MUSIC

HONK! FESTIVAL 2012 SEVENTH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ACTIVIST STREET BANDS

October 4 thru 8

this year featuring
[subject to revision]

~ Young Fellaz Brass Band (New Orleans, LA) ~
~ What Cheer? Brigade (Providence, RI) ~
~ Veveritse (Brooklyn, NY) ~
~ tint(A)nar (Quebec City, QC) ~
~ Seed and Feed Marching Abominable (Atlanta, GA) ~
~ Rude Mechanical Orchestra (Brooklyn, NY) ~
~ The Primate Fiasco (Hatfield, MA) ~
~ Pink Puffers Brass Band (Rome, Italy) ~
~ Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin, TX) ~
~ Lungs Face Feet (Pittsburgh, PA) ~
~ Loyd Family Players (Oakland, CA) ~
~ Leftist Marching Band (Portsmouth, NH) ~
~ Himalayas (NY, NY) ~
~ Hill Stompers (Los Alamos, NM) ~
~ Gora Gora Orkestar (Boulder, CO) ~
~ Forward! Marching Band (Madison, WI) ~
~ Extraordinary Rendition Band (Providence, RI) ~
~ The Expandable Brass Band (Northampton, MA) ~
~ EE-Environmental Encroachment (Chicago, IL) ~
~ DJA-Rara (Brooklyn, NY) ~
~ Detroit Party Marching Band (Detroit, MI) ~
~ Church Marching Band (Santa Rosa, CA) ~
~ Chaotic Noise Marching Corp (Seattle, WA) ~
~ Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble (Montreal, QC) ~
~ Carnival Band (Vancouver, BC) ~
~ Caka!ak Thunder (Greensboro, NC) ~
~ The Bread & Puppet Theater Circus Band (Glover, VT) ~
~ Brass Messengers (Minneapolis, MN) ~
~ Brass Liberation Orchestra (Oakland, CA) ~
~ Brass Balagan (Burlington, VT) ~

with locals
[subject to revision]

~ AfroBrazil (Boston) ~
~ Dirty Water Brass Band (Somerville) ~
~ Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band (Somerville) ~
~ Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band (Somerville, host band) ~

events based
in and near
Davis Square, Somerville
and
Harvard Square, Cambridge

ALMOST ALL EVENTS
FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE
[those event that are ticketed are very affordable]

(Somerville and Cambridge, MA) HONK! in a presidential election year! Has a particular ring to it. A raucous reverberating resounding rambunctious ring, that this year will be mightier than ever in waking up the drowsy and encouraging them to romp and stomp! Newly invigorated by a successful Kickstarter campaign, HONK! is ready to kick out some serious activist street jams.

HONK! – national in scope, with annual HONK!s also being held throughout the year in Austin, Seattle, Providence, Brooklyn – has its roots right here, specifically in Davis Square, Somerville. Seven years ago, 12 activist street bands got together to experiment in a new way of raising awareness about all sorts of socio-political issues that seemed to be clamoring for attention. As of last count, there are 34 bands coming this year from as close by as Somerville to as far flung as Italy. Almost three times as many bands to exert more than thrice the HONK! muscle! Hitting the streets to prove that having a HONK!ing good time can indeed be a driving force for positive change in the world.

From October 4th through 8th, there will be many mostly free opportunities to experience the HONK! craze, with outdoor concerts, a massive parade and smaller processions, affordably priced indoor concerts, and a symposium, all taking place in Somerville and Cambridge neighborhoods. There will also be plenty of chances for folks to jump in at the last minute, to cross that invisible line from audience to participant, and be actively involved in the fun-making. For example, individual musicians, not connected to any particular HONK! band, are invited to participate on Sunday, October 7th, in the impromptu “community band” which will be part of the gigantic HONK! Parade to Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet.

Festival updates can be found at http://www.honkfest.org, http://twitter.com/honkfest, and http://www.facebook.com/honkfestival, or by calling 617-383-HONK (4665).