Twenty-four street bands participated in this year’s HONK!TX, an annual festival of community street bands held here in Austin. I have been able to attend all but one of the eight festivals. For the first time, the Friday evening performances were held at Mueller Lake Park. I liked this location better than those previous Fridays on South Congress. In Mueller, the bands were further apart (but not too far), parking was plentiful, and I didn’t have to worry about being hit by a car while crossing a busy street. My only suggestion is that more food trucks should be invited next time.

Austin Klezmer Band (Austin)

Moon Tower Brass Band (Austin)

Biohazard Brass Band (Fort Sam Houston, TX)

Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin)

Big Wy’s Brass Band (Austin)

Neon Brass Party (Seattle, WA)

Banda Rim Bam Bum (Santiago, Chile)

Drumadics Beat-n-Brass Band (New York, NY)

Yes Ma’am Brass Band (Austin)

The evening ended with each band playing one song in an all-band show. It had been a perfect spring evening with a lovely sunset (as opposed to the next day, which was cold and windy). While I always enjoy the Austin bands such as Minor Mishap and Moon Tower (and search out their other performances throughout the year), that band from Chile—Banda Rim Bam Bum—was outstanding. Their energy, musical talent, and performance was the best I’ve ever seen at HONK!TX. Hopefully, they will be able to return again.

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