Live music photos: Hot Summer Nights featured Andrew Cashen, Semihelix, Portrayal of Guilt and more

July 31, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3723 Views Andrew Cashen, Austin, Bruce, Como Las Movies, glam rock, gospel, hard rock, Hot Summer Nights, HSN, live music, metal, Mujeres Podridas, Pearl Z, photos, pop rock, Portrayal of Guilt, prog rock, psych-rock, Queen Serene, Red River Cultural District, rock n roll, Semihelix, Sexpop, shoegaze, Stop Motion Orchestra, Team Trust, The Bottomless, Troy Gonzales

The Red River Cultural District’s annual cover-free Hot Summer Nights event took place last weekend in venues all over the downtown neighborhood July 24-26. Nearly 150 primarily Austin-area artists took to the stage at Mohawk, 13th Floor, Elysium, Chess Club and a dozen other RRCD venues. This is the eighth year the neighborhood organization has organized the event which spawned from its original sister event, Free Week which takes place the first week of January each year. Resound Presents founder, Graham Williams is credited with originating that event while he was working as a talent booker at the original Emo’s on Red River and Sixth Street. Featured in this photo story are Andrew Cashen and Disciples of Creation, shoegaze/psych rockers, Queen Serene, Pearl Z, Sexpop, Mujeres Podridas, proggy-jazz act Stop Motion Orchestra, metal purveyors Portrayal of Guilt, Como Las Movies, Semihelix and lots more.

“Hot Summer Nights is more than just a music festival – it’s a homegrown solution to keep our creative economy alive during one of the slowest times of year,” said Nicole Klepadlo, Executive Director of the Red River Cultural District and Festival Director for Hot Summer Nights. “Every show you see is powered by a local band, a local venue, and local workers getting paid to do what they love – something every fan gets to be part of, for free. That’s the true spirit of Red River.”

We’ve linked each performing act to their Bandcamp page or proprietary website below. Check out their music. Always buy records and merchandise directly from artists whenever possible to show your support. For an added boost, purchase music and merch via Bandcamp the first Friday of each month (tomorrow) when the platform waives the fees it charges artists to sell on the platform.

All photos by Troy Gonzales for The Cosmic Clash. Mr. Gonzales is currently using a Nikon D7200 camera.

Andrew Cashen and the Disciples of Creation

Portrayal of Guilt