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Oct
19

HONK! Pier 84

HONK FAMILY BAND ::: BLOCO FROM DA BLOCK ::: N’S HORNS ::: COBU ::: LA MANGA ::: BATALÁ NEW YORK

Pier 84 at Hudson River Park | West 43rd Street and the Hudson River

FREE ALL AGES EVENT


It's a Hudson River HONK! at Pier 84 as we close our festival along the majestic river separating NYC from the USA.

Enjoy global brass and percussion traditions, including Japanese Taiko, New Orleans Second Line, Brazilian samba reggae and carnival music, Colombian rhythms and Jazz.

Family workshops include HONK NYC's Master Makers' Table, Double Dutch, Face Painting, bike decorating, and more!

Co-Presented with Hudson River Park.

 

 
 

1pm Opening Parade with HONK Family Band, featuring Grand Marshal Pat Oleszko as Helen Highwater

2pm Bloco from da Block

3pm COBU

3:45pm N's Horns

4:30pm La Manga

5:30pm Batalá NY


Forget your average “kiddie” show! Bloco from da Block brings the sights, sounds and moves of Brazilian carnaval to Brooklyn and beyond. Specializing in an interactive, family friendly performance in the rhythms of Brazil and NYC, Bloco from da Block creates accessible, intergenerational and inclusive art with all of those who wish to jump into the parade.

 

Batalá New York is the premier all-women, Black-led, percussion ensemble, activating partnerships, community building, and cultural awareness, bringing high-energy performances to the people of New York City through an engaging blend of cultural education and joyous entertainment. Our music, instruments and costumes are primarily from Salvador da Bahia in the northeast of Brazil.

La Manga is a cultural identity laboratory created by a collective of women artists that is inspired by the spirit and ancestry of cultural manifestations from the Caribbean coast in Colombia. Honoring Black and Indigenous oral traditions; connecting with the power of tambores Afro-Colombianos (Tambor Alegre, Tambora and llamador) and celebrating life through storytelling and bailes cantaos. ​ La Manga was featured at The New York Times and has performed at Joe’s Pub, Nublu, Moma PS1, Museum of the City of New York, Museum at Eldridge Street, Queens Theater, Bronx Music Heritage Center, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and Arrebato Queer Party. www.lamangamusic.com/

 

The HONK Family Band is a multi-dimensional community ensemble created to connect musicians, sound-makers, dancers and spectacle-doers across the city. First and foremost, the HFB is a space for everyone to take part in under a collective and guiding spirit of love for music and a desire to deepen bonds of friendship across cultural boundaries, regardless of musical background and any other core identifier. If this spirit is in place, the HFB will live and operate as it was designed: to support and uplift HONK! NYC’s work of highlighting and advancing global street band music in as many forms as possible, through “music-making, pageantry, audience participation, and education.”

Cobu was created in 2000 by Yako Miyamoto, a veteran member of the Off-Broadway hit STOMP.  An all-woman ensemble expressing the splendor, beauty, and strength of Japan, Cobu has performed in Madison Square Garden for the NBA halftime show, Shakespeare in the Park, and We the Peoples at the United Nations. Listed as one of the 30 shows to see by Time Out NY, Cobu won the Wella International Trend Talent Award, the Audience Favorite Award at Fringe Festival, and the Grand Prize of the K-Pop Dance Contest K-ollaboration.

 

Pat Oleszko makes a spectacle of herself—and doesn’t mind if you laugh. With elaborate costumes and props, she creates performances, films, inflatables and spatial events. She has worked from the popular art forms of the street, party, parade, and burlesque house, to the fields, mountains, trees and seas, from the Museum of Modern Art, Documenta, the Olympics and King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, to Artforum, Ms, Esquire, Playboy and Sesame Street Magazine. Oleszko has been amply rewarded for her diverse efforts bringing home the beacon with the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim, a DAAD (Berlin), several Tony nominations, multiple NEA’s, NYFA’S, a Jim Henson Grant, and the Bessie, a NY Dance and Theater Award for Sustained Excellence. 


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Oct
18

Crash NY Part 2! Chinatown

BRASS MONKEYS

Sara D. Roosevelt Park -> The Crown | 50 Bowery

7:30 PM Parade, 8:00 PM Set

No Cover, $15 Suggested Donation


About the event

Join Brass Monkeys for the penultimate night of the HONK NYC Festival, featuring a parade down Sara D. Roosevelt Park and performance at a rooftop bar in Chinatown!

  • 7:15pm - Parade line-up at corner of E Houston St. & Chrystie St. (map)

  • 7:30pm - Parade down Chrystie St. to The Crown (map)

  • 8pm - 10pm - Performance at The Crown

Meet the band

Hailing from the vibrant streets of New York City, Brass Monkeys is an electrifying brass band that's breathing new life into the soulful sounds of New Orleans. With a repertoire that effortlessly blends the infectious rhythms of the Crescent City with irresistible pop covers, our musical journey is a foot-stomping, heart-pounding, and soul-soothing experience like no other.

