As the dog days of summer descend, the music industry shuts down. Enter Hot Summer Nights, the Red River Cultural District’s annual music festival that forgoes cover charges in order to keep clubs open and musicians paid. This year, the event promises free performances by Alexalone, Gummy Fang, Norman Ba$e, Porcelain, MsGold, Borzoi, and more, throughout our Downtown music epicenter. Make special note of the Chronicle’s Thursday party at Empire, featuring Moody Bank$, Daniel Fears, David Shabani, and DJ Kay Cali. After all, getting sweaty is a small price to pay to #DefendRedRiver. – Carys Anderson
July 18-20