What with all the wild and wacky characters Jumbos can find just wandering around campus, it's easy to miss the rampant quirkiness to be found in Tufts' own Somerville backyard. Need a weirdness fix this weekend? The sixth annual HONK! Festival, a so-called "festival of activist street bands" tooting their horns in the name of working against violence and oppression, will be in and around Davis Square on Saturday and in venues near Harvard Square on Sunday.
Twenty-eight street bands from far and wide and representing a variety of musical genres will perform for free. Here are eight bands that shouldn't be missed:
Revolutionary Snake Ensemble
Friday 10:00 p.m. at Johnny D's Uptown Restaurant and Music Club
Kicking off the weekend, this improvisational brass band plays a mix of funk and street beat music.
Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band
Saturday 1:00 p.m. at 7 Hills Park (behind the Elm Street entrance to the Davis Square T-stop) and 6:00 p.m. at the Davis Square Plaza
The 15 members of this street band hail from Somerville and play authentic New Orleans style music. Their motto? "We aim to please if the cause is true and the time is right."
What Cheer? Brigade
Saturday: 5:00 p.m. at Statue Park and 8:00 p.m. at 7 Hills Park
Sunday: 5:15 p.m. at the Eliot Triangle in Harvard Square
Hailing from Providence, R.I., this 19-member mass-appeal brass band plays an "aggressive mix of Bollywood, The Balkans, New Orleans, Samba and Hip-Hop."
Rude Mechanical Orchestra
Saturday: 2:00 p.m. at Hills Parks and 8:00 p.m. at VFW Dilboy Hall
This 30-piece amateur band from New York City plays folk songs from around the world, and has played at a variety of protests, marches and for other causes supporting social justice.
Brass Messengers
Saturday: 2:00 p.m. at VFW Dilboy Hall and 6:00 p.m. at Statue Park
Sunday: 4:40 p.m. at Winthrop Park in Harvard Square
Hailing from Minneapolis, this band plays "anything that fits in the twisted brass tubing … as long as it makes a joyful noise."
Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band
Saturday: 2:00 p.m. at Statue Park and 8:00 p.m. on Chester Street
From Somerville, this band "combines the rich musical history of the circus and the vagabond people of Europe with the raw energy of free jazz and the irreverence and fun of today's vaudeville."
Titanium Sporkestra
Saturday: 3:00 p.m. on Winter Street, 7:00 p.m. at 7 Hills Park
Sunday: 3:45 p.m. at the Palmer Street Alleyway in Harvard Square
This band, which spends more time in the crowd than on the stage, plays a wide range of styles from heavy metal to Balkan-inspired tunes and boasts "an unprecedented amount of sexuality."
Leftist Marching Band
Saturday 1:00 p.m. at the Davis Square Plaza and 4:00 p.m. on Chester Street
This New Hampshire band features a wide array of performers, including dancers, jugglers and puppeteers.
