By Ethan Backer

American Civil Liberties Union organizers and volunteers from the Lucy Parsons Center shared Davis Square with left-leaning brass bands honking out raucous tunes last weekend as The Honk Festival rolled into town for the second straight year. The festival kicked off Friday afternoon at Tufts University’s Distler Performance Hall with "The Philosophy of Honk: Street Bands, Civic Engagement, and Social Change," a symposium featuring a performance by the Original Big Seven Social Aid & Pleasure Club from New Orleans and a panel discussion including ethnomusicologist Charles Keil, author of "Urban Blues." The evening concluded with an open discussion on HONK! band politics with the Brass Liberation Orchestra in Somerville’s Dilboy VFW Hall, and a jam session at the Abbey Lounge in Inman Square. But the main show took place in Davis Square Saturday afternoon as the bands marched, danced, stilted and stomped their way around five stations (7 Hills Park, Statue Park, Davis Square Plaza, Redbones, and Dilboy VFW Hall.)