The first Free Week — featuring more than 15 local bands, over four days at four different venues, plus a kickoff party — is almost here. Organized by Do502, with the purpose of getting people out of hibernation in January and establishing an annual event that has the opportunity to take on a life of its own, Free Week has an incredibly eclectic lineup.
Tuesday, January 27, LEO is presenting a kickoff party — which you can RSVP for through Do502’s website — at Haymarket Whiskey Bar, with innovative musicians Cher Von and Shedding starting at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 28, things move to The New Vintage, where Coliseum, Xerxes, Parlour, The Foxery and Black God provide a jolt of hardcore-heavy energy.
Thursday, January 29, Zanzabar takes over, with A Lion Named Roar, Lydia Burrell, Discount Guns, Satellite Twin and Six Bells rounding out a night that runs the spectrum of indie rock.
Friday, January 30, Headliners hosts The Hot Wires, Graffiti, Black Birds of Paradise and New Bravado, a bill that hits quite a few angles of scrappy garage rock.
Saturday, January 31, The Mercury Ballroom closes Free Week with a local hip-hop showcase that features 1200, Jalin Roze, Touch AC & The Smoke Shop Kids and Shadwpact, which is an airtight lineup of some of the best in the region.
Before everything starts up, we caught up with four of the acts — Coliseum, A Lion Named Roar, The Hot Wires and 1200 — who all play on different nights, to see what some of the musicians who are making this possible are currently up to.
