~Photos by Claudia Ferro

The 16th annual HONK! Festival returned to the streets of Somerville last Saturday with its signature spirit of joy and justice in a new, hyperlocal format. The festival featured multiple neighborhood events cosponsored by grassroots community organizations across Greater Boston. HONK! performers joined activist groups in their own neighborhoods, playing music and raising awareness for arts and social justice causes. More than 15 local brass and percussion bands took to parks, squares, and street corners across Somerville, Boston, Cambridge, and Chelsea. The day kicked off at Somerville’s Seven Hills Park with a performance by the Second Line Brass Band and tributes to Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Somerville Olympian Phil Reavis, Sr. The Uncivil Servants, a new band featuring Mayor Curtatone and City of Somerville staffers played later in the evening.