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Oct
17

HONK! The Full Moon

BRASS IN A BOX

Secret West Village Mansion

Tickets to the Wake $20


What happens when Brass meets Burlesque? HONK NYC! brings the brass to Full Moon Cabaret on Opening Night.

Full Moon Cabaret, the cheekiest burlesque in Berlin, debuts in NYC on October 17th with The Blood Moon, an immersive 1920s burlesque séance, starring Vicky Butterfly from London.

HONK NYC! co-hosts the after-party at the secret mansion. Enjoy the 1920s immersive acts while Miss Maybelle and the Jazz Age Artistes play ragtime gems and stay for Brass in a Box!

THE BLOOD MOON

One hundred years ago in 1924, silent film star DELORES LA MARR was found dead in her lavish NYC hotel suite. Rumours swirled over her strange and unexpected death at the age of 29. Was it a suicide? Was she murdered by a jealous lover? Join us on the Blood Moon for a sinful 1920s séance to resurrect the spirit of Delores La Marr.

THE WAKE (After Party)

10pm Miss Maybelle and the Jazz Age Artistes - 1920s immersive acts continue throughout this set

10:30pm Brass in a Box - Everybody dance!

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Oct
16

Brass Bonus! With Brass Queens & Tyger Tyger

BRASS QUEENS :: TYGER TYGER

Brooklyn Bowl

Tickets $23

6PM Doors, 8PM Show


Join Brass Queens and Tyger Tyger for an electrifying night of female-led brass bands to celebrate the release of Brass Queens’ new album, Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1!

Run of Show

Doors: 6:00 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Tyger Tyger: 8:25 PM (45 min)
Brass Queens: 9:30 PM (75 min)
End: 10:45 PM

About the Artists

Hailing from Brooklyn, Brass Queens is a female-led brass band featuring all-female horns with a sound that is deeply inspired by the New Orleans tradition. They regularly tour across the country and internationally, appearing on festival stages including the Ottawa Jazz Festival, Northlands Music Festival, MusikFest, Duck Jazz Festival, and Exit Zero Jazz Festival.

Tyger Tyger is an electrifying musical collective that captivates their audiences with a playful, spontaneous, and mischievous fusion of Afrobeat, Funk and Improvisational music. Hailing from various parts of the Eastern United States, the band draws inspiration from a wide array of sounds spanning generations, continents, and genres. Their dynamic compositions showcase influences ranging from legends like Mulatu Astaké, Fela Kuti and Eddie Harris, to contemporary talents such as Budos Band and El Michels Affair.

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Oct
16

Open Rehearsal

HONK FAMILY BAND ::: INDOFUNKONDUCTION

McCARREN PARK, WILLIAMSBURG

FREE EVENT


Take that trumpet and conga drum out of your closet and show them some love at our community class led by our musical directors on Wednesday, October 16th. Experience an expansive evening for musicians of all ages and skill levels!

PLUS, enjoy an introduction to "IndofunKonduction." Loosely based upon the principles of the great Butch Morris’ original Conduction methods, trumper Indofunk Satish leads a highly simplified method of Conduction all can follow.

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Oct
15

HONK! Happy After Hour

SLAVIC SOUL PARTY

Barbès | 376 9th Street at 6th Ave, Brooklyn

$20 COVER for the Back Room


Raise a glass with the HONK NYC team and dig the sounds of Slavic Soul Party

Every Tuesday FOREVER at Barbès at 9pm, Slavic Soul Party takes over the back room of Barbès, infusing the air with their delicious sound. This HONK-Tober, HONK NYC co-hosts the soiree at Barbès…Tax Extension Deadline Day! Join the HONK NYC team for a drink, a dance, a delectable moment shared at Brooklyn's pre-eminent oasis of sound.

ABOUT SLAVIC SOUL PARTY:
Fiery Balkan brass, throbbing funk grooves, Roma accordion wizardry, and virtuoso jazz chops: Slavic Soul Party! is just what it says. Brash and strong as slivovitz, these nine musicians have forged a virtuosic new brass band music in the heart of New York City; they have held their Tuesday bacchanal for now 18 years - and it has become a destination for locals and brass band fans from around the globe. 

John Carlson & Kenny Warren (trumpet), Peter Hess (sax/clarinet), Peter Stan (accordion), Tim Vaughn and Adam Dotson (trombone), Ken Bentley (tuba), Matt Moran and Chris Stromquist (go/snare/perc).

