberation Orchestra (San Francisco, CA) | 6 | | | | | | | ||||||||||||
| Brass Messengers (Minneapolis, MN) | 6 | | | | | | | ||||||||||||
| Brass Queens (New York, NY) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Brass Solidarity (Minneapolis, MN) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| brassterisk (Somerville, MA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Bread and Puppet Circus Band, The (Glover, VT) | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Caka!ak Thunder (Greensboro, NC) | 6 | | | | | | | ||||||||||||
| Carnival Band, The (Vancouver, BC) | 6 | | | | | | | ||||||||||||
| Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble (Montreal, QC) | 8 | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||
| Chaotic Noise Marching Corps (Seattle, WA) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Church Marching Band (Santa Rosa, CA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Clamor and Lace Noise Brigade (Chicago, IL) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Conical Cacophony (Boston, MA) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Damas de Ferro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Dead Music Capital Band (Austin, TX) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Party Marching Band (Detroit, MI) | 8 | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||
| Dirty Water Brass Band (Boston, MA) | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||
| DJA-Rara (Brooklyn, NY) | 5 | | | | | | |||||||||||||
| Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band (Somerville, MA) | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Environmental Encroachment (Chicago, IL) | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||
| Expandable Brass Band, The (Northampton, MA) | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||
| Extraordinary Rendition Band (Providence, RI) | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||
| Factory Seconds (Somerville, MA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Fanfare Invisible, La (Paris, France) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Fanfarra Feminina Sagrada Profana (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Filthy FemCorps (Seattle, WA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Fly By Brass Band (Somerville, MA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee Molotov Marchers, The (Wisconsin, US) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Forward! Marching Band (Madison, WI) | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||
| Funkrust Brass Band (New York, NY) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Ghost Town (Somerville, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Good Trouble Brass Band (Somerville, MA) | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gora Gora Orkestar (Denver, CO) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Hartford Hot Several (Hartford, CT) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Hill Stompers, The (Los Alamos, NM) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Himalayas (New York City, NY) | 6 | | | | | | | ||||||||||||
| HONK Family Band (New York, NY) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Hungry March Band (Brooklyn, NY) | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||
| Ideal Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band (Portland, ME) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Jamaica Plain Honk Band (JP Honk), The (Jamaica Plain, MA) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| L Train Brass Band (Brooklyn, NY) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Leftist Marching Band (Portsmouth, NH) | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Loyd Family Players (Oakland, CA) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Lungs Face Feet (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Magnificent Danger (Boston, MA) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| MarchFourth Marching Band (Portland, OR) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| May Day Marching Band (Pittsburgh, PA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin, TX) | 8 | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||
| Muses Tanguent, Les (Paris, France) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Musicians Action Group (MAG) (San Francisco Bay Area, CA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| New Creations Brass Band (New Orleans, LA) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| New Orleans Musicians 4 Palestine (New Orleans, LA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Open Hand Orchestra, The (Portland, ME) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club (New Orleans, LA) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| The Original Pinettes Brass Band (New Orleans, LA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Orkestar Zirkonium (Seattle, WA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Pakava It (Moscow, Russia) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Party Band, The (Lowell, MA) | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||
| Perhaps Contraption (London, UK) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Pink Puffers Brass Band (Rome, Italy) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Plezi Rara (Brooklyn, NY) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Le Pompier Poney Club (Marseille, France) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Primate Fiasco, The (Northampton, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Providence Drum Troupe (Providence, RI) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Rara Bel Poze (Boston, MA) | 7 | | | | | | | | |||||||||||
| Red Flame Hunters (New Orleans) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Revolutionary Snake Ensemble (Cambridge, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Rise Up! Action Band (Seattle, WA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Rude Mechanical Orchestra (New York City, NY) | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||
| Samba Tremeterra (Cambridge, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Scene Of The Crime Rovers, The (Durham, NC) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| School of HONK (Somerville, MA) | 9 | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||
| Seed & Feed Marching Abominable (Atlanta, GA) | 7 | | | | | | | | |||||||||||
| Siderais, Os (Rio De Janeiro) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Springville All Star Marching Band, The (Springville, NY) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Stick & Rag Village Orchestra, The (Jamaica Plain, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Summer Street Brass Band (Boston, MA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| tint(A)nar (Quebec City, QC) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Titanium Sporkestra (Seattle, WA) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Titubanda (Rome, Italy) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| TMB (Seattle, WA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| TriBattery Pops (New York City, NY) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Undertow Brass Band (Providence, RI) | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Unidos do Swing (São Paulo, Brazil) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Unlawful Assembly (Minneapolis, MN) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Veveritse (Brooklyn, NY) | 3 | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Vilains Chicots, Les (Paris, France) | 1 | | |||||||||||||||||
| Yellow Hat Band (Seattle, WA) | 2 | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Yes Ma’am Brass Band (Austin, TX) | 4 | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Young Fellaz Brass Band (New Orleans, LA) | 7 | | | | | | | |
A dozen brass and drum bands—hailing from as far away as San Francisco, Vancouver, Chicago and Brooklyn—arrived to perform on sidewalks and plazas around Davis Square for the first Honk in 2006.
Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band are the founders of HONK!. They combine music with social action...
'It has a very deep tie to social activism and this notion that art should be used to provoke social change, that artists and musicians should be working together and try and use this incredible power as artists and musicians we have to do something positive for society.'
