On January 3 and 4, Austin's beloved free music festival Free Week will take over the Red River Cultural District (RRCD) with shows by more than 70 local acts across 12 venues. And that's just counting the first announcement, with more to come in two weeks.
Among the acts slated to perform so far are Being Dead, whose latest album, Eels, was recently named one of Paste's Top 100 Albums of 2024; plus other local favorites like Chancla Fight Club, Megafauna, Pelvis Wrestly, Pussy Gillette, and The Tiarras.
This all-star lineup comes as a relief for many, after Free Week was nearly cancelled earlier this year due to lack of funds. But thanks to renewed city funding promised on November 7 — after long negotiations and some disagreements between RRCD and Austin City Council — Free Week and RRCD's other popular festival Hot Summer Nights were saved for the foreseeable future.
This free festival got its start more than 20 years ago as a way to keep downtown businesses' doors open during the slowest time of the year. Even though Free Week is now just two days long, the heart of the festival remains: a pay-what-you-want event for fans that puts donations and sponsor money into the pockets of local artists and venues.
"Free Week is a celebration of everything that makes Austin the Live Music Capital of the World — our incredible local artists, historic venues, and a Cultural District that has been a home base for generations of musicians," said RRCD interim executive director Nicole Klepadlo in a press release. "This festival is more than music; it’s about preserving and evolving the culture and soul of our city."
Here's a list of the participating venues and artists, from A to Z:
2024 MUSIC VENUE LINEUP:
- 13th Floor
- Barbarella
- Cheer Up Charlies
- Chess Club
- Elysium
- Empire Control Room & Garage
- Flamingo Cantina
- Mohawk
- Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
- Swan Dive
- Valhalla
- Vaquero Taquero
2024 MUSIC PERFORMER LINEUP:
- 60 East & A.F.R.O. (All Flows Reach Out)
- ADLK Hermanos Flores
- Allwax
- Ampersand
- Art Versus Industry
- Banged Out
- Barb
- Being Dead
- Ben Buck
- Bubba Lucky
- Chancla Fight Club
- CHHK
- Christian Bland & The Revelators
- Demons My Friend
- Dottie
- Duel
- Eagle Claw
- Fawn
- Felt Out
- FONT (DJ set)
- French Film
- Froggy Style
- Geto Gala
- Gilded lows
- Glass Mansions (DJ Set)
- GOOD.
- Guiding Light
- haha laughing
- Half Dream
- Jet Cemetery
- Kiki Machine
- Kydd Jones
- Lauren Lakis
- Leche
- Leila Sunier
- Lola Tried
- Los Kurados
- Magic Rocker
- Marry Cherry
- Matador Sphere (Electronic Set)
- Megafauna
- Mindz of a Different Kind
- Movimiento Cumbia
- Next of Kin
- Oogwei
- Pax Laurel
- Pelvis Wrestly
- Prehuman
- Pussy Gillette
- Queen Serene
- Rattlesnake Milk
- Retro Cowgirl
- Ringo Deathstarr
- Rookie Park
- SexPop
- SINE
- sleep well.
- Strange Lot
- Subpar Snatch
- Suckling
- Sugar World
- Swift drag
- Telemetry
- The Crack Pipes
- The Irons
- The Stacks
- The Tiarras
- Tied Up
- Transit method
- Variety
- Vintage Pictures
- Zeus Apollo
"If you know any locals bands looking to perform, applications are still open," says RRCD publicist Trey Hicks. "Several venues are still booking their weekend lineups."