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Oct
14

Sitting in with the Villagers Brass Band

THE VILLAGERS BRASS BAND

Shrine World Music Venue | 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd at W. 134th Street

NO COVER


The Villagers Brass Band is a New York City based brass collective fusing the bustling sounds of New Orleans’s Basin Street with today's Top 40 chart toppers. This eclectic group brings energy, authenticity, and raw brass POWER to every stage and performance, whether it be on the streets of New York or in one of the city's many acclaimed live venues.

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Oct
13

Crash New York: EAST VILLAGE

HUNGRY MARCH BAND

East Village


John Waters of Hungry March Band with HONK NYC! co-founder Sandra Glazer.

HONK NYC! presents a pub crawl through the underground East Village community to celebrate the birthday of HONK NYC! co-founder Sandra Glazer.


PARADE ROUTE

4:30pm - Meet Hungry March Band at Temperance Fountain in Tompkins Square Park

5pm - Parade with Hungry March Band to the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MORUS) for the release party of the latest issue of activist graphic arts magazine World War 3 Illustrated

6pm - Boogie down the street with Hungry March Band to Lucky on B & raise a glass for Sandra’s birthday!

7:15pm - Sashay over to East Village old-school watering hole 2A

8pm - One final jaunt to Two Boots for a slice of their amazing pizza!


Roaring out of Brooklyn comes the Hungry March Band, NYC's legendary street brass march band in the anarchic style that has become their trademark. The band is an ever evolving musical experiment influenced and inspired from Brooklyn’s backyard with Latin flavor, punk rock noise, hip hop beats and music of the streets. The Hungry March Band has earned a reputation for mythical revelry having performed at a huge variety of fine venues and celebrated events. Such planned and spontaneous performances have included guerilla art events, mermaid parades, rural raves, subway parties, eccentric weddings, community affairs, protests, high art events, the Staten Island Ferry, Brighton Beach Boardwalks, MOMA, Lincoln Center, steps of the NYC Post Office, playing themselves in the final scene of John Cameron Mitchell's film "Shortbus and many other forays into the territories of free spirit.

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) was founded in 2012 by members of Times Up! environmental organization and based in C-Squat. As a living history of urban activism, MoRUS chronicles the LES community’s history of grassroots action. It celebrates the local activists who transformed abandoned spaces and vacant lots into vibrant community spaces and gardens. Many of these innovative, sustainable concepts and designs have since spread out to the rest of the city and beyond.

The museum showcases an often untold version of New York City history through photography, videography, authentic artifacts, and documents. MoRUS is a 100% volunteer-run organization committed to open, community-based action. With this space, we invite visitors to learn, engage, and participate in grassroots activism of the past, present, and future.

Founded in 1979, by Seth Tobocman and Peter Kuper, World War 3 Illustrated was among the first American magazines to treat comics as a medium for serious social commentary and journalism. WW3 isn't about a war that might happen. It's about wars ongoing—wars across the globe and in our own neighborhood, the wars we wage against each other and with ourselves.

For over 40 years, the magazine has been a labor of love, run by a volunteer collective of political activists and artists, both first-timers and established professionals. We're based in New York City and provide a home for comics from around the world.

 
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Oct
13

HONK! Sunnyside

OFF THE BAR BRASS ::: SUPER SONIC SECOND LINE

Sunnyside | 46th St between Queens Blvd and Greenpoint Ave

FREE ALL-AGES EVENT


Follow our HONK! bands through the fabulous gastro fest that is Taste of Sunnyside!

Taste of Sunnyside will return to Queens for its 14th year on Sunday, October 13th, featuring over 50 local restaurants and a block party on 46th Street between Queens Boulevard and Greenpoint Avenue. This annual neighborhood fest will include live music, a local artists exhibition, family-friendly activities, and the opportunity to walk around the community while sampling bites throughout from Sunnyside's top eateries.


1pm Off the Bar Brass

3pm Super Sonic Second Line

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Oct
12
to Oct 13

HONK + Rubulad Brass-tastic Blow Out

HONK FAMILY BAND ::: BABADAN BANDA DE RUA ::: BOXCUTTER COLLECTIVE ::: FUNKRUST BRASS BAND ::: STOOP KIDZ

Hosted by SANDRA GLAZER

Rubulad | $18-25


HONK + Rubulad's 11th Annual
BRASS-TASTIC BLOWOUT!

