HONK! is a series of music festivals held in various cities across North America. These festivals showcase ambulatory, acoustic bands playing music in public spaces.
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HONK!s so far have been staged in three cities: Somerville, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; and Austin, Texas. Although each festival is locally organized and there is no central HONK! authority, they share many common features. Each HONK! invites twelve to twenty bands, who play multiple sets in outdoor public spaces over the course of two or three days. These shows are free to attend. The festival is volunteer-run and gets support from local sponsors.
The bands invited to play at HONK! share some common characteristics. They use instruments that can be simultaneously carried and played, and utilize little or no electronic amplification. As a result, the bands can walk and play at the same time, and indeed, many HONK!s feature a parade. There is no generally agreed-upon label for this type of band; "radical marching band," "community street band," and variations of these have been used.
Although many of the bands that play at HONK! have the word "marching band" in their names, they bear only superficial resemblance to a traditional marching 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 for improvisation. 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 a Brazilian samba school. A HONK! band may exist for a specific purpose—some perform primarily at activist 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 Square neighborhood every October since 2006. 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. Since 2007 it has included a parade titled, "Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet!" The parade features all the bands along with other non-musician participants, including puppeteers and visual artists such as the Bread & Puppet Theater and organizations that promote transportation alternatives and environmental and social justice, such as Bikes Not Bombs.
Starting in 2008, HonkFest West (also written as Honk! Fest West) has been held every spring in Seattle.[1] In its second year, HonkFest West 2009 took place in several locales around Seattle: Friday night in Ballard, Saturday night in Georgetown, Sunday daytime at Gas Works Park and Sunday evening at The Vera Project.[2] HonkFest West 2010 took place Friday night in Fremont, Saturday afternoon in the Central District, Saturday night in Georgetown, and Sunday afternoon at the Alaska Junction in West Seattle.
HONK!TX was held in Austin in March 2011. It took place on East 6th 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.[3]