Honk if you’re happy that the HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands will dance through the streets of Somerville this weekend, bringing music, art and activism together in honktacular harmony.
The History of Somerville HONK Fest
HONK! Is a free street band festival that draws inspiration from Mardi Gras and Carnival, according to the organizers’ website. Considered by some to be part of a “brassroots revolution,” the bands are reminiscent of Klezmer, Balkan and Romani music, Brazilian Samba, Afrobeat and Highlife, Punk, Funk, and Hip Hop, as well as the New Orleans second line tradition. The bands play acoustic music at street level with no staging. “These bands don’t just play for the people; they play among the people and invite them to join the fun,” organizers say on the event’s website.
Somerville’s HONK! Is now in its 12th year.
When and where is HONK?
HONK! kicks off Friday Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in Somerville’s Hodgkins Park. A lantern workshop is set for 4 p.m. and a parade will begin at 7 p.m. There will also be free concerts on Friday night at ONCE Somerville and Aeronaut Brewing Co.
HONK! Continues on Saturday Oct. 7 in Davis Square from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a festival and music from 25 bands. The HONK! party continues on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. with a lively parade from Davis Square to Harvard Square, where Oktoberfest will be underway.
Get the full schedule of events on the HONK! website.
The HONK 2017 band line up
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aNova Brazil (Boston, MA)
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Black Sheep Ensemble (Atlanta, GA)
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Boycott (Somerville, MA)
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The Brass Balagan (Burlington, VT)
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Brass Liberation Orchestra (San Francisco, CA)
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The Bread and Puppet Circus Band (Glover, VT)
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Caka!ak Thunder (Greensboro, NC)
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Chaotic Noise Marching Corps (Seattle, WA)
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Damas de Ferro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
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Dead Music Capital Band (Austin, TX)
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Dirty Water Brass Band (Boston, MA)
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Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band (Somerville, MA)
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Expandable Brass Band (Northampton, MA)
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Extraordinary Rendition Band (Providence, RI)
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The Filthy FemCorps (Seattle, WA)
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Forward! Marching Band (Madison, WI)
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Hartford Hot Several (Hartford, CT)
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Hungry March Band (Brooklyn, NY)
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Leftist Marching Band (Portsmouth, NH)
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New Creations Brass Band (New Orleans, LA)
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The Party Band (Lowell, MA)
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Plezi Rara (Brooklyn, NY)
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Rara Bel Poze (Boston, MA)
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Rude Mechanical Orchestra (New York City, NY)
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School of HONK (Somerville, MA)
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Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band (Somerville, MA)
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What Cheer? Brigade (Providence, RI)
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Yes Ma’am Brass Band (Austin, TX)