At Rubulad Home Base, Brooklyn

Celebrating the release of FUNKRUST BRASS BAND's new album, "Make A Little Spark"

 

FOR THOSE PARADING WITH US

7:30 Meet at Maria Hernandez Park for a Procession with HONK Family Band to Rubulad

FOR THOSE HANGING IN RUBULAD’S MAGICAL GARDEN

8pm HONK Family Band

8:30 Babadan Banda de Rua

9:30 Boxcutter Collective

10pm Funkrust Brass Band

11pm Stoop Kidz


Funkrust Brass Band is an NYC-based, 20-piece post-apocalyptic disco-punk brass band founded in 2015 that plays all original music with megaphone vocals, heavy tuba bass lines, thundering percussion and searing brass melodies. Their explosive live performances feature full band choreography, signature wasteland/glam uniforms and LED lighting effects. The band mixes post-punk, disco, EDM, metal, and funk with Balkan brass, filtered through the medium of a massive street brass band with a punk rock sensibility

 

Stoop Kidz is a Brooklyn based Brass Band, drawing influence from second line New Orleans music with a modern twist. Serving up hot disco/pop covers and original music, aiming to spread joy thru fun dance music! Featured in The NY Times and Gothamist.

 

The HONK Family Band is a multi-dimensional community ensemble created to connect musicians, sound-makers, dancers and spectacle-doers across the city. Led by Elijah J. Thomas, HFB aims to support and uplift HONK! NYC’s work of highlighting and advancing global street band music in as many forms as possible, through “music-making, pageantry, audience participation, and education.”

 

Photo by Norman Blake

The Boxcutter Collective is made up of seven core members who met while working at the Bread and Puppet Theater and bonded over their shared passion for waving things around and pretending that the things are talking. This is called “puppetry,” and it is a highly respected artform in every culture except this one. Their work addresses current political movements drawing inspiration from anti-fracking activists, efforts to unionize workers, anti-war demonstrations, decolonization thinkers, abolitionist strategists, and others. They have toured internationally and performed at venues across New York City including La Mama Experimental Theater Club, Coney Island USA, Amant Arts, El Clemente Cultural Center, Rubulad and at the Jalopy Theatre. They are currently working on an anti-capitalist sci-fi puppet musical, Dimension Zero, which will premiere in full in 2025. 

Since 2018, Babadan Banda de Rua (Babadan Street Band) has been a vibrant presence in the alleys and streets, theaters, cultural spaces, and carnivals of the great Belo Horizonte area, in Brazil. Their mission is to create an afro-mineiro sound while emphasizing the need for aquilombamento (communitarian connection based on the historical model of Quilombos) and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.

 

Sandra Glazer is proud to be part of a vibrant force showcasing diverse and spirited musicians in NYC. Her wit and ability to wear many hats has enables this eclectic, creative community to thrive. As HONK NYC Housing Maven she found housing for up to 60 visiting musicians for the first decade of the Fest. In recent years, she has revealed she's HONK NYC!'s MC Extraordinare from Harlem to Brooklyn.  But her biggest triumph came when she conceptualized and created HONK! Harlem.  Living in Harlem, she recognized that its community was hungry to revel in its rich musical history.  HONK! Harlem brought the music of the people to the people in the schools, streets and clubs.  Parading to the legendary Apollo Theater and seeing HONK NYC! on the marquee was more than she ever imagined.  Sandra now lives in New Orleans where she dances with the sassy Amelia Earhawts in the Mardi Gras parades and brings her wacky humor to Improv.  She returns frequently to NYC, where the magic continues. 


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Oct
12

Samba Saturday

MELVIN GIBBS ::: MAMBEMBÉ NY ::: QUENIA RIBEIRO ::: BABADAN BANDA DE RUA

Herbert von King Park | Marcy Ave and Lafayette Ave, Bed-Stuy

FREE ALL-AGES EVENT


Quenia Ribeiro hosts the Samba Workshop at 3:30pm.

HONK NYC!'s first-ever Samba Saturday presents the music and movement of Brazil and beyond, with our Master Makers' Tables open for those who want to get their craft on.

Presented in partnership with Herbert Von King Park and the NYC Parks Department at the Almira Kennedy Coursey Amphitheatre.


Special Guest Conductor Melvin Gibbs appears throughout the day!

2pm Mambembé NY

2:45pm Babadan Banda de Rua (1st Set)

3:30pm Samba Workshop with Quenia Ribeiro

4pm Babadan Banda de Rua (2nd Set)

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Oct
11

HONK + LOOVE LABS present CROSSINGS

BIXOLOGY ::: L TRAIN BRASS BAND ::: BABADAN BANDA DE RUA ::: MELVIN GIBBS ::: LOOVE BRASS TRIO

Loove Labs Annex | 238 N 12th Street —> Loove Labs | 58 N 6th Street

$10 - $50 Sliding Scale (No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds)


Crossings is a meeting of the minds between HONK NYC + Loove Labs, in collaboration with musicians Melvin Gibbs & Arto Lindsay.

This event will criss cross between two Williamsburg locations, bringing the communal spirit of Loove Lab’s artist-run hub on North 6th Street to the Annex, their new space on North 12th.

Join us for an epic housewarming of music, procession, improvisation, & ritual that explores the African origins of the music of the Americas.


