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Corrosion of Conformity 8 Far Out Lounge Justin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity rocked Far Out Lounge

Case Cockrell

It’s July in Texas. means it dsis a season of hiding inside until the deadly laser we call the sun disappears before even remotely considering an outdoor venture. Outdoor shows in Austin are a tall order, but for the return of North Carolina metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity, exceptions can be made. The Raleigh heavy-hitters made their way to South Austin on July 8 at The Far Out Lounge & Stage to deliver a career-spanning set, backed by an opening bill that paved the way in furious fashion. During an usually slow season for live music, both older heads and the young ones made their way to the homegrown Austin backyard for some metal riffs on a sweaty Wednesday night.

Patrick Sweany 3 Lisbon Robert Dean
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Lisbon shared Fado, Patrick Sweany and incredible food

Robert Dean
Billy Srings ACL TV 2 Jesse
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Billy Strings returned to stage for Austin City Limits TV taping

Case Cockrell
Shakey Graves 2 UAF 2026 Ryan Odom
Greg AckermanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Shakey Graves headlined Utah Arts Fest Saturday with a huge crowd

Greg Ackerman
Corrosion of Conformity 8 Far Out Lounge Justin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity rocked Far Out Lounge

Case Cockrell 117 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

It’s July in Texas. means it dsis a season of hiding inside until the deadly laser we call the sun disappears before even remotely considering an outdoor venture. Outdoor shows in Austin are a tall order, but for the return of North Carolina metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity, exceptions can be made. The Raleigh heavy-hitters made their way to South Austin on July 8 at The Far Out Lounge & Stage to deliver a career-spanning set, backed by an opening bill that paved the way in furious fashion. During an usually slow season for live music, both older heads and the young ones made their way to the homegrown Austin backyard for some metal riffs on a sweaty Wednesday night.

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Patrick Sweany 3 Lisbon Robert Dean
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Lisbon shared Fado, Patrick Sweany and incredible food

Robert Dean 506 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Lisbon, Portugal, is a complex, strange place. It’s somewhere else — a city of hills that murder your legs and drug dealers on every tourist block asking if you want to buy a bag of blow, and then, around the corner, the most amazing views and pastel de nata bubbling out of half the storefronts. The city moves uphill, so by nature it forces you to slow down, to stop, to have a drink, to think, to make your people wait just a moment. The food is incredible and the Portuguese are charming. After my first rip into a bifana pork sandwich among chattering locals who yelled for more beers, Add magical Fado performances and an unexpected Patrick Sweany gig and I realized Lisbon was a place I’d think about for the rest of my life.

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Billy Srings ACL TV 2 Jesse
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Billy Strings returned to stage for Austin City Limits TV taping

Case Cockrell 790 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Flat-picking mega star Billy Strings returned to the stage for his first full-band gig since April after busting his leg doing an ill-fated skateboard trick backstage at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. After an unintentional break, Strings and his associates returned to ACL Live for Season 52 of Austin City Limits TV. For each consecutive season of the long-running PBS program, there is a show or two that sees high demand, with tons of hopeful fans waiting in line hoping to get a spot for the coveted performances. This was one of those tapings, as Billy’s return has been highly anticipated after a slew of cancellations following the injury in the spring. Despite arriving onstage on crutches and having not played a show in several months, things got right back to business for one of the most revered guitarists making his way around the touring circuit.

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Bong Wizard band photo 2026
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Stoner metal act Bong Wizard comes to Aces High Saloon Wednesday

Greg Ackerman 721 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

This Wednesday, July 1, Houston stoner metal act Bong Wizard comes to Salt Lake City metal haven Ace’s High Saloon. The power trio will bring new music from their latest, Transylvanian Munchies which was just released four days ago. The group is essentially a parody band, taking black metal classics and making them their own with sludgy, doom metal treatments to the songs. The thing is, despite Bong Wizard’s irreverence, their music is perfect for fans of crushing, downtrend riffs. Tickets for their show with Simian and GRGL are available directly from Ace’s website.

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Wild Heaven band photo
PremiereSongTroy Gonzales

Exclusive – Song Premiere: Wild Heaven single Dust In The Night Sky officially drops June 26

Troy Gonzales 491 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

With extreme pleasure The Cosmic Clash has been asked and accepted to premiere and review the new single from Austin psychgaze act Wild Heaven, which is set to be released on June 26. It’s the first single from their upcoming sophomore album due in 2027 and the first to include their new guitarist Blake Bowles. The song is produced by Matt Parmenter and recorded at his Ice Cream Factory Studio.

