The Honk! festival of activist street bands rings in its 20th anniversary Oct. 9-12 with a change forced by a wave of aggressive and capricious tourist detainments and visa rejections by the federal government.
In the past, bands have flown in from destinations as varied as Brazil and Berlin. This year, international bands will instead have the opportunity to participate virtually.
Elm Street in Davis Square closes to traffic on the Saturday of the festival over Indigenous Peoples Weekend to accommodate a large screen with a livestream of bands from around the world. Groups from Vancouver, Canada; Rome; Santiago, Chile; and Dresden, Germany, are on the livestream lineup, Honk! co-founder and organizer Trudi said.
“We have a very strong sense that bands would be reluctant to come to the United States right now. We’ve heard from some that they feel that way,” Cohen said. “We also know that getting visas to come to enter the United States this year, or in this period, is more challenging than usual. So we decided not to give ourselves that challenge, and to not include bands from outside of the U.S. this year.”
Honk! is among an increasing number of musical events adapting to the immigration climate this year. International artists are reconsidering U.S. tour plans in response to visa difficulties and increased travel risk, NPR reported.
Since the first festival in 2006, Honk! has doubled in size, and this year’s event is still expected to see more than 30 bands take to the streets of Somerville, Cambridge and Boston, each representing a social cause of their choice.
“We usually, in the course of when we play, invite somebody that we’ve reached out to who can come forward,” said Mary Curtin, spokesperson for Honk! and a former member of the Good Trouble Brass Band, a founding group of Honk! “We will take a break from playing enough to allow that individual to talk about an organization they represent and what they are raising awareness about.”
The crucial issues of this year’s festival are funding cuts to public media, the upcoming midterm elections and immigration, Curtin said.
Honk! organizers are implementing safety precautions ahead of this year’s festival, including deescalation training and the presence of trained safety volunteers, Cohen said.
The festival hosts a symposium at Tufts University on Oct. 9, centered around strategies for street activism, safety and solidarity.
“We don’t anticipate problems.” Cohen said. “It’s a very joyous festival, and it seems to speak to a very broad public. So we’re not anticipating problems, but we want to be sure that people feel safe.”
In addition to the Thursday conference at Tufts, the weekend features lantern-making and smaller parades Friday and an “art-making component” on Saturday, Cohen said. On Sunday, the festival’s annual parade – “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet” – begins in Davis Square and ends at Harvard Square’s 46th annual Oktoberfest.
Despite this year’s unique climate, Cohen said, the spirit of Honk! remains – and with the livestream plan, “We’re kind of saying the portal to the world is always open at Honk!”
For information, see honkfest.org.
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