THE ANNEX - 238 N 12th Street

6:30pm - BIXology

7:30pm - Parade with L Train Brass Band to N 6th St

LOOVE LABS - 58 N 6th Stret

8pm - Babadan Banda de Rua

8:30pm - Melvin Gibbs: People Moving

9:30pm - LOOVE Brass Trio wth Josh Roseman, Steven Bernstein, Marcus Rojas


Power trio Marcus Rojas, Josh Roseman, and Steven Bernstein play the music of our time, forging a path between past, present, and future through brass.

  • Trombonist Josh Roseman was a co-founder of the acid-jazz dance band the Groove Collective in the 1990s and the legendary underground club night Giant Step.

  • A longtime member of Spanish Fly, tubist Marcus Rojas has performed and/or recorded with a wide range of musicians, including They Might Be Giants, John Zorn, Henry Threadgill, Sly & Robbie, and Foetus.

  • Steven Bernstein is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, & bandleader. A former member of John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, he has immersed himself in such a wide array of music with his own bands — from Sexmob to Diaspora Soul to Spanish Fly — that he defies easy categorization.

 

Melvin Gibbs is a Grammy nominated composer, musician, artist, and writer, born, raised, and currently based in Brooklyn, N.Y. A prolific veteran of the New York music scene, he was part of the No Wave radical rock-funk-jazz band Defunkt in the 1980s and the Rollins Band in the 1990s. He has been called "the greatest bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine and was 2019 winner of JazzTimes Magazine's Critics Poll in the category Electric Bass.

 

BIXology is a project celebrating the music of Bix Beiderbecke, led by Skyler Hagner. Commissioned for the 2023 HONK NYC! Festival, BIXology performs original arrangements of Beiderbecke’s tunes and other early jazz favorites. Eschewing note for note recreations of the originals, Skyler Hagner's fresh orchestrations and arrangements inspire 21st century feet to jump and jive to his swinging takes on Beiderbecke's dynamic compositions. The tight ensemble work and hot solos will keep your toes tapping - come dance with us!!

Since 2018, Babadan Banda de Rua (Babadan Street Band) has been a vibrant presence in the alleys and streets, theaters, cultural spaces, and carnivals of the great Belo Horizonte area, in Brazil. Their mission is to create an afro-mineiro sound while emphasizing the need for aquilombamento (communitarian connection based on the historical model of Quilombos) and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.

L Train Brass Band is a modular collective of over 110 brass, reed, and percussion musicians who are genuinely excited by the opportunity to play anywhere and everywhere, covering a wide variety of music, from pop and hip-hop—to funk and traditional NOLA jazz—to eclectic original charts. They were featured on the Today Show & won Best Music Group at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade in 2018 and 2019. A repeat artist at NYC’s Governor's Ball, they have performed at Preservation Hall and paraded through New Orleans.

 
 
 
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Oct
10

BONK! at Barbès

BABADAN BANDA DE RUA

Barbès | 376 9th Street at 6th Ave, Park Slope


What happens when street band music comes inside?

Enjoy a special dose of our favorite brass and percussion artists honking their hearts out with original tunes, slamming solos, and untethered experimentation.

This special HONK NYC! Festival edition features guest artists Babadan Banda de Rua, from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, playing a distinct fusion of local brass and Afro-Brazilian musical traditions from their home state of Minas Gerais.

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Oct
10

Bikes 'n Brass

BABADAN BANDA DE RUA ::: BRASS IN A BOX ::: SPECIAL GUESTS

Columbus Circle —> LIC Waterfront —> Fort Greene Park

FREE EVENT


Tour three of NYC’s boroughs on your own two wheels, enjoying the energetic sounds of contemporary brass music at every stop.

Presented in partnership with Social Cycling NYC.


7pm — Columbus Circle | Babadan Banda de Rua

8:45pm — LIC Waterfront | Brass in a Box

Time TBD — Ft. Greene Park | SPECIAL GUESTS

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Oct
9

HONK! Harlem

MAMBEMBÉ NY ::: AD HOC BRASS BAND ::: BABADAN BANDA DE RUA ::: CRISS CROSS

Shrine World Music Venue | 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd at W. 134th Street

NO COVER


 

HONK! Harlem with us on Opening Night.

Parade the sidewalks of Harlem, led by Mambembé NY's samba reggae rhythms, from Marcus Meets Malcolm to the SHRINE for a joyous evening of raucous global brass - including the NYC debut of Babadan Banda de Rua - PLUS cutting edge musical improv led HONK NYC's Musical Director, Elijah J. Thomas.

FOR THOSE PARADING WITH US

6:30pm - LINE UP at Marcus Meets Malcolm Open Street, 120th btw Marcus Garvey Park & Malcolm X Blvd

7pm - Festival Opening Parade through Harlem ending at SHRINE with Mambembé NY.

