Every Monday, Brass Solidarity unites musicians at George Floyd Square, blending music, grief, and activism to fight for Black liberation and inspire community chang
MINNEAPOLIS — Every Monday, musicians from across the Twin Cities metro converge on George Floyd Square. Rain or shine, they show up.
They are Brass Solidarity, a protest band born from tragedy and sustained by community. The group has now held more than 277 weekly meetups.
Co-founder Butchy Austin said music became a way to process grief after the murder of George Floyd.
“I started using music to process my feelings after the murder of George Floyd. Some others that were also playing music met up with me, and we decided to keep going every week since then,” Austin said.
The band describes itself as fighting for Black liberation and stands, in Austin’s words, against oppression “with joy and strength.”
The cold can be a particular challenge for brass players. Austin noted that in freezing temperatures, brass instruments can stick to musicians’ faces.
Wendy Darst has played with the band on the drums for four years. She said the work of showing up carries weight beyond music.
“It takes everybody to stand up against injustice, and especially white people who are largely responsible for it,” Darst said.
Clifford David Johnson has only been an official member for a month, but his perspective spans decades. At 80 years old, he said the issues the band plays against are not new to him.
“I’m 80 years old, and I’ve lived through all that racial prejudice stuff all my life, and it’s still happening,” Johnson said.
Angela Harrelson, George Floyd’s aunt, says she makes it a point to come watch the band on Mondays and said she understands how tragedy and joy can coexist.
“I mean, all this pain, this sadness, and all of this music takes us to another place. Music can deflect and take their pain, it makes us feel good, it makes us reflect, it takes us down memory lane, you can dance together,” Harrelson said.
Beyond the square, Brass Solidarity plays at community events, marches, and performed in the streets during Operation Metro Surge.
Austin said the mission is bigger than healing or community, it carries a deliberate message.
“We continue to play, because we know that it’s not just healing, it’s not just joyous, it’s not just about bringing community together, but it’s also about bringing a message that there’s more we can do, there’s more change that we can make,” Austin said.
The band meets every Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and invites the community to watch or jam along.
