Another low-cost weekend of up-and-coming local music is in the works for Austin in the new year. Free Week, a donation-based festival across the Red River Cultural District, is scheduled for January 9 and 10, 2026.
Austinites may have gotten a recent taste of the festival while attending its seasonally diverse sibling, Hot Summer Nights, from July 24-26. Free Week is the same with less sweating, and during a part of the year when there’s really not much going on downtown; that was part of the initial idea, when Free Week was developed to drive revenue for venues during a slow season.
At the same time that venues are getting help, artists are being paid through donations and sponsors, making Free Week a mutually beneficial structure for those who decide to participate. The audience gets the best deal of all, sampling from a huge lineup all within about a mile.
Venues and artists are still to be announced. Venues likely won’t contain many surprises, as most are regulars for the recurring festivals. Presumably, series regular Cheer Up Charlies will still participate, but we’ll see how its recent acquisition by a national investment group affects things, if at all.
A press release says attendees should expect 100+ artists, many of whom are also regulars. Austin-based bands, artists, and DJs can apply to play at free week via Google Forms. The beauty of Free Week is its readiness to platform very small local artists, so this is a great place for newer performers to try connecting with a wider audience.
Some bands who played Free Week (and Hot summer Nights) in recent years have new material out, so we’d love to think J’cuuzi, Daiistar, and Dossey might show up on the lineup next to many other personal faves.
CultureMap will share updates about Free Week 2026 as more information becomes available.