FOR THOSE GROOVING AT SHRINE

7 - 8pm : Honk Family DJ Hour

8pm: Ad Hoc Brass Band

9pm: Babadan Banda de Rua

10pm: Criss Cross open improvisational jam, led by Elijah J. Thomas


Mambembé NY, a vibrant and dynamic ensemble, masterfully fuses the pulsating rhythms of drums with the infectious grooves of samba reggae, creating a sonic tapestry that celebrates, preserves, and expands the rich heritage of Afro-Brazilian percussive music. Rooted in the cultural melting pot of New York City, this diverse group draws its members from across the globe, embodying the true essence of the city's multicultural spirit. Each musician brings their unique perspective and cultural background to the mix, resulting in a harmonious blend that transcends geographical boundaries.

 

Ad Hoc Brass Band is a New Orleans style brass band based in Brooklyn, NY that started back in April 2021 just as the world started to open up. It was started by trombonist Dave Joseph and percussionist Marc Basch who were on the hunt to emulate the sounds of some of their favorite 2nd Line and NOLA Club ensembles. Ad Hoc Brass was the house band and jam leader for the JAMbalaya-NYC events hosted at The Big aLICe Barrel Room in Industry City, Brooklyn.

Since 2018, Babadan Banda de Rua (Babadan Street Band) has been a vibrant presence in the alleys and streets, theaters, cultural spaces, and carnivals of the great Belo Horizonte area, in Brazil. Their mission is to create an afro-mineiro sound while emphasizing the need for aquilombamento (communitarian connection based on the historical model of Quilombos) and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.

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Nov
18

HONK NYC! Fall Carnival on 31st Avenue

SAT NOV 18 | 2-5PM

31st Ave Open Streets

31st Ave Btw 33rd & 35th St (Astoria)

$Free!


The HONK NYC! block party in Astoria was rained out but we have a new date!

Come join the street bands, movers + shakers, costumed antics and a very special Master Makers Table.

It’s all happening in Astoria with this festive group of carnival artists from Brazil, New York City, and beyond playing samba, global brass and New Orleans Second Line.

2:15pm

BLOCO FROM DA BLOCK

Family-friendly Brazilian carnival fun from Sabina Ciari and her band of merrymakers. Bring your kids - this is for them!

3:15pm & 4:15pm

FRANK LONDON’S BRASS ALL-STARS

Trumpet legend Frank London brings his Klezmer-meets-Latin-meets-experimental NYC global brass fusion sounds to our streets. Expect a powerful and ebullient display of music, magic and mayhem!

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Oct
31

Pam Fleming’s Dead Zombie Band

CLINTON HILL BLOCK PARTY

PAM FLEMING’S DEAD ZOMBIE BAND

Tuesday, October 31 | 8PM to Midnight

Waverly Avenue btw Willoughby & DeKalb

$ Free!


Trumpeter Pam Fleming's annual Halloween block party for the neighbors returns - and the whole city is invited!

Pass by for some groovy ghoulish tunes in Clinton Hill.

Dead Zombie Band has grown over the last 2 decades into a much anticipated yearly Halloween extravaganza in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The 9 piece band, decked out in costumes, plays Original spooky Groovy music, and some time honored Halloween Classics! Pam has gathered some of NYC’s best musicians from the rock, jazz and world music scenes to come together every Halloween for this Community Happening. (The Show: Halloween, 6-9pm, Waverly Ave. (between Willoughby and DeKalb Ave) Brooklyn 11205. Their Original album, “Rise And Dance” can be found at their website, or streamed at Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and most digital streaming services.

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Oct
31

Washington Heights Halloween Parade

FUNKING IT UP IN FORT TRYON

LIFTOFF BRASS BAND

Tuesday, October 31 | 6:30PM

Fort Tryon Park

$ Free!


Liftoff Brass Band leads a parade through Washington Heights!

From a power funky-brass quartet to a three-horn frontline, and with a host of original arrangements/compositions reflecting a large vision, Liftoff Brass band ranges freely across the New Orleans landscape without losing grip of the New York groove. Influences from Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong to James Brown to Rebirth to Dirty Dozen Brass band, the music of Liftoff Brass inspired by the greats hailing from New Orleans. Members have performed with with the top performers in music, including Prince! The members of Liftoff Brass enjoy performing at private events, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, BAM, Le Poisson Rouge, Jazz Gallery, Symphony Space, Blue Note, and on TV & Films and international music festivals.

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Oct
31

Prospect HONK! Gotham Easy

SERVING UP THE POP

THE GOTHAM EASY

Tuesday, October 31 | 5 PM to 7 PM

intersection of Park Place and Underhill Avenue

$ Free!


