HONK! Fest on a roll w/28+ Bands, Kickstarter Countdown, & Volunteer Recruiting

SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Sept. 16, 2018 - PRLog -- Going on thirteen years strong and remaining intense, the HONK! Festival's game plan was initially conceived and implemented pop-up style in Somerville. Turns out, it was a great idea, which now has not only catapulted the creation of similar festivals across this land and beyond, it has also inspired rally organizers everywhere to engage HONK!-style bands when planning urgent street gatherings to effect positive change.

If the rallying cry is for spur-of-the-moment action, no worries, since there just may be a HONK! band close by to pep up the rally a notch or three. Part of the beauty of the HONK! concept is that it has inspired musicians and would-be musicians, many of whom are not geared to parading in the streets, into modifying how they approach their style, so they too can pick up and go. Wearable drum kits, backpack amps, melodicas galore. Where there's a will to act musically, there's a way to do it pro-actively. Any New Orleans street musician can serve as a role model.

HONK! means serious business when it comes to waging peace and social justice, but the HONK! vibe also brings fun to this equation. By disturbing complacency, a rousing brass and percussive spectacle is impossible to ignore. HONK! builds community, encouraging participation by way of rambunctious music, uninhibited dancing, wild costumes, and evocative visual street art.

In the past year, many musicians from all over the world have been inspired by HONK! by forming their own new mobile street bands. Perhaps the current political climate also has something to do with this momentum.

This year HONK! has invited several of these new bands to join in the clamor planned for Somerville/Cambridge/Boston, including Band Land Brass Band (Cambridge, MA), Unidos do Swing (São Paulo, Brazil), and Unlawful Assembly (Twin Cities, MN).

These newly formed HONK! bands will have the opportunity to play alongside and pick up pointers from many veteran HONK! participants, including: Red Flame Hunters: the first — and perhaps still the only — youth-oriented Mardi Gras Indian tribe in New Orleans, Red Flame Hunters have been working on sewing their lavish and ornate costumes for this season all year. Many who started at a young age with the Red Flame Hunters are now young adults, and will be joining the group at HONK! as a brass band. The group will be offering workshops on how they create their magnificent costumes as part of Saturday afternoon activities on Elm Street in Davis Square.

This year's HONK! includes all the features that have compelled thousands of participants to return year after year — family friendly Lantern Parades through the neighborhoods of Somerville; continuous free performances by dozens of HONK! bands all day in Davis Square; a return of the wildly successful interactive Elm Street Art Space; the venerable HONK! Parade down Massachusetts Avenue to "Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet," followed by a full afternoon of HONK! performances at Oktoberfest in Harvard Square. There will be way more than enough musical spectacle for everyone.

This year the HONK! bands total 28+, featuring many of the usual suspects, who will be coming mostly from the US & Canada. The full list of bands, including band links, can be found at honkfest.org/2018-festival/bands-2018.

Given the current political landscape, HONK! will continue to ratchet up the level of direct action at the Festival. Visiting musicians and bands will again participate in a deeply moving event at the immigration detention center in Boston, to bring attention to those detained, and to remind them with music that they have not been forgotten by the outside world.  Bands will also be participating in other actions over the weekend to call attention to the danger of losing affordable housing and neighborhood diversity in the midst of rampant local gentrification. The Cambridge Artists Coalition (CAC), a group of musicians and artists who were recently evicted from the EMF studio building in Cambridge's Central Square will also be on hand to speak out in support of affordable housing and workspaces for artists and musicians.

The parade on HONK! Sunday, from Davis Sq to Harvard Sq., will include all HONK! participating bands and many activist community groups, including: 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future, Alliance of Cambridge Tenants, Boston Workers Circle, Cambridge Artist Coalition, Indivisible Somerville, Mass Creative, Maud Morgan Arts, Midwives for Peace and Justice, MIRA Coalition, Mothers Out Front. Interested community groups are welcome to contact parade@honkfest.org if they'd like to participate in the parade.

HONK! is a non-profit, with a very limited budget. The annual Kickstarter fundraiser is now in full swing: www.honkfest.org/kickstarter, with a deadline of October 3rd at 8 pm to reach its goal of $15,000. No donation is too small, or too large! Visit honkfest.org/help for more information on tax-deductible donations.

HONK! is also an all-volunteer organization, where many hands lighten the impressive list of festival to-dos. All who are interested in experiencing the strong sense of camaraderie that HONK! generates, can email volunteer@honkfest.org plus housing@honkfest.org. Visit honkfest.org/help for more information on volunteer opportunities.

For complete information and continuous updates on the HONK! Festival, visit www.honkfest.org, www.facebook.com/honkfestival, and www.twitter.com/honkfest.

Basic listings information:

HONK! Festival
Festival of activist street bands.
October 5-7, 2018
Various neighborhoods throughout Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston.
Rain or shine; free and open to all.
For further information: www.honkfest.org, 617-383-HONK (4665).