Venus is the very bright star in the evening where the sun just set. Mercury in in the twilight between Venus and the sun. Jupiter is the very bright star almost due south at sunset. Looking to the left, there is a red star that twinkles, that is Antares. About the same distance in the same direction is a bright whitish star that does not twinkle, that is Saturn. Then, there is Mars. Mars is currently brighter than everything in the sky other than the sun, moon and Venus. Mars rises about midnight, and at sunrise in the AM, Mars will be a very, very bright red beacon of light low in the west that does not twinkle. It's a great time to be a planetary guy.
Mars will be directly opposite the sun on July 27. This is going to be the closest Mars has been to the earth since 2003 hence it is brighter than normal. Which makes the dust storm a pain in the ass for anyone wanting to take pictures of Mars; all we are getting right now is a featureless orange ball.