Author: Case Cockrell

Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Wizard Rodeo proved memorable mini-fest at Sam’s Town Point

Wizard Rodeo is an eclectic musical gathering founded by San Antonio country-rock staple Garrett T. Capps, Little Mazarn’s Lindsey Verrill,

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Spaceflight Records party at Radio East featured The Black Angels, Nolan Potter and more

For the 5th anniversary of Spaceflight’s opening, the Austin-based music centerpiece threw a party at the year-old Southeast Austin venue Radio/East on December 6 with signees Anastasia Hera and Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band, featuring a headlining outing from none other than Austin psychedelic mainstays, The Black Angels. 

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AlbumCase CockrellReview

Album review: White Denim record 12 out today is a passionate return to form

Since the release of 2023’s Raze Regal & White Denim Inc. in collaboration with guitarist Regal, who also plays in Austin staple Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band, fans have been eagerly awaiting the newly California-based musician’s next entry in the long-running indie rock song machine. Fortunately for White Denim loyalists, the time has arrived for the Austin to Los Angeles band to release their 12th full-length album, fittingly titled 12. This newest batch, engineered by the singer and guitarist himself and mixed by former drummer Josh Block and mastered by Dallas-Fort Worth musician Jordan “Jorts” Richardson, is Petralli’s first in his new SoCal studio, and feels like a passionate return to form. 

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Holiday Hootenanny with Danny Brown, HEALTH, Of Montreal, Water From Your Eyes set for December 14-15

Resound Presents’ annual winter formal returns this year with a two-day event set to take place on December 15 and 16 with a worthy lineup to ensure Austin music fans send off their year with a bang. The 16-band excursion dubbed the “Holiday Hootenanny,” is an enormous opportunity to see the up-and-coming and well-established talent with many acts that have torn through Austin in 2024 as show favorites as the stacked concert calendar in town has continued to unfold. The event is also co-presented by all-star concert photographer Pooneh Ghana and famed local radio station KUTX. The annual programming will take place at the multi-stage Radio/East, located in South Austin, one of the city’s most exciting new venues

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Wizard Rodeo festival is set for year four with thoughtfully curated eclectic bill

The annual Wizard Rodeo music festival returns to The Long Time Sandlot for another year of folk-oriented fun on December 7. An eclectic lineup put together by San Antonio country rock sensation and Lonesome Rose venue owner Garrett T. Capps, Little Mazarn’s Lindsey Verrill, and The Long Time owner Jesse Ebaugh, Wizard Rodeo promises a celebration that defies all the current era’s normalities with a genre-spanning music lineup, art installations, and multiple stages, (Including one located inside of an onsite boarding house, go figure.) The booked talent will showcase the widespread creativity of Central Texas and beyond.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: King Gizzard played marathon three hour set at Germania Amphitheater

The trek out to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas racetrack where Germania Amphitheater is located is a daunting one. From taking in an hour of traffic, ludicrous drink prices, and baffling ticket expenditures, the Formula 1 Racing spot has most Austin music fans disinterested in driving out to the sticks to experience its monstrosity. (17 miles outside of the downtown area to be exact.) In last Friday night’s case, fans of a certain Australian band made an exception.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Day 3 and 4 of Levitation wrapped with standout performances by The Sword, Wine Lips and more

Levitation Festival 2024 soared into the weekend with its expected triumphant intent. Every Halloween weekend, fest producers The Black Angels and show runner Rob Fitzpatrick never miss the mark in serving music fans both the hot up and comers and the legacy acts that paved the way for those new acts to take form. The Cosmic Clash team witnessed the annual extravaganza from its Thursday kickoff until the closing moments and picked out our favorite highlights that lit up the weekend to make up one of Levitation’s most landmark years yet. With a multi-venue format that requires fans to jump from show to show to get the most out of their experience, there isn’t a shortage of music to see, which makes a statement for both the robustness and openness of the Austin music sphere.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Day one and two of Levitation brought world’s best independent acts to Austin

The first two days of Levitation Festival 2024 featured multiple stacked bills for a plethora of packed venues in the downtown Austin area and beyond. The Cosmic Clash team was in attendance to capture the action and highlighted some of our favorite acts that made their way to Austin for the action-packed Halloween weekend. From the Red River Cultural District to South Austin, the carefully curated talent brought their best for the masses that flock to the local music joints to watch the coveted Black Angels produced weekend with some of the independent music world’s best acts.

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Case CockrellInterviewsLive Music

Interview: Austin stoner metal act The Sword talk return, Austin scene, weed, to play Levitation this weekend

Revered Austin metal act The Sword is back and locked in for a performance on Sunday at Levitation Festival in Austin, Texas. The doom act announced their breakup in 2022 after 19 years as a band and fans have been feigning for a reunion ever since. The local heavy act will close out the Black Angels-produced festival with a headlining set at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre in the Red River Cultural District in the downtown area and will be joined by local acts Gran Moreno, The Well, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, and also famed proto metal act, Pentagram. Frontman/guitarist John D. Cronise, bassist Bryan Richie, drummer Jimmy Vela, and lead guitarist Kyle Shutt all showed up to deliver their insight on why it made sense to come back. To get a feel on how the band returned and what the quartet has been up to in the interim, we sat down with them after their rehearsal and discussed what the reunion means and how it all came together.

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven more bands to see at Levitation 2024

The 2024 edition of Levitation is coming up fast this Halloween weekend. Each year, Austin’s The Black Angels and trusted booking powerhouse and Festival Director Rob Fitzpatrick continue to deliver star-studded lineups and cutting edge acts that never disappoint local and out-of-town music fans traveling to Austin for the annual multi-venue programming. The Cosmic Clash team is here to provide another list of bands you need to see over the four-day festival takeover at venues all over the Austin area. Fans have the option of purchasing access to the entire lineup or purchase individual shows. Set times and tickets can be found on the Levitation website for fans to plan their daily excursions to see all the music they can throughout the weekend. 

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music preview: Six bands to see at LEVITATION 2024

World-renowned psychedelic Austin musician Roky Erickson once said, “At one time, I had it notarised that I was from another planet. By a lawyer.” Regardless of whether that makes sense or not, Erickson’s legacy still holds true in the city of Austin, Texas. We’re decades removed from the 60s, but folks like Austin’s The Black Angels and their proxies have kept his legacy alive by delivering endless programming of neo-psych rock utopia.  Festival founders Rob Fitzpatrick and The Black Angels’ Levitation is back this Halloween weekend for yet another multi-venue installment, and the booked talent continues to deliver a factor of “Wow.” The Cosmic Clash team will join the festivities yet again and is here to prescribe another list of bands you need to see for the end-of-October festivities. All set times can be found on the Levitation website.

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