Rise up with the mid-Hudson Valley’s activist brass marching band!

About Us

Arise! Arouse! We are the Tin Horn Uprising — New York's Hudson Valley activist street band. We believe that music is a powerful tool of protest. Our mission is to advance social justice by performing at actions, marches, rallies, and events that promote peace, justice, equality, education and the protection of the environment. We strive for a spirit of joy, togetherness, and solidarity with the individuals, communities, and movements we support.

We are currently looking for opportunities to support regional work and efforts of peace, justice, education and resistance. And are always looking for new band members — which includes puppeteers, dancers, and banner holders.

Why the name "Tin Horn"? In 1839, Hudson Valley farmers organizing for land rights picked up their tin dinner horns and blew them as a call to political action; when a dinner horn was sounded the community gathered in support of whichever neighbor was under siege. And thus the Tin Horn Rebellion was born. We derive our band name from that spirit.

More than 175 years later our threat is different, but our need for political action is just as imminent. As we step into this new era under a new regime, we ask you to dust off your clarinet, trombone or marching snare-drum, pull your high school marching band uniform from the attic, and once again sound the call for political action with us.

Learn more about the historic Tin Horn Rebellion.

Testimonials

The band MADE the march. They were just awesome. People and kids were dancing, the park police were smiling. Everyone was filled with joy and hopefulness. Made it feel like it finally was inauguration day — OUR inauguration day. The people had taking over! It just wouldn’t have been the same without you.

Thanks so much for all you did to bring our community together with music and joy!!!

Love them! They showed up to #standwithPP in Poughkeepsie. It felt like the best, most fun kind of cavalry had arrived.

The AJ Williams-Myers African Roots Library would like to give a big high five to the Tin Horn Uprising… for a truly command performance at the Opening/Naming Ceremony for the Library. We at the library believe music and the arts are one of the best transmitters of culture. To see and hear you all marching through the neighborhood and having young and old follow you back to our library was so awesome. We will never forgot you all leading the way for us.

"The music you performed yesterday made all the difference in the world. It was a long day and the music lifted our spirits every step of the way... I couldn't have asked for a more engaging and welcoming group of people to work with."

Join Us

If you are a current or former musician that plays brass, reeds or marching band percussion…or if you have been looking for an excuse to buy that pawn shop saxophone and learn to play it, we want to hear from you. If you are a puppeteer, flag waver, dancer, sign maker, street stomper or otherwise enthused supporter of radical change, marching bands and plain old fun times, then we want to hear from you too.

All musical abilities are encouraged. Some people in the band are professional musical educators, some haven't played since high school, and some literally just bought their first ever brass instrument last week and are learning to play it for the sole purpose of participating with the band. This is a community. We welcome you.

Sheet music and audio clips of our tunes are available HERE .

To officially join the band, we ask that you attend a minimum of one rehearsal and one public performance. If you would like to find out when those are, fill out the form below and we will be in touch.

Join Us

First Name *

Last Name *

Instrument(s) you play *

Type "none" if you're not an instrumentalist

If you don't play a brass, reed or percussion instrument, check what other role you see yourself in:

Other Roles

puppeteer

dancer

banner holder/other visuals

OtherOther

City/Town *

Email Address *

Phone Number *

How did you hear about us?

Spam Check *

Please type "tinhorn" into the box above.

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Invite Us

Tin Horn Uprising plays protests, demonstrations, direct actions, picket lines, marches, benefits and events that support our mission. To extend an invitation to us, please fill out the form below. In order for us to attend an event as a band, we need enough band members who can provide a balanced sound on any given day. We will see who is available once you submit the form, and be in touch to confirm.

Invite Us

Event Title *

Event Date *

Start Time *

End Time *

Event date and time not yet known

Event Location (including city/town) *

Include venue name, exact address, and city/town

Event Description *

Is this a stand-still event? A march? Both?

What role will Tin Horn Uprising play in this event? *

If it is a programmed event, when and for how long will we be expected to play?

How many people do you expect to attend? *

Where can we find info about the event on the Internet? *

Please include link to a website, Facebook event, online invitation, etc. Type "none" if there are none.

If a public event, have you obtained permits and/or notified police in advance? *

Yes

Will there be parking for the band available? *

Yes

Not sure yet

Will there be bathrooms for the band available? *

Yes

Not sure yet

Are there any other organizations involved in the event? *

If so, which one(s)?

Your First Name *

Your Last Name *

Your Organization *

Your Email Address *

Your Phone Number *

Spam Check *

Please type "tinhorn" into the box above.

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Press and other inquiries: info@tinhornuprising.org