could care less about the Cuervo Games (tequila scares me). But the event caught my ear because there’ll be a great lineup of live music during the festivities, capped off by an hour-long set at 9 p.m. by local reggae masters John Brown’s Body (JBB to the lazy). The best part is, it’s free. Just make your way over to City Hall Plaza, buzz optional. Dropkick disciples the Swaggerin’ Growlers play at 5:30 and the Rival Sons hit at 7 p.m. Find out more about the Cuervo Games here.

If you want an additional dose of JBB, but scaled back to the basics, you can always check out Dub Apocalypse Sundays at Bull McCabe's in Union Square. The group features a rotating cast of musicians, but is usually anchored by JBB drummer Tommy Benedetti on the kit, provided he’s in town (and he will be this weekend). A large family of musicians keeps this night alive, which is as organic as it gets—players will sometimes stroll in for a drink and minutes later be handed an instrument. Regulars include most of JBB, guitar ace Johnny Trama of Nate Wilson Group and various other acts (Wilson also sits in from time to time), Dopapod keys player Eli Winderman, and Timo Shanko of Special Sauce (a.k.a G. Love’s band) on sax. Some nights the lineup takes the shape of the B3 Kings. It happens every Sunday at Bull’s, and Benedetti had a lot to say about the scene during an interview at Nateva. Stay tuned to Hearin’ the Hub for more on Dub Apocalypse.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s even more free JBB for the taking. To cash in, head to the band's website to find two new albums up for grabs. I’m happy to see a high-quality live recording of the band’s hometown throwdown at House of Blues earlier this year. PBR pounders may have got the best of me that night, but this free download serves as a perfect refresher.

JBB also offers an eight-track spring sampler of a few of the finer things they’ve been dabbling in of late. You can snag that offering here.

While I’m at it, here’s some more local music you can get for free. Support these artists by seeing them live and paying the covers and by sharing the music with friends.

John Shade's debut album, the smartly titled All You Love is Need, is available for free on the local indie singer’s website. His approach is much like the modern-day folksters—all the Bon Ivers of the world—but there are also refreshing throwbacks to Dylan and Eliot Smith sprinkled in.

The Live Music Archive

The Live Music Archive is the one-stop-shop for recordings from artists who support the free bootleg trade. There are enough recordings in the archive (80,597 and counting) to keep you busy for decades (all while padding the numbers in your iTunes collection). Here is a trio of solid shows by a few of my favorite local acts. Each week I’ll share a new tape. You can also find shows by popular bands like the Grateful Dead, Ween, String Cheese Incident, STS9, and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Club d’Elf

Almost all of the trance jazz-collective’s shows are recorded and mastered with top-notch equipment. You can also snatch up recordings of Public House, another project that d’Elf leader Mike Rivard plays with. The free shows are a nice start, but the guys in Club d’Elf are masters of sound, so I’d suggest buying their astutely produced studio album Now I Understand next time you’re at a show. Here’s one of my favorite d’Elf shows on the archive. Anytime you have Duke Levine and Dana Colley in the same room it’s always a treat.

Rubblebucket

Rubblebucket stormed onto the upstairs stage at the Middle East on a cold night and brought the heat for a two-hour set, forcing people to dance when there was barely any room to move their arms. Luckily someone was there to tape it. Check out this ultra-crisp recording to get a feel for what it was like. Sweat not included.

Nate Wilson Group

This has been a strong and steady year for Nate Wilson Group. The psychedelic band with classic-rock muscle has already played a handful of shows at the Lizard Lounge. Here’s a copy of its latest effort from my favorite basement in town.

Thanks to Rich Gastwirt for a great shot of JBB from the House of Blues earlier this year. Check out all of his galleries on Facebook and make sure you become a fan while you’re there.