HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands 2026

HONK! returns for its 21st year, bringing activist street bands from across the country to Somerville and Cambridge for four days of FREE, family-friendly brass, drums, parades, and protest. Thursday, Oct. 8<ul><li>Photo exhibit opening, "Looking Back at 20 Years of HONK!," 5 to 7pm, Somerville City Hall (93 Highland Ave., second floor). Light refreshments.</li><li>Pre-HONK! Brass Band Blowout in Union Square, 7 to 10:15pm, outside on Union Square Plaza and inside at The Jungle.</li></ul>Friday, Oct. 9<ul><li>Lantern-making workshops, 4 to 6pm, Hodgkins-Curtin Park (Holland St.), followed by neighborhood lantern parades at 6:30pm.</li><li>Bands in Union Square at Aeronaut (6:20 to 9pm) and Bow Market (7 to 9pm).</li></ul>Saturday, Oct. 10<ul><li>HONK! in Davis Square: opening ceremonies at noon in Seven Hills Park, then bands play all over the square from 1 to 9pm, rain or shine.</li><li>ArtHONK!, 1 to 5pm, on a car-free Elm Street with interactive art making and activism.</li></ul>Sunday, Oct. 11<ul><li>The HONK! Parade, noon to 2pm, down Mass. Ave. from Davis Square to Harvard Square.</li><li>Performances at Harvard Square Oktoberfest, 2 to 6pm.</li></ul>All events are free and open to the public. View the full schedule here: https://honkfest.org/2026-festival/schedule-2026/ 2026 Bands<ul><li>All For One Brass Band (New Orleans, LA)</li><li>aNova Brazil (Boston, MA)</li><li>Band Together (Somerville, MA)</li><li>The Brass Balagan (Burlington, VT)</li><li>Brassica and the Wild Sprouts (Pittsburgh, PA)</li><li>Brass Liberation Orchestra (San Francisco, CA)</li><li>Brass Solidarity (Minneapolis, MN)</li><li>brassterisk (Somerville, MA)</li><li>The Bread and Puppet Circus Band (Glover, VT)</li><li>Conical Cacophony (Boston, MA)</li><li>DC Activist Street Band (Washington, DC)</li><li>Detroit Party Marching Band (Detroit, MI)</li><li>Dirty Water Brass Band (Boston, MA)</li><li>8-Bit Brass Band (Seattle, WA)</li><li>Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band (Somerville, MA)</li><li>Expandable Brass Band (Northampton, MA)</li><li>Extraordinary Rendition Band (Providence, RI)</li><li>Fly By Brass Band (Somerville, MA)</li><li>Forward! Marching Band (Madison, WI)</li><li>Funkrust Brass Band (New York, NY)</li><li>Good Trouble Brass Band (Somerville, MA)</li><li>Ideal Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band (Portland, ME)</li><li>The Jamaica Plain Honk Band (Jamaica Plain, MA)</li><li>Leftist Marching Band (Portsmouth, NH)</li><li>Magnificent Danger (Boston, MA)</li><li>May Day Marching Band (Pittsburgh, PA)</li><li>The Party Band (Lowell, MA)</li><li>Rara Bel Poze (Boston, MA)</li><li>Rude Mechanical Orchestra (New York, NY)</li><li>Sass-a-Brass (Kansas City, MO)</li><li>School of HONK (Somerville, MA)</li><li>Undertow Brass Band (Providence, RI)</li><li>UNiTY Street Band (Syracuse, NY)</li><li>Unlawful Assembly (Minneapolis, MN)</li><li>Yes Ma'am Brass Band (Austin, TX)</li></ul>

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HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands 2026

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