AUSTIN, Texas — Every year, Free Week brings thousands of people to bars and live music venues in Downtown Austin.
"It's just a great time for people to check out new bands that they might not have seen and come to new venues that they might not have experienced before,” said Chris Prorock, manager of Empire Control Room & Garage.
Free Week started just over 20 years ago as a way to keep local businesses busy during this typically slow part of the year.
"After the holidays, it's a bit of a challenging time because, you know, people are a little strapped from the holidays. So, obviously, having free shows and just – it's generating lots of business,” Prorock said.
RELATED:
This year, over 80 artists performed at 13 live venues downtown. Prorocks said Empire was grateful to see the turnout.
"It was explosive. It was excellent. Like, we were almost at capacity every night," he said.
He said this year in particular was better than most.
“Obviously, after COVID, it was a little down. But this last year was a big resurgence,” Prorock said. “I firmly believe we're back.”