This is the story of a year spent with the string bands of the Philadelphia Mummers. The Mummers are amateur musicians who keep an ancient New Years tradition alive. They work all year round to raise funds through performing, they choose songs, make costumes and practice. On New Year's Day they parade down Broad Street in Philadelphia. My pictures show several string bands (named for the distinctive sound of the banjo but including saxophones, basses, accordions and at least one glockenspiel). Primarily I focus on the Greater Kensington String Band, which is based in a poor, working-class neighborhood in North Philadelphia.