Hot Summer Nights turns Red River into a free three-day festival Thursday.

This is the week we have been pointing at since June. Hot Summer Nights takes over the Red River Cultural District Thursday through Saturday with more than 130 free sets across Mohawk, Stubb's, Chess Club, and a dozen other rooms. Before that, the Paramount runs one of its best film weeks of the summer, with Interstellar screening all week and a Hitchcock Wednesday in between. Singin' in the Rain keeps its free Thursday-through-Sunday run on the Zilker hillside. Highs sit in the mid to upper 90s with the humidity making it feel worse, so most of what follows happens after dark or indoors.

The marquee

• Thu July 16 through Sat July 18, music from 7:00 PM nightly · Free
  Hot Summer Nights
  Red River Cultural District (Mohawk, Stubb's, Chess Club, and more)
  The district's annual free festival is back with over 130 local artists, bands, and DJs across three nights, including Blakchyl, Glass Mansions, Heavy Velvet, Saint Judas & The Black Hymns, and Two-Legged Dog. Every show is free, which makes this the best value weekend on the Austin calendar. Daytime programming includes family yoga at Waterloo Park and an Austin Symphony brass quintet reading dinosaur books to kids, so it is not just a late-night thing.
• Mon July 13 through Mon July 20, evening showtimes · $15
  Interstellar, all week at the Paramount
  Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave
  The Summer Classic Film Series gives Nolan's space epic a full week on the big Congress Avenue screen, and the organ-heavy score belongs in that room. The rest of the week is stacked too: The Birds on Wednesday, a Spring Breakers and Daisies double feature Thursday, Monsters Inc and Idiocracy on Saturday. The house AC is aggressive, which in July is part of the ticket price.
• Thu-Sun, 8:15 PM (through Aug 15) · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical: Singin' in the Rain, second full weekend
  Beverly S. Sheffield Hillside Theater, Zilker Park
  Opening weekend drew the big crowds, which makes this the smarter weekend to go. The hillside is easier to claim, the cast has settled in, and the show reads the same from a half-empty lawn. Blankets by 7:30 gets you good sightlines any night this week.

Sunday · Tonight

• 8:15 PM · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical, Sunday show
  Zilker Hillside Theater
  As we said last week, Sunday is the quietest hillside night. Tonight closes the opening weekend.
• 4:00 PM · Free
  Chicken Shit Bingo
  Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon, Brentwood
  Cash for beer, a numbered square, and a chicken deciding your afternoon. Inside by 3:30 for a seat.
• 9:00 PM · No cover
  Sunday Honky Tonk
  White Horse, 500 Comal St
  Free two-step lessons at 8:30 if you need them.
• Open until 10:00 PM · $5
  Evening swim at Barton Springs
  Zilker Park
  The after-7 window is the move all week. The water holds at 68 degrees no matter what the afternoon did.

Monday–Wednesday

• Mon July 13, evening · $15
  Interstellar at the Paramount, opening night of the run
  Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave
  See the marquee. The Congress garages run cheaper after 6 PM.
• Mon July 13, 8:00 PM · $20
  Bob Schneider's Lonelyland
  Saxon Pub, 1320 S Lamar Blvd
  The long-running Monday residency. Arrive by 7:30 for a seat with sightlines.
• Mon July 13, 9:00 PM · $15
  Blue Monday with Soul Man Sam
  Antone's Nightclub, 305 E 5th St
• Tue July 14, 8:00 PM · No cover
  Two-step lessons at the White Horse
  500 Comal St, East Austin
• Wed July 15, 7:30 PM · $15
  The Birds at the Paramount
  713 Congress Ave
  Hitchcock in a 1915 movie palace. The balcony is the right seat for this one.
• Wed July 15, 9:30 PM · $10
  Jazz at the Elephant Room
  315 Congress Ave, Downtown
  The basement stays cool no matter what the pavement upstairs is doing.