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Shakey Graves 2 UAF 2026 Ryan Odom
Greg AckermanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Shakey Graves headlined Utah Arts Fest Saturday with a huge crowd

Greg Ackerman 528 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

On the 50th Anniversary of Utah Arts Festival, Salt Lake City’s premier annual arts event chose to host Austin folk-Americana artist, Shakey Graves on Saturday, June 21 on the street adjacent to Library Square in the downtown civic center area. As huge fans of Graves’ since his return to Austin from Los Angeles where he was pursuing an acting career we’ve seen his steady ascent in music.

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Paper Sister band photo
AlbumBecky RodriguezReview

Album Review: Austin’s Paper Sister release dreamy and punchy Quiet Betrayals EP

Becky Rodriguez 440 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The new record, Quiet Betrayals is the first EP release by the four-piece band from Austin, Paper Sister. Combining elements of shoegaze and post-punk, dream pop, and indie alt rock, the 6-track EP highlights selected singles over the past couple years, with some releases as recent as April of this year. The  dreamy and punchy EP featured a release party presented by 101X Homegrown Live at The 13th Floor on May 29 with French Film, Feedr, and Variety to celebrate the group’s new recording.

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The DLC stage courtesy of Concert Archives
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Five bands to see at The DLC’s first Pogo Fest

Greg Ackerman 761 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

One of the cooler spots to check out live music in Salt Lake City is The DLC, a small-capacity live music venue situated inside Quarters Arcade Bar downtown in the heart of SLC’s nascent live music corridor.  The room is intimate, cool and you can battle your homie at Mortal Kombat after the show. This Saturday, June 20 the venue is hosting their first ever Pogo Fest to highlight the great psych-rock and similar acts the venue is booking. Aside from The DLC the area includes venues; International Artists Bar, and SLC Pub . Those locations along with a an outdoor stage at Exchange Place will serve as the four stages for Pogo Fest which is highlighting psych-rock and psych adjacent acts from Salt Lake City for the most part. We picked out five bands to see from the 20-plus artists line-up for SLC concertgoers. The mini-fest is an ideal way for local fans to get to know some of the better up and coming acts playing the growing Salt Lake music scene. Advance tickets are available via 24 Tix.

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Shakey Graves by straydog media
Greg AckermanInterviewsLive Music

Interview: Austin artist Shakey Graves is coming to Utah Arts Festival with a great new record

Greg Ackerman 754 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

When The Cosmic Clash got to Salt Lake City one of the first annual events we heard about was the Utah Arts Festival. We were duly impressed that a city SLC’s size, invested so heavily in visual art, music and literature. There were panels, live music and tons of visual artists represented. It seemed like the story of Salt Lake’s Mormon monoculture was exaggerated fiction. In town, at least culturally it kind of is. The city founded by Mormons has more similarities to Austin, Texas than it does to the Vatican; Blue dot in a red sea, state capitol, big public university north of downtown? Sounds like ATX. We learned the UAF is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, doubling down on quality musical headliners including Austin’s own Shakey Graves. The singer and songwriter performs June 20 (Saturday) early on in his recently launched tour supporting his new record, Fondness, Inc.

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Big Dumb Fest 4 crowd surfers Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Rickshaw Billy’s Big Dumb Fest Four invaded Mohawk again

Case Cockrell 772 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Annual traditions by Austin bands make the city unique. The Black Angels have Levitation, Big Bill hosts the Big Bill Ball, and Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol runs Big Dumb Fest. For its fourth year, the band  curated a heavy lineup across both Mohawk stages in the Red River Cultural District. Along with booking standout bands, Rickshaw ensures fans arrive early and stay late by collaborating with local food spots like Bad Larry Burger Club, Epic Jerk, and Busty’s to keep energy high. After returning from a tour with American Sharks (also on Saturday’s bill), Rickshaw kicked off another successful year of Big Dumb Fest, channeling undeniable energy in their tribute to their hometown.

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Courtney Barnett 8 Radio East Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett is back with a new record

Greg Ackerman 738 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Australia has long produced standout rock talent – Amyl & The Sniffers, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Chats, and legacy legends AC/DC among them, proving rock and roll thrives down under no matter what generation is listening. For Melbourne’s Courtney Barnett, the past decade yielded indie rock anthems full of emotional honesty and millennial angst. With 2026 LP Creature of Habit marking her first full-length since 2021, Barnett reunited with her band to feed live music fans once again. She opened her North American tour in Austin at Radio East on Friday night with a rain-soaked evening of sing-alongs and good vibes.

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