Austin's two-day donation-based music festival is right around the corner, and a new lineup announcement means people now know who they'll be kicking off 2026 with. Free Week comes to the Red River Cultural District (RRCD) on January 9 and 10.
A press release tallies the lineup at more than 80 local bands across 14 venues. Austin has tons of music showcases that highlight local music, but Free Week and its nearly identical summer, twin Hot Summer Nights, lead the pack thanks to a large pool of participating artists and an organic feeling from hopping neighboring venues.
This time, the festival promises "one of the most dynamic and discovery-driven Free Week lineups to date." More than half of the artists will be playing the festival for the first time.
As the name suggests, Free Week is technically free. However, the event is a fundraiser as much as a local music discovery tool: donations go to the Red River Cultural District, a nonprofit that works on behalf of the famous downtown street full of music venues and other businesses, which then pays the artists and keeps additional funds for other programming throughout the year. Food and drink sales and business sponsors also help Free Week run smoothly.
Top artists featured in the release are:
- Billy King & the Bad Bad Bad
- Chancla Fight Club
- Good Looks
- Me Nd Adam
- The Bright Light Social Hour
- haha laughing
- Judiciary
- Gentlemen Rogues
- Little Mazarn
- JD Clark
- Suxxy Puxxy (DJ Set)
- Duel
- Paige Plaisance
- Kind Keith
The rest of the lineup, in alphabetical order, is as follows:
Free Week 2026 lineup.Graphic courtesy of the Red River Cultural District
This year's poster seems to nod to Free Week's origins in 2003, at the original Emo's.
New this year, Kingdom and Feels So Good (FSG) have joined the venues list (after making their Hot Summer Nights debuts this summer), and attendees can expect a "much stronger DJ and club presence than in years past."
“Free Week has always been about uplifting our hometown musicians, but this year’s lineup takes that mission even further,” said RRCD executive director Nicole Klepaldo in the release. “With so many first-time performers and such a broad mix of cultures represented, this festival truly embodies the spirit of discovery. Free Week is the perfect place to find your new favorite band, while celebrating the local scenes that make Austin unlike anywhere else in the world."
Attendees curious about how much support Free Week generated in 2025 can check out the publicly available impact report. The festival paid out more than $30,000 to local musicians and led to more than $200,000 in local economic investment. The festival was originally created to stimulate the local music economy during slow months, so these statistics are a central point in its existence.
More information about food and drink specials is coming later. Free Week usually has skip-the-line passes that people can purchase in advance, but so far they are not listed on the event website.