The Gotham Easy

The Gotham Easy is a hot jazz band born on the mean streets of NYC. While being completely at ease playing classic standards in the time-honored New Orleans tradition, the band brings a brash vitality to music that is all too often treated as a delicate museum piece. The Gotham Easy’s members have been playing together since 2006, performing at Jazz at Lincoln Center and leading the Coney Island Mermaid Parade with founder Dick Zigun. Whether revitalizing the traditional jazz canon with their excitement and energy, or whipping an audience into a frenzy with their raucous original compositions, the Gotham Easy brings the music of the early 20th century into the early 21st century with a fresh style and attitude.

 
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Oct
31

NYC DOT’S Trick or Streets at Evelyn Place in the Bronx

HONK! NYC in Da Bronx

YOUNG FELLAZ + BLOCO FROM DA BLOCK

Tuesday, October 31 | 3 to 7 PM

Evelyn Place Open Street | Evelyn Place from Aqueduct Avenue East to Grand Avenue, Bronx

$ Free!


HONK NYC teams up with the NYC DOT for Trick or Streets, presenting Halloween events across the city! 

Featuring:

Young Fellaz Brass Band

Bloco from da Block

 
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Oct
30

HONK! Harlem @ The Shrine with De Capo Brass Band

MORE HONK in HARLEM

DE CAPO BRASS BAND

Monday, October 30 | 10PM to Midnight

Shrine World Music Venue | 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd at W. 134th Street


De Capo Brass Band brings the sounds of the Big Easy to The Shrine for HONK! HARLEM.

Jazz drummer Darrell Smith leads Da Capo, a traditional New Orleans style brass band that first had its debut in the off-Broadway run of "INTERLUDES a New (Orleans) Play," in 2016. The group plays a contemporary variety of New Orleans Classics and Jazz standards.

Featuring Nat Ransen - Tuba, Ron Jackson - Banjo, Dan Glaude - Alto Sax, Satish Roberstson - Trumpet, Ben Weiseger - Trombone, and band leader Dr. Darrell Smith on drums/voice. 

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Oct
30

Ghost Band Plays Ghost Venues

VILLAGE HAUNTS

STEFAN ZENIUK

Monday, October 30 | 4:30pm

36 Cooper Square

$ Free!


Come spook the haunted haunts with us!

Meet up at 4:30pm outside the old Village Voice Building, 36 Cooper Square in the East Village.

Step off at 5pm.

Stefan Zeniuk is a New York City-based musician, composer, and animator. His group, Gato Loco has recorded for Winter & Winter Records, and WNYC says is like “a multi-headed Latin music hydra, perfect for the dance floor”, and was called “Exotic and simultaneously urban” by Le Monde (Paris).  He formed the performance sound art group, Baritone Army, which has expanded globally and is active in five cities around the world.  He developed a flame-throwing saxophone, which has brought him from Vietnam to Venice, as well as racking up millions of viral youtube views.  As a Saxophonist and Clarinetist, he has performed with artists ranging from The Violent Femmes and Vampire Weekend to Hal Willner and Bill Frisell.  He is known for his specialty on the unwieldy Bass Saxophone, as well as the Suona.

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Oct
29

Brass Queens at Barbés

Brass Besties at Barbès

BRASS QUEENS

Sunday, October 29 | 10 PM

BARBÈS | 376 9th Street, Brooklyn

$20 Suggested Donation


Our beloved strong women in music, Brass Queens, take over Barbes' back room for the second year in a row for HONK NYC. This is the one you've been waiting to see! Don't miss the band voters ranked #1 in the first-ever MTA Music Under NY Rider's Choice Awards. 


About BRASS QUEENS:

Brass Queens is a New York-based brass band that is female-led and features an all-female horn section. Finding that they shared similar frustrations about the emerging brass band scene in the city, co-founders Alex Harris and Ally Chapel came together to form a group dedicated to showcasing the talents of female musicians in a landscape that was dominated by male musicians and bandleaders.

After debuting in March 2019, Brass Queens grew to be a fixture in the New York music scene and was even dubbed "the hardest working band in town" by their peers. The Queens gained a dedicated following through busking on the streets of Brooklyn and playing pop-up events in tight-knit communities. Even the pandemic couldn't slow them down, as the band found ways to still bring music and joy to their fans during quarantine. Since then, Brass Queens has gone on to play iconic venues like Blue Note Jazz Club and Brooklyn Bowl, as well as major events like The Met Gala, Governor's Ball Music Festival, Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Good Morning America, and more.

Brass Queens has developed a signature sound that sits right at the intersection of the Big Apple and the Big Easy: their music is deeply inspired by and pays homage to the New Orleans brass band tradition while injecting the upbeat, multifaceted energy of their New York home into each performance. The result is a nonstop party: a Brass Queens show will have you singing along to classic pop hits, dancing your heart out to reggaeton, and feeling like you've been transported to Frenchman Street. In February 2021, Brass Queens released their debut EP Royal Street on all streaming platforms, and on October 27, 2023 they will release their first full-length album titled Black & Gold.

