Greg Ackerman – The Cosmic Clash

Video premiere: SoundMass releases new single, prepares for SXSW 2026 shows

March 3, 2026 Greg Ackerman 83 Views 13th Floor, art rock, concert, Cosmic Plants Clash, day party, live music, My Education, new music, Play to the Plants, post rock, preview, progressive rock, song premiere, SoundMass, SXSW, Theta Naught, video premiere

On March 14, SoundMass will gather at The 13th Floor for Cosmic Plants Clash IV, the SXSW day party our publication and Play to the Plants has produced at the venue the past four years. We’ve invited the group, which is really two awesome post-rock bands, Austin’s my education and Salt Lake City’s Theta Naught combined. The merging of the two acts produces a powerful, orchestral style performance with rock instrumentation. With two of every instrument, the stage becomes crammed with talented musicians which is basically our ideal scenario. Today we’re premiering SoundMass’ latest single, “Last Gasp.”

Culture Greg Ackerman Preview

SXSW preview: Flatstock offers unparalleled free fine art show to fans

February 26, 2026 Greg Ackerman 449 Views Billy Perkins, culture, fine art, Flatstock, live music, poster art, preview, printmaking, South by Southwest, SXSW

As a purveyor of good music, The Cosmic Clash rarely discusses visual art as we’re usually busy telling readers about music we love. Fans already know, visual art is a relevant component of the independent music scene that matters to us. Flatstock, the fine art poster show that has been present at South by Southwest (SXSW) as long as we can remember. In fact, Flatstock has been around since their first exhibition in San Francisco in 2002. The show features hand-printed and limited-edition poster art by over 50 artists and studios from around the globe for sale – all of whom will be in attendance to interact with visitors directly. The location this year is new as the Austin Convention Center is a pile of rubble at the moment. The new location at Moonlight Exhibit Hall is in the Austin Marriott Downtown (304 E Cesar Chavez St.) on March 13-15, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Megafauna and Slomo Drags premiere singles, play Mohawk February 6

February 3, 2026 Greg Ackerman 689 Views 101X Homegrown, Andrew Cashen, Austin, DJ Dead Flowers, hard rock, indie pop, live music, Megafauna, mohawk, new music, preview, prog rock, psych-rock, rock n roll, Slomo Drags, song premiere, Transit Method

This Friday, January 6 Andrew Cashen and Disciples of Creation are set to headline Mohawk. We love Cashen’s solo act as well as his other projects, A Giant Dog and Tear Dungeon but we’re here to tell you about a couple of impressive singles dropping this week from veteran Austin acts, Megafauna and Slomo Drags who are on the bill with the singer. Both bands have new songs to share with fans while they prepare to release more material in 2026 and perform for fans Friday evening at the crown jewel of Red River Cultural District rock clubs. The entire bill is worthy of any real Austin music fan’s attention with the three aforementioned artists, along with Transit Method and DJ Dead Flowers. The whole shebang is presented by 101X Homegrown and show host John Laird who knows a thing or two about Austin music.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Mexico City rockers Los Blenders set to play 13th Floor on Saturday with Hidden Ritual

November 18, 2025 Greg Ackerman 1278 Views 13th Floor, Christian Bland, concert, garage rock, Hidden Ritual, latin rock, live music, Los Blenders, preview, psych-rock, rock en espagnol, rock n roll

You may be too young to remember the first wave of Rock en Espagnol that spread across North America in the 90s. Bands like Caifanes, Mana, Maldita Vecindad and countless others were heard across airwaves in the U.S. and across Latin America. For this writer, it was the first time we’d heard Spanish language music that rocked like the bands we loved to discover on college radio and cool stations like L.A.’s KROQ. We even attended a concert where Spanish and English-speaking rock bands shared a bill at Universal Amphitheater the oddly indoor venue at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The possibilities seemed endless. Fast forward to 2025 and Rock en Espagnol seems to have returned en force. Latin music is one of the fastest growing sectors in American music sales. Bad Bunny is slated to play the Super Bowl and killer garage-psych band, Los Blenders are coming to the 13th Floor in downtown Austin on Saturday. Tickets are still available for this underplay at the intimate Red River District venue.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Love is for Evermore benefit with Shinyribs, Sara Hickman at Radio East

October 13, 2025 Greg Ackerman 2122 Views alt-country, BENefit, Carruthers & Roush, concert, cosmic cowboy, Evermore, funk, Kevin Russell, live music, preview, R&B, Radio East, rock n roll, Sara Hickman, Shinyribs, singer songwriter, soul, Texas blues, The Bright Light Social Hour

Saturday, October 25 marks the third annual Love is for Evermore benefit at Radio East. The event supports Evermore, a national bereavement non-profit that advocates for benefits, education and resources for all Americans coping with the death of a loved one. One example is the group has gotten paid bereavment leave for military members. This year’s concert features Shinyribs, a rare live appearance by songwriter, Sara Hickman and special guests, Carruthers & Roush (members of The Bright Light Social Hour). There may even be some surprise guests onstage stage. Tickets for the event are currently on sale. There are VIP options which include a meet and greet with artists before the show.

