Last weekend our city hosted the 7th annual HONK!TX festival of community street bands. Eleven of the 25 bands were from Austin. On Friday evening, the bands played along South Congress. Saturday afternoon’s festivities centered around Adams Hemphill Park and Spider House Cafe. Sunday morning’s parade was cancelled due to thunderstorms, but the front moved through quickly, and an All Band Revue was held in Pan Am Park.

I decided to go to HONK!TX on Saturday afternoon because there were bands playing concurrently on six “stages” (some were actually nearby fields and parking lots). Most bands played two 45-minute sets. Often I listened to a song or two and then headed to another stage. My favorites were Filthy Femcorps, Biohazard Brass Band, and Minor Mishap Marching Band—the band that got Austinites interested in street band music.

Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band (Somerville, MA)

Batebunda (New Orleans, LA)

Biohazard Brass Band (Fort Sam Houston, TX)

Yes Ma’am Brass Band (Austin)

Ten Man Brass Band (Seattle, WA)

Interrobang (Austin)

Guerrilla Fanfare Brass Band (Northern CO)

Bayou City Blues (Houston, TX)

Big Wy’s Brass Band (Austin)

Moon Tower Brass Band (Austin)

Dead Music Capital Band (Austin)

Boss Street Brass Band (Austin)

Maracatu Texas (Austin)

Secondhand Street Band (New Orleans, LA)

Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin)

The Numbers (Austin)

Filthy Femcorps (Seattle, WA)

© Austin Downtown Diary, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Austin Downtown Diary with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.