Elysium – The Cosmic Clash

Parker Woodland Free Week 26 Troy Gonzales

Live music review: Free Week returned in 2026 with cover free showcases

January 13, 2026 Case Cockrell 1346 Views Austin Music, Cheer Up Charlie's, concert, Cormae, Elysium, Emo rock, Free Week, Grocery Bag, J'Cuzzi, jam band, Je'Texas, Killer Kaya, Lauren Lakis, live music, mohawk, Mountain Time, Parker Woodland, power pop, psych-rock, punk rock, Red River Cultural District, Review, rock n roll, shoegaze, Stubb's, Super Snatch, Swan Dive

Free Week returned to the Red River Cultural District last weekend, marking another successful year of cover free showcases that benefit local businesses throughout downtown Austin. The RRCD non-profit presents Free Week to keep venues and other establishments running during the slow period in both the service and music industries for employees and musicians until the Spring. With 80+ artists across 10+ venues, Free Week 2026 proved a massive success, as thousands attended to welcome yet another year in the vibrant Austin scene. The Cosmic Clash team participated in both days of the festival and wanted to highlight what stood out to us about the extravaganza.

Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Free Week starts January 9 with over 80 bands

January 6, 2026 Case Cockrell 991 Views 13th Floor, Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad, concert, Cormae, Elysium, Free Week, Grocery Bag, live music, Mineral, mohawk, Mountain Time, music festival, Parker Woodland, preview, Red River Cultural District, RRCD, Stubb's, The Bright Light Social Hour, The Oxys, Valhalla

Free Week in Austin’s Red River Cultural District returns this coming weekend on January 9 and 10, bringing yet another array of cover-free showcases to the downtown area to kick off 2026 with live music from the city’s fruitful scene. The event will feature a baker’s dozen venues and over 80 performing artists to showcase Austin’s nightlife. The RRCD is managed by the Red River Merchants’ Association, a coalition of over forty local small businesses found within the District, which include not only live music venues, restaurants, hotels, retail shops, and other small businesses, but also the Austin Symphony Orchestra, First Baptist Church, German-Texan Heritage Society, and Waterloo Greenway.

Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Six showcases to see at Hot Summer Nights in Austin this weekend

July 23, 2025 Case Cockrell 4143 Views 13th Floor, Cheer Up Charlie's, Chess Club, Como Las Movies, Elysium, Empire Garage, Farmer's Wife, Font, Foxtales, Genuine Leather, Hot Summer Nights, HSN, live music, mohawk, Mugger, Mujeres Podridas, Nolan Potter, Nuclear Daisies, Palefade, Portrayal of Guilt, preview, Pussy Gillette, Queen Serene, Red River Cultural District, Redbud, Sexpop, So Many Cults, Stop Motion Orchestra, The Opera

Hot Summer Nights (HSN) in the Red River Cultural District of Austin is an annual RRCD-sponsored event that features hundreds of local artists performing across the downtown area. Each showcase will not charge a cover at the door, meaning dozens of free showcases akin to the annual Free Week, which takes place the first week of every January. HSN runs July 24 – July 26 and will feature talent from all over Austin and surrounding areas. Venues participating in the event include Mohawk, Chess Club, Cheer Up Charlie’s, Empire Control Room & Garage, and The 13th Floor among several others. For the three days of packed, free live music programming, The Cosmic Clash team has curated a list of showcases we think attendees will want to catch while wandering the streets of Red River during the free festival. Hot Summer Nights will also feature participating food vendors to keep you full and energized throughout the event.

Live Music Preview Robert Dean

Fashion Feature: Roi Hernandez of Elysium has vision for large sized men’s styles with House of 1912

September 13, 2024 Robert Dean 2413 Views Austin Fashion Week, clothing, club, Elysium, fashion, fashion design, feature, goth, House of 1912, rock and roll, Roi Hernandez, style

Because art moves with the flow of the thoughts of outsiders looking inward, it’s no surprise that Austin-based designer Roi Hernandez’s House of 1912 is getting acclaim around Texas fashion circles. It will also not be a shocker when he gets his due credit in bigger fashion circles. Roi doesn’t come from a fashion background; he came from the music industry. Hernandez is key leadership staff at Red River club, Elysium. He decided to make clothes for more prominent men because he wanted to see them dressed better than boxy nightmares with Hawaiian print or corny t-shirts splashed with faded X-Men comic book covers or a Mountain Dew logo. Instead, he’s reclaiming what goth is, which is something that’s not whatever Hot Topic is peddling – a reflection that even though clothing may be considered “goth,” everything doesn’t have to always be black and spooky.

Adam Wood Live Music Review

Live music review: Free Week in Austin provides fans endless music discovery opportunities

January 22, 2024 Adam Wood 3426 Views Chancla Fight Club, Cheer Up Charlie's, Deadleg, Death Party, Dragon Rapid, Elysium, Free Week, Hotel Vegas, live music, Mockjaw, mohawk, Neckbolt, Red River Cultural District, Review, Valhalla

Red River Cultural District’s Free Week is an absolute blessing, one of the many (though, according to some, rapidly diminishing) monuments to the weird and wonderful Austin of lore. Over the course of two bustling nights, this year’s edition (and the 21st since the festivities began in 2003) saw 80+ bands flaunt their talents on stages throughout Red River and beyond

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Moondance pre-New Year’s Eve party featuring Trouble in the Streets to benefit Other Ones Foundation

December 26, 2023 Greg Ackerman 2422 Views afro-beat, Elysium, live music, Moondance, Past Lives, preview, rock n roll, The Other Ones Foundation, Trouble in the Streets

There’s an event featuring a trio of local talent from the folks who run Moondance. The pre-New Years Eve Party

Case Cockrell Review

Live music review: Xiu Xiu brought unbridled experimentation to Elysium Friday

April 11, 2023 Case Cockrell 3157 Views Blank Hellscape, Deep Cross, Elysium, experimental, hardcore, industrial, Jamie Stewart, live music, Oblivion Access Fest, Review, XIU XIU

California’s Xiu Xiu is a band transcending many different musical concepts and genres. Xiu Xiu brought their unbridled experimentation to Elysium on Friday.

Review Robert Dean

Live music review: Black Flag at Mohawk and Combichrist at Elysium Saturday

March 27, 2023 Robert Dean 4635 Views 13th Floor, Black Flack, Combichrist, Elysium, Greg Ginn, Khost, live music, Mike Vallely, mohawk, Review

I wanted to clown on this current incarnation of Black Flag. I really did. Going into the show on Saturday at Mohawk, my expectations were low. When a legendary band has gone through a cadre of lineups over the years, it’s hard to get excited when Greg Ginn is the only original member up there chugging away on the hits that are so influential to our lives.

Mike Cosmic SXSW 2012

Japan Nite! The ZZZ’s , Vampillia at Elysium, SXSW 2012 – The Cosmic Clash

March 20, 2012 Mike Cosmic Cota 923 Views Elysium, Japan Nite, Mike Cosmic, Music Images, SXSW 2012, Vampillia, ZZZ's

Japan Nite at Elysium featured punk, metal and rock n’ roll bands from Japan. Mixing up Japanese culture, some hard core stage antics and you get something that is super awesome!