If you like music and don’t like paying to hear it, Atlantic City is the place to be this summer. OK, you have to pay, big time, to see Dave Matthews and friends this weekend. But plenty of good acts are performing for free.

   First, there is a “Mardi Gras” series on the Boardwalk, with 13 shows featuring jazz and blues from the Big Easy. On top of that, the Alantic City library along with the city are sponsoring a series of international performances on Wednesday nights starting July 6. All events take place at Kennedy Plaza, in front of Boardwalk Hall near the Trump Plaza.

   Most of the Mardi Gras shows will be on Mondays, starting at 6:30 p.m. But the July 4 show will be held a day early, and there will be shows on August 15 and 16 tied to the Atlantic City Airshow. For a complete schedule and more information, go to  WWW.TONYMART.COM.

   The city’s fourth-annual series of  hour-long programs will be held Wednesday nights in July and August, starting at 7 p.m.

   July 6 will be Latin jazz and salsa, July 13 will be Chinese music and dance, Celtic music will be played on July 20,  Eastern European music will be played on July 27, on August 3 West African music and dance comes to the stage, Philipino music and dance will be performed Aug. 10, Korean song and dance will be performed Aug. 24, and Italian song, dance and stories will be performed Aug. 31.

   So if you’re losing in the casinos, or want an after-dinner show on the boardwalk for free, stop on by. And don’t forget the Chicken Bone Beach jazz shows on Thursday nights.

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