Live music preview: Six bands to see as Levitation returns to multi-venue format

Levitation returns to Austin September 10-13. Founded by members of The Black Angels and rooted in the city’s psych scene, the fest outgrew that single genre label a long time ago, with lineups running doom metal, darkwave, punk, and electronic acts alongside the psychedelic elements. After centering 2025 at Palmer Event Center, it’s back to the multi-venue format that’s anchored the fest since 2018. The Far Out Lounge & Stage on South Congress carries 2026’s main programming, with showcases scattered across downtown filling out the rest. Here’s who’s worth building your schedule around curated by The Cosmic Clash team. 

Main programming was originally set for Radio/East in an expanded two-stage layout. The city rejected their permit application. Levitation has no choice but move the main hub to Far Out Lounge’s massive backyard. Lineups and set times remain unchanged. Tickets and set times are on the Levitation website. 

For out of Austin travelers: This time of year is hot for Central Texas. Plan to stay hydrated and pace yourself throughout the weekend to ensure a good time. 

Thursday

Doom Gong – The 13th Floor – 12:50 a.m.

Kentucky’s Doom Gong has been one of neo-psychedelia’s names to know in 2026, spreading mostly by word of mouth through various bands’ forums, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s included. The seven-piece self-styled “denim psych” act keeps a packed tour schedule and makes its Levitation debut this year. Most of the band met studying music at the University of Louisville and have kept a steady release pace since hitting the road. Their 2025 LP MEGAGONG shows them tightening up the compositions and giving their psych roots a prog edge. Their late bill at 13th Floor also has Greenway Records’ Spacemoth. Greenway and Reverberation Appreciation Society share a head of operations in Harry Portnof, which makes this a fitting way to close out night one.

Friday

Grocery Bag – The Far Out Lounge & Stage – 5 p.m.

After getting rained out at this year’s Austin Psych Fest in April, local psych-punk troublemakers Grocery Bag are back for the fall edition and an overdue makeup set. They open a stacked bill with riot-grrrl legends Bikini Kill and Austin’s own Die Spitz, setting day one of main programming up as a mosh pit from the jump. Grocery Bag has logged several cross-country tours, including a full run opening for Australia’s Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. Between 2026 EP Deadvolt and full-length debut Break You, their star keeps rising.

Melt Banana – The Far Out Lounge & Stage – 7:10 p.m.

Formed in Tokyo around 1991, noise rock duo Melt Banana have spent three decades reshaping themselves, working experimental rock, electronica, and pop structures into a sound that’s still theirs alone. Vocalist Yasuko Onuki and guitarist Ichirou Agata have a discography that runs close to ten albums deep and counting. Live, the songs run into each other with almost no dead air between cuts. One of Friday’s loudest sets. Don’t miss it.

Temples – Mohawk – 11 p.m.

Levitation and Austin Psych Fest regulars Temples land on Red River for a late set. Their 2014 debut Sun Structures was a genre-defining record for the neo-psych underground and has kept the band a fixture at Levitation ever since. This year they put out Bliss, a full-length the band produced together for the first time rather than leaning on frontman James Bagshaw alone, as on past records. Temples’ sun-baked rock and roll has helped shape where the genre’s gone, and this set is a must.

Each Mohawk showcase will also feature an activation from Marshall amplifiers showcasing a new product line for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s 60th anniversary of using the coveted brand. To celebrate and showcase these limited-edition products, ticket holders are invited to an immersive Marshall x Hendrix 60th Anniversary Collection listening room experience, along with screenprinting by Feels So Good (FSG), a record pop-up with Waterloo Records, limited-edition Marshall x Hendrix merch giveaways, Hendrix-themed cocktails, and more.

Saturday

Automatic – The Far Out Lounge & Stage – 8:50 p.m.

Austin Psych Fest alums Automatic are back. The LA trio formed in 2017 and built a name on high-energy shows blending psychedelia with post-punk. They’ve shared stages with Bauhaus, Tame Impala, Idles, and Parquet Courts, and their sound reaches well past neo-psych while keeping the immersive, thought-out lyricism that’s their trademark. Automatic signed to Stones Throw Records in 2019, the same label behind classics from J Dilla, Madlib, MF DOOM, and King Gizzard collaborators Mild High Club. Automatic will release their third record Is It Now? on September 26, 2026 on Stones Throw.

Sunday

Primitive Ring – The Far Out Lounge & Stage – 9:50 p.m.

Between them, Charles Moothart and Bert Hoover have credits in Fuzz, Hooveriii, GØGGS, and Groop, so this one’s going to hit hard. The two have been L.A. psych scene fixtures for years, and with Hooveriii drummer Jon Modaff behind the kit, Primitive Ring delivers everything Levitation regulars show up for. Their self-titled debut dropped May 15, 2026 on In the Red, and they’ve barely stopped touring since. They played King Gizzard’s Field of Vision II last month, bringing the same wall of fuzz to Buena Vista that they’ll bring to Austin. Moothart and Hoover both know this city well from their other projects, and that comfort should make Primitive Ring one of the highlights of Levitation’s final day.

Featured photo by Pooneh Ghana courtesy of Levitation