Formed in Seattle in 2011, this energetic group of young musicians mix the genres of New Orleans Second Line, Jazz, Pop, Funk, Disco, and Electronica to create a dance party wherever they land. They are a regular feature at the Northwest Folklife Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, and HONK! festivals throughout the nation.

Ten Man exists because of excellent public school music programs. The band was formed by a group of high school students, and we have always strived to help young people experience the music which has made such a difference in our lives, whether that means performing at schools, working to make Honk! after parties accessible to all ages, or pushing for policies that get more music in the streets and instruments into classes. As a band we want to play music for the people who need to hear it.

Yes, but we play for things, rather than against. Less protest, more festival/rally.

Ten Man brings a lot of energy, a positive attitude, and a youthful outlook. We add some aesthetic diversity as a smaller band with normcore dress, and deep down we’re all about the music that gets shared at Honk! We love big jams and group song teaching sessions. We’re also down to help clean up. At HonkWest 2018 we are co-hosting the un-official afterparty (alongside Seattle’s Filthy Femme Corps.) to roll all these contributions into the same event.

We’ve recently given free performances at schools, and have more planned for May. We are giving a free performance at local Solar Power festival later in the year. We also give public busking performances at street fairs and farmers markets throughout the year.

We have also contributed to the HonkWest community, playing multiple fundraisers over the years, and working to make all music events at HonkWest accessible to all ages. Most recently we have taken on the task of co-hosting the Saturday night un-official afterparty, with the intention of making it the kind of all-night jam everyone comes to honks for, and accessible to all honkers.

Because of our name we make an extra effort to welcome female/non-binary members, and now ‘Ten Man’ counts multiple women, gender non-conforming, and LGBTQ members among its ranks. We’ve come a long way since ten 12th grade boys gave their new band the most literal name ever. The racial makeup of the band has been diverse from the beginning, with Caucasian, African American, Filipino, Japanese, Jewish, and Latino members.

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