No Small Money Brass Band

NYC's premier brass band playing the music of Africa and the Caribbean since 2008

Instagram: @nosmallmoney

Bhangra Liberation Orchestra

The Bhangra Liberation Orchestra makes rebellious and joyful music to fortify our hearts on and off the dancefloor. Rooted in the genres of bhangra, qawwali, Afrobeat, and jazz, BLO draws from Punjabi ancestral wisdom with a heavy dose of musical improvisation to deliver a clear message of love, unity, and liberation in these times of rising authoritarianism and attacks on the marginalized. Anthemic brassy melodies intersect with angular guitar lines, hype dhol beats, and ecstatic vocals in Punjabi, English, and Spanish.

bhangraliberation.com
sonnysingh.com/videos

HONK Family Band

To close our opening night, Indofunk Satish will curate a jam session celebrating the spirit of jazz, New Orleans street bands, and spontaneous collaboration. Bring your instrument, meet some fellow musicians, and jump into the music. Songs will be drawn from the New Orleans brass band repertoire, but all you need is your enthusiasm for improvisation!

Stefan Zeniuk's GHOST BAND

Ghost Band Plays Ghost Venues, a project of musician Stefan Zeniuk and HONK NYC!, honors creative spaces that once were.  Parade through multiple generations – and genres – of music history, haunting once revered but now shuttered music halls, sites currently home to boutiques, banks, and hotels. The hallowed incubators of NYC’s musical heritage may be gone but are not forgotten. Touch the past and sing a song for the town that continues to inspire.

A ghostly parade for long-lost local music venues - EV Grieve

Is that a tuba in aisle 3? Renegade brass band performs in bygone Lower East Side landmarks. - Gothamist

Afoxé Alkebulan Acá

Afoxé Alkebulan Acá is an Afro‑Atlantic practice of percussion, song, and public ritual based in the global crossroads known as NYC. This project, led by master percussionist Okai Musik and educator-leader Deinya Phenix, is inspired by African Diasporic artistic traditions and cross-cultural experiences that have led to fusions such as jazz, salsa, and hip hop. In that in-between space, we have called upon disparate peoples into a musical Black family reunion enriched with aché, solidarity, joy, and belonging.

Instagram:
@deinya
@okaimusik

https://youtu.be/pNBgkO4jG7I?si=B8s5ocV9n3sRCcdh

Inconvenient Brass Band

Inconvenient Brass Band puts a horn in your side.

Instagram:
@inconvenientbrassband

Hungry March Band

Celebrating over 20 years of bringing live musical spectacle to the people of New York City and beyond is Hungry March Band, a brass, percussion, and performance ensemble.

Founded in Brooklyn in 1997 for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, HMB embodies the spirit of NYC’s streets with an inimitable brass sound and inspired, eclectic dance.

HMB has shared their creativity with audiences around the United States, South America, and Europe, where they’ve been embraced by a longstanding community of brass bands.

A unique sonic voice has emerged from the recording of their four self-released albums—one that melds their musical knowledge of big band, traditional, and free jazz, with punk rock and global brass influences.

Artists For a Free World

In 2017, Arts for Art began Artists For a Free World (AFFW), a marching band that supported citywide demonstrations through joyful noise and movement. It was an empowering experience. We saw the importance and power of music to bring people together. AFFW is a direct artistic response to oppressive fascist ideology and regime. Artists For a Free World empowers all Positive Creative Healing Actions. We are committed to long-term engagement to ensure survival of our Shared Humanity. No one is free unless we are all free.

Instagram: @artists4afreeworld
artistsforafreeworld.com

HONK Family Band

To close our opening night, Indofunk Satish will curate a jam session celebrating the spirit of jazz, New Orleans street bands, and spontaneous collaboration. Bring your instrument, meet some fellow musicians, and jump into the music. Songs will be drawn from the New Orleans brass band repertoire, but all you need is your enthusiasm for improvisation!

Batalá New York

Batalá New York is the premier all-womxn, Black-led, percussion ensemble activating partnerships, community building, and cultural awareness through high-energy performances of Afro-Brazilian music and dance.

We are transforming images of women by presenting a loud, fearless, diverse and resilient community of female drummers. We perform all over the New York region in concert halls, at community centers, parks and gardens, on the streets, at protests, and at renowned cultural institutions.

Funkrust Brass Band