Thursday–Friday

• Thu July 16, from 7:00 PM · Free
  Hot Summer Nights, opening night
  Red River Cultural District
  See the marquee. Thursday is the lightest crowd of the three nights, so it is the best one for actually getting into the smaller rooms like Chess Club.
• Thu July 16, 7:00 PM · Free
  Drop-In Summer Concert Series
  Long Center Lawn, 701 W Riverside Dr
  The free Thursday series continues through August 13. Blanket, 6:30 arrival.
• Thu July 16, 7:00 PM and 8:50 PM · $15
  Spring Breakers and Daisies double feature
  Paramount Theatre
  One of the stranger and better double bills of the summer series. Stay for both.
• Fri July 17, from 7:00 PM · Free
  Hot Summer Nights, night two
  Red River Cultural District
• Fri July 17, 8:15 PM · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical
  Zilker Hillside Theater

Next Saturday

• Sat July 18, from 7:00 PM · Free
  Hot Summer Nights, final night
  Red River Cultural District
  Saturday is the biggest night and the district will be shoulder to shoulder by 9. Pick two venues and commit rather than hopping.
• Sat July 18, daytime · Free
  Hot Summer Nights Market at The Liberty
  The Liberty, 1618 E 6th St
  Future Front Texas runs a pop-up version of its Front Market with local vintage, art, and handmade goods. A good daylight warm-up before the evening sets.
• Sat July 18, 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM · $15
  Monsters Inc, then Idiocracy
  Paramount Theatre
  Take the kids to the matinee, come back for Judge's Austin-made prophecy at 7.
• Sat July 18, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM · Free
  SFC Farmers Market at Republic Square
  422 Guadalupe St, Downtown
• Sat July 18, 8:15 PM · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical
  Zilker Hillside Theater

Next Sunday

• Sun July 19, 8:15 PM · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical, Sunday show
  Zilker Hillside Theater
  The quiet hillside night, again. Third weekend of the run.
• Sun July 19, 4:00 PM · Free
  Chicken Shit Bingo
  Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon, Brentwood
• Sun July 19, 6:30 PM · Free
  Sundown Sundays at Mueller Lake
  Mueller Lake Park

What we're drinking this week

• · $7
  Lone Star tallboy and a well shot
  Mohawk, 912 Red River St
  The correct Hot Summer Nights order. Cheap, fast, and the line moves even when the room is packed.
• · $12
  Frozen paloma
  Las Perlas, 405 E 7th St
  Two blocks from the Red River corridor, so it works as a festival pit stop with better tequila than anything inside the venues.
• · $10
  Ranch water
  Lustre Pearl, 94 Rainey St
  The Rainey Street porch catches whatever breeze the lake offers after 7.
• · $5
  Iced americano
  Fleet Coffee, 2427 Webberville Rd
  Small east-side room, serious espresso, and the right start to a morning you plan to spend outside.

Free this week

• Thu-Sat, from 7:00 PM · Free
  Hot Summer Nights, 130+ shows
  Red River Cultural District
• Thu-Sun, 8:15 PM · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical: Singin' in the Rain
  Zilker Hillside Theater
• Thu July 16, 7:00 PM · Free
  Drop-In Summer Concert Series
  Long Center Lawn

From the archive

The Zilker hillside guide we published for opening weekend is still the most useful thing on the site if you have not made it to Singin' in the Rain yet. Sightlines, the new paid parking situation, and why blankets beat chairs. The run goes through August 15, so there is time.

Looking ahead

• Wed July 22, 7:30 PM · From $30
  Austin FC returns from the World Cup break vs Seattle
  Q2 Stadium, 10414 McKalla Pl
• Mon July 20 · $15
  Interstellar closes its Paramount run
  Paramount Theatre
• July 23-26, 8:15 PM · Free
  Zilker Summer Musical, weekend four
  Zilker Hillside Theater

ATX Weekly tip

For Hot Summer Nights, do not drive into the district. Red River parking is scarce on a normal Saturday and nonexistent during the festival. Rideshare to 12th and Red River, or park in the Capitol-area garages north of the district and walk down. Venues fill one-in-one-out after 9 PM on Friday and Saturday, so if there is a set you care about, be inside the room a set early. Water is free at Mohawk's inside bar.

A free festival, a cold movie palace, and a musical on a hillside. July is doing its best. See you on Red River. — The ATX Weekly Editors