Honk! is Boston's Mardi Gras for Activist Street Bands
By Rob Michaelson ••
Take a look at why the Honk! Festival in Somerville is New England’s version of Mardi Gras.
Honk! is the kind of festival where you'll see a drummer dressed as a unicorn grooving alongside a trumpet player in a superhero rabbit costume.
Street bands from all backgrounds gather once a year in Somerville, Massachusetts, to celebrate music and promote community involvement and political activism.
The three-day festival includes street performances throughout the city and a parade as lively as the musicians themselves. Crazy outfits and dancing comes from not only the performers but the audience as well, as spirited people from all over gather for the festivities.
Dozens of bands from the Boston area and beyond perform music inspired by many different genres, including Brazilian Samba, Punk and New Orleans-inspired brass bands. These are street-level performances that encourage onlookers to gather around and move their feet.
Rob Michaelson
Environmental Encroachment jamming out.
Rob Michaelson
The Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band prepares to perform at Honk! Festival 2018
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Second Line members warm up before marching to Davis Square.
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Second Line on their way to kick off Honk! on Saturday.
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A member of Unlawful Assembly plays in Somerville.
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Environmental Encroachment plays in Davis Square
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A saxophone battle between two members of the Leftist Marching Band
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A member of Grooversity dancing to the beat
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Rob Michaelson
A member of Grooversity leads the audience with some dance moves
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Unlawful Assembly plays to a crowd in Somerville.
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A young boy emulates the players on stage
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Grooversity drummers get the crowd moving
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Rob Michaelson
This rabbit has his own little instrument.
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Showing off the different kinds of honking
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A tuba player joins with Environmental Encroachment in Davis Square.
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Another trumpet player adding to the joyous chaos of Honk!
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Bands scattered throughout Somerville to perform at Honk!
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Environmental Encroachment drummers follow the beat.
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Environmental Encroachment jamming out.
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A member of Second Line performing a solo.
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Another Second Line member performing a solo
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One of the many art projects at Honk! 2018.
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Many art projects at the festival were supporting liberal causes
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Plenty of musicians got their chance to perform solos.
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The leader of the Leftist Marching Band gets the crowd's attention.
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The crowd dances to the music.
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A stylish saxophonist plays for the Leftist Marching Band.
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Another saxophonist with the Leftist Marching Band.
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A young girl "flossing" to the beat of Grooversity.
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Second Line Brass Band drummer on stage.
Rob Michaelson
This rabbit brought her own instrument.
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The Second Line Brass Band marches through Davis Square.
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Everyone dresses up at Honk!
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Rob Michaelson
Grooversity drummers gets the crowd moving to the beat.
Honk! was created in 2006 by the Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band, a New Orleans-style street band based in based in Somerville and Cambridge that wanted to unite other community-minded street bands.
“Some people have said it is the closest thing to Mardi Gras they’ve seen outside of New Orleans, and having been to Mardi Gras many, many times, I will attest to that. It’s really quite the scene” said Ken Field, who plays saxophone for the Second Line Brass Band and is on the festival's organizing committee.
The whole city becomes a party, with a new band performing around every corner. Underneath the music are messages of engagement, protest and a call to action to various causes.
Whatever your political affiliation, this is a citywide party that should not be missed by both locals and visitors alike.
“So many people come to the festival. They’re maybe not totally aware that the festival is a festival of activist street bands,” said Field. “They come for the spectacle, for the music.”