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Oct
29

HONK! Harlem at The Shrine with Bloco La Conga & Batala NY

HONK in Harlem!

BLOCO LA CONGA + BATALÁ NY

Sunday, October 29 | 8PM to Midnight

Shrine World Music Venue | 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd at W. 134th Street


HONK! comes to Harlem at The Shrine with a two-part power combo from our favorite percussionists!


8 PM - Bloco La Conga

Bloco La Conga is a community of musicians dedicated to the study and performance of Carnaval music of the Americas. Our repertoire is influenced mostly by styles from Cuba, Brazil, the USA, and the African Diaspora in general. In Brazil a bloco is a street band that mobilizes, excites and inspires revelers during Carnaval. In Santiago de Cuba, this would be called a conga (as in "conga line"). La Conga is currently on a mission to introduce the Conga Santiaguera , the unique and exciting sound of Santiago de Cuba's carnaval, to audiences in the New York area.


9 PM - Batalá NY

Batalá New York is the premier all-women, Black-led, percussion ensemble activating partnerships, community building, and cultural awareness through high-energy performances of Afro-Brazilian music and dance in New York City and beyond. Our music, instruments and costumes are primarily from Salvador da Bahia in the northeast of Brazil.

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Oct
29

NYC DOT’S Trick or Streets at 31st Ave Open Streets

 

NYC DOT’S Trick or Streets in ASTORIA!

Sunday, October 29 | 3 to 6 PM

31st Ave Open Streets (Astoria)

31st Ave between 33rd & 35th Street


HONK NYC teams up with the NYC DOT for Trick or Streets, presenting Halloween events across the city! 

Meet us in Astoria at the 31st Ave Open Streets between 3 and 6pm for a great afternoon of live music, making, and lots of movement and merriment!

Featuring:

Young Fellaz Brass Band

Bloco from da Block

Black Fire Percussion

HONK NYC Master Maker's Table

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Oct
29

Prospect HONK! Providence Drum Troupe

Puppets & Percussion

Sunday, October 29 | 1 PM - 3PM

Vanderbilt Open Streets

$ Free


VANDERBILT AVE btw ST. MARKS & PROSPECT PL

PROVIDENCE DRUM TROUPE | 1-3PM

All the way from Rhode Island! Twenty person strong Providence Drum Troupe brings their puppetry, pageantry, and percussion to Prospect Heights for a Halloween weekend extravaganza!

Plus! Halloween Kids Crafts courtesy of Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets.


VANDERBILT AVE btw DEAN & BERGEN

BRASS BY THE SLICE | 4 to 6pm

Brass By The Slice is a New York brass band serving up your favorite pop tunes and mash ups.


 
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Oct
29

HONK! THE BOOTS

Pizza + Parade

YOUNG FELLAZ

Sunday, October 29 | 12:30 PM - 1:30PM

Two Boots Pizza (UWS) 70 W. 71st St

$ Free


Eat pizza & parade with Young Fellaz Brass Band!

 
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Oct
28

GEMINI & SCORPIO PARTY

MASQUERADE MACABRE

Saturday October 28 | 9pm-4am

Gemini and Scorpio Loft | 267 Douglass St, 3rd fl (ADA accessible)

$30-60* General Adm / $25 after 12am if capacity allows


A marvellous and mysterious event...a Halloween celebration of the extravagant and the grotesque...an all-night spectacle of atmosphere, costumery and diverse entertainments...an explosion of riotous live music, dancing, circus arts and late-night revelry, snake-charmed into an absinthe-fueled early-morning speakeasy. A Halloween like only G&S can do.

Featuring:
- Special guests from Rhode Island, Providence Drum Troupe: musicians, acrobats, life-size alien puppets, hoopers and dancers...you never know who will pop up in this wild riot of beats
- Direct from New Orleans, The Young Fellaz Brass Band: making you move your feet with an irresistible mix of NoLa jazz, hip-hop, R&B, rock and pop
- Demonic dance floor by G&S favorites Illexxandra & Shakey
- More circus and variety live acts TBA
- Ghostly visuals
- Absinthe and other mind-altering potions by The House of St Eve (yes, t.h.o.s.e. cocktails...)

Dress code: your glamorous, dark, witchy, steampunk best or your Halloween wear. Effort required / no casual wear / if we have to ask, it's not a costume. You WILL be turned away without a refund.

COVID safety: masks encouraged; two hospital grade UV air purifiers will cycle the air.

*All tickets offer the same access to the event. Please buy at the highest price you can, to support artists, production and affordable tickets for everyone. For every patron ticket ($60) we add a low income ticket ($30).

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