ABSTRACT
School of HONK is a free community music school, centered on a street band form, open to anyone in Cambridge, Somerville, and the greater Boston area. Words like “joy,” “hope,” and “inspiration” are uttered often at HONK! festivals, but also a sense of inhabiting an “alternative universe” that nevertheless feels like home: authentic, natural, and true. As language and culture developed participatory form of music was at the center of most festival and ritual, the soundtrack to any manner of collective joy and artistic expression. Many of the bands were born as informal, impromptu ensembles of band geeks and other amateurs to boost specific rallies, protests, or other political street actions, while others emerged from block parties, neighborhood affinity groups, or open music jams at community fairs. In the absence of a plan, players tend to revert to time-worn scripts and musical tropes, often resulting in a reunion of besties playing the same old favorites.
