HONK! Festival

10/15/2026

Paradin' on -- this past HONK! Sunday, Oct. 11th. Heading out of Davis Square en route to Harvard Square. Courtesy of the Somerville Media Center.

Somerville, MA: Join the parade combining activist bands, community...

10/14/2026

"With perfect fall weather, it was a wonderful day for the community to come together, enjoy the music, and celebrate the energy, creativity, and spirit of activist street bands." Thanks Somerville Times for spending a good chunk of HONK! Saturday with us! Visit https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/151218 for the article.

Photo posted here is of Mass. State Rep Will Mbah and Somerville's new Mayor (as of Jan. 2, 2026) Jake Wilson and friends enjoying the HONK! Fest scene: https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/honk_2026_19_web.jpg

10/13/2026

"Honk! is 'reclaiming public space with a sound that is in your face and out of this world ... ' (Thanks, Cambridge Somerville Independent!)

Honk! brought thousands to the streets of Davis Square to experience the music of more than 30 bands from around the country focused on social justice.

10/13/2026

Our good friend Greg Cook has this knack of always capturing key HONK! Festival moments -- with the HONK! Parade always being especially vast, thus great to document -- thanks, Greg!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeXNfpKj6mw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&obrf=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

10/12/2026

"The spectacle has grown sharply from its early aughts origins. The original festival had 12 participants. Now, beyond Somerville’s festival, there are 20 other HONK!-like celebrations held around the world." (Boston Herald, October 12, 2026)
https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/10/11/honk-hits-somerville-for-21st-year/

For non-subscribers:
https://enewspaper.bostonherald.com/shortcode/BOS554/edition/b10062dd-c292-45dc-9ea8-abd4ed7534cd?page=4bcdbe28-b626-46ae-ada8-3c5bd31908ec&

Honk if you went to the HONK! Festival this year in the Somerville!

10/12/2026

"Massachusetts Avenue transformed into a moving celebration on Sunday, filled with colorful costumes, booming brass bands, oversized puppets, and calls for social and environmental change." (Boston Globe, Oct. 12, 2026)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/11/metro/honk-parade-brings-people-of-all-ages-to-cheer-for-music-and-activism/

For non-subscribers:
https://misc.pagesuite.com/pdfdownload/b593a2a5-df0c-4af6-85cd-8938f1e4d97f.pdf
and
https://epaper.bostonglobe.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=d3956fdf-f156-4fd1-9503-a45b68ba986d&share=true

The final part of the annual HONK! festival was the HONK! parade, where many groups and organizations marched from Davis Square to Harvard Square, turning the path into a space of expression and activism.

10/12/2026

Dave Goodman of WMBR, and also of WGBH, had the opportunity to interview band reps: Butchy Austin of Brass Solidarity (Minneapolis), Michael Mendelson of DC Activist Street Band (DC), Wendy Darst of Unlawful Assembly (Minneapolis), and Reebee Garofalo of local HONK! host band, Good Trouble (Somerville). The interview took place prior to this past weekend's HONK! Festival. And aired on WMBR yesterday morning, before the massive HONK! parade kicked off at noon in Davis Square. [Clips of this interview were already being aired on WGBH during their newscasts.]

For the WMBR link, fast forward to 2:30 in for the interview: https://wmbr.org/cgi-bin/show?id=9482

No need to fast forward for this mixcloud link:: https://www.mixcloud.com/ibismedia/sound_fury41_2026oct11_honk_greatest_weekend_of_the_year/?utm_medium=share&utm_source=clipboard&utm_content=show&utm_term=M2IwYTdlMTVfMTU2OV80Y2NhXzk0YmVfY2FkOWI4N2U0N2Jk

Why do we HONK? Because HONK! Festival is the best weekend of the year. And because we spend 365 days every year wringing our hands over authoritarianism, fascism and the end of liberal democracy. So why not spend the weekend reveling in sound and music? We speak with four musicians bringing their b...

10/11/2026

One million thank yous and rounds of applause for everyone who showed up today! What an incredible Saturday at HONK! 2026, we hope to see you tomorrow for the parade and performances in Harvard SQ

10/10/2026

HONK! BANDS FROM BEYOND THE U.S. BORDERS ARE STREAMING IN NOW!

1:00: TOETERS EN BELLEN, Amsterdam (RECORDED) +6;
1:15: BANDA BASAGLIA, Naples;
1:30: Elgon Youth Brass Band Uganda;
2:00: STREETNOISE ORCHESTRA, Innsbruck, with FANFARA OBBLIGATORIA NON CONVENZIONALE, Milano (from a demonstration in Bolsano, Italy);
2:30: TINITUSSIS, Hamburg;
2:45: TITUBANDA, Rome;
3:00: LE POMPIER PONEY CLUB, Marseilles;
3:15: BLAST FURNESS, Cumbria, UK;
3:30: FIATELLE BLASKAPELLE, Dresden;
3:45: FANFARE INVISIBLE, Paris;
4:00: BABADAN, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;
4:30: MARCHING DISORDER, Toronto;
4:45: LES MUSES TANGENT, Paris;
5:00: STRAMPALABANDA, Torino

Join us LIVE for The HONK! Portal at HONK! Festival 2026!Tune in ...

10/10/2026

HONK! FEST SCHEDULE FOR TODAY (SATURDAY)
The pdf can be found here:
https://honkfest.org/wp-content/images/HONK2026-Program-Saturday-Online.pdf
or scroll to the bottom of:
https://honkfest.org/2026-festival/saturday-in-davis-square-2026/
and you'll find it there.