Jazz in July: There’s still more than a week of free jazz concerts at venues around Des Moines, put on by the Metro Arts Alliance. 6:30 p.m Wednesday: Dave Rezek’s Alpha State Agents, Living History Farms, 2600 111th St., Urbandale.; 6:30 p.m. Thursday: FreeStyle, Mondamin Presidential/Chautauqua Park Neighborhoods, 16th Street and Allison Ave.; 6:30 p.m. Friday: The Jazz Page, Beaverdale Park, 34th Street and Adams Ave.; 5 p.m. Saturday: Uplift Quartet & The Brian Holtz Band with Janey Hooper, Sixth Avenue Corridor, 1600 Sixth Ave.; 6:30 p.m. Sunday: Fred Gazzo Band, Johnston Commons, 6700 Merle Hay Road, Johnston. 6:30 p.m. July 26: Equilateral, Cornerstone Credit Union, 414 61st St.; 6:30 p.m. July 27: World Port, Hispanic Educational Resources, 828 Scott Ave.; 6 p.m. July 28: Salsa Vibe, Jordan Creek Amphitheater, 101 Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines.
No fees: Ticketmaster fees can be a killer, but if you buy tickets to a $25 show at the box office for the Val Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines, or Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave., it will actually cost $25. Put that $15 in fees you just saved toward a beer or three. valairballroom.com and hoytsherman.org.
Cheap shows: Raccoon River Brewing Co. (raccoonbrew.com), 200 10th St., El Bait Shop (elbaitshop.com), 200 S.W. Second St. and Mullet’s (mulletsdm.com), 1300 S.E. First St. regularly have free live music, while Vaudeville Mews (vaudevillemews.com), 212 Fourth St., House of Bricks (thehouseofbricks.com), 525 E. Grand Ave., and The Gas Lamp (gaslampdsm.com), 1501 Grand Ave., have $5 shows several nights a week.
