What's Free Week? My friend MichaelE from SonicItchMusic.com has the lowdown for you!
Being the "Live Music Capital" of the world, the perpetual buzz of bands taking to the stage only comes to a subdued hum for a couple of weeks each year as the holiday season sets on the city, only to roar out of its slumber on Jan 1st when the annual Free Week begins. For those not familiar with Free Week, it's like a mini SXSW, but for locals only. A giant celebration of Austin bands and music taking place in a handful of venues mostly around the Red River strip, for a little more than a week actually, and for..free. That would be 10 days of some of the best local music in some of your favorite venues, all within a short walk of each other, at no cost to you.
Graham Williams began Free Week about 6 years ago when he was with Emo's, and carried on the tradition when he started up his own Transmission Entertainment which books The Mohawk, Red 7, and Club De Ville. The tradition has since grown legs and spread to include several other venues around town, with the newest editions for 2010 including Stubb's Jr and The Parish. While not all venues are planning shows for every day of Free Week, Emo's and The Transmission Entertainment venues and Emo's both have their schedules full for most of the 10 days providing plenty of opportunity to take advantage of this generous offer. With much time spent on catching as much as possible of the constant stream of touring acts, Free Week presents the perfect opportunity to catch up on the rich offerings in local talent.
Some notables that are on SonicItchMusic list for the week:
Brazos @ Mohawk (outside) Thur 1.7 - Martin Crane and Co. quietly remain on the lips and minds of many with the latest release Phosphorescent Blues.
Mothfight! @ Emos (inside) Thur 1.7 - Arcade Fire spawned a new attention to bands with many instruments and just as many players slowly edging out guitar fronted rock than many of us still love. You just might be a fan.
T-Bird And The Breaks @ Mohawk (outside) Sat 1.9 - Black Joe Lewis might be the reigning king of bluesy rock inspiring ass shakin, but T-Bird And The Breaks are just as inspiring and the band has it's pretty face as well. Lady singers always help.
UME @ Emo's (inside) Fri 1.8 - If you missed their Mohawk performance early during Free Week, and speaking of guitar rock. Get there early for a bill full of 2010 hopefuls with The White White Lights,The Authors, and Speak. Get there really early for the bluesy punk of Follow That Bird playing the first slot on the outside stage.
And there's a ton more of great stuff to see during Free Week....Give it a whirl, it's free!