MISSION AND HISTORY
HONK NYC! brings the tradition of global street band music and spectacle to audiences everywhere — in parks, at clubs, in schools, and especially out in the streets.
Started at a dinner party in 2007 by members of legendary Brooklyn street ensemble Hungry March Band, HONK NYC! has flourished into a year-round, artist-run organization. HONK NYC! makes events that reclaim, reuse, and redefine public space. We connect communities through music-making, pageantry, audience participation, and education. We celebrate the power and vitality of street performance, and support the artists and musicians who preserve and transform these global traditions.
HONK NYC! is part of the global HONK! United: a network of activist and community-based street bands and spectacle makers, who are redefining popular traditions of brass and percussion music.
WHAT WE DO
Our annual October festival highlights local, national, and international musicians and ensembles who redefine brass and percussion music and parade culture.
In summer, we partner with public agencies, museums, and cultural organizations to provide free and affordable art and music programming across the region.
Our singular HONK Kids Camp, a week-long, interdisciplinary arts camp held at the Staten Island Children’s Museum, inspires new generations of young people to create the musical world they want to see, empowering them with the tools to make it happen in their own communities.