Greg Ackerman Premiere Song

Song premiere: Starflake and AILA collab puts futuristic spin on Spanish classic Porque Te Vas

September 16, 2025 Greg Ackerman 2329 Views AILA, alternative rock, Austin Music, dance music, indie pop, Jeanette, new music, Porque Te Vas, post-punk, song premiere, Spanish music, Spanish pop, Starflake

Austin act Starflake featuring Jackie O’Brien of The Bright Light Social Hour has collaborated with Mexican turned Austin artist AILA on a futuristic update to Jeanette’s classic Spanish song, “Porque Te Vas” (1974). O’Brien who is founding bassist and vocalist of TBLSH also operates their Escondido Sound studio where he tracked this impressive update to an iconic Spanish pop song. Today, the premiere of the new version of the track is being presented here. The song can be found wherever you stream music.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Review

Live music review: Psych Lake City rocked with The Groanies, Seeking the Sun and Musor

August 26, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3498 Views Cumbia, Cumbia fusion, funk, garage rock, latin rock, live music, Musor, prog rock, psych-rock, punk, Review, Seeking the Sun, terror funk, The Groanies, Urban Lounge

One of the aspects of the Salt Lake City music scene that can be appreciated is the strong foundation provided for cutting edge local acts provided by venue operators like annual Urban Lounge event Psych Lake City which took place August 15-16 at the popular downtown spot. Eleven years in, this mini-fest has consistently showcased up and coming psych-rock acts along with psych-adjacent artists. This year’s edition was a perfect example. The Cosmic Clash was on hand for the second evening of performances, as The Groanies, Seeking the Sun and headliners, Musor rocked Urban. The showcase put a spotlight on the quality of young acts SLC has to offer.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: MeadowFest Saturday at Far Out Lounge to benefit SIMS Foundation

August 20, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3788 Views BENefit, Brownout, Cha Keeta B, Far Out Lounge, funk, Girl in A Coma, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Hip Hop, live music, Meadow E Goodman Foundation, MeadowFest, Mobley, music festival, Night Drive, preview, punk, SIMS Foundation

This Saturday, September 23 the punk to funk, MeadowFest benefiting music mental health organization, The SIMS Foundation takes place at Far Out Lounge and Stage in South Austin. The event is the brainchild of the Meadow Goodman Foundation for Mental Health Awareness and Austin music professional and SIMS Foundation Advisory Board Member, Adrienne Lake. The festival bill is a who’s who of Austin music led by funk fusion acts, Golden Dawn Arkestra and Brownout.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: The Levitation 2025 schedule dropped with lots more artists

August 19, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3657 Views Good Looks, Laveda, Levitation, live music, Mastodon, night shows, Palmer Events Center, Pile, post-punk, preview, psych-rock, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, schedule announce, Skloss, The Black Angels, TV on the Radio

Last Friday, the original psych-rock focused music festival, Levitation dropped their 2025 daily schedule along with a couple of additions to the bill in for the main fest programming at Palmer Events Center and 14 acts were added to the Night Show bills. Austin bands, Daiistar, Skloss, Good Looks and Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol joined the party as did Cosmic Clash show veterans Laveda (NYC). The humble Austin music fest that began as Austin Psych Fest in 2008, rebranded in 2016 as Levitation eventually expanding to four days of cutting-edge programing at venues throughout Austin.

Semihelix HSN 2025 13th Floor Troy Gonzales

Greg Ackerman Live Music Photos

Live music photos: Hot Summer Nights featured Andrew Cashen, Semihelix, Portrayal of Guilt and more

July 31, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3722 Views Andrew Cashen, Austin, Bruce, Como Las Movies, glam rock, gospel, hard rock, Hot Summer Nights, HSN, live music, metal, Mujeres Podridas, Pearl Z, photos, pop rock, Portrayal of Guilt, prog rock, psych-rock, Queen Serene, Red River Cultural District, rock n roll, Semihelix, Sexpop, shoegaze, Stop Motion Orchestra, Team Trust, The Bottomless, Troy Gonzales

The Red River Cultural District’s cover-free Hot Summer Nights event took place last weekend in venues all over the downtown neighborhood July 24-26. Nearly 150 primarily Austin-area artists took to the stage at Mohawk, 13th Floor, Elysium, Chess Club and a dozen other RRCD venues. This is the eighth year the neighborhood organization has organized the event which spawned from its original sister event, Free Week which takes place the first week of January each year. Resound Presents founder, Graham Williams is credited with originating that event while he was working as a talent booker at the original Emo’s on Red River and Sixth Street. featured in this photo story is Andrew Cashen and Disciples of Creation, shoegaze/psych rockers, Queen Serene, Pearl Z, Sexpop, Mujeres Podridas, Stop Motion Orchestra, Portrayal of Guilt, Semihelix and lots more.

Hawt Dawg Fest 3 2025 contestants Troy Gonzales

Greg Ackerman Live Music Photos

Live music photos: Hawk Dawg 3 with Tear Dungeon, Queen Serene and Dregs

July 17, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3871 Views Andrew Cashen, Dregs, garage punk, hard rock, Hawk Dawg 3, hot dog eating contest, live music, mohawk, photos, psych-rock, Queen Serene, shoegaze, Tear Dungeon

An ignominious event, Hawk Dawg 3 took place on a rainy July 4 at Red River Cultural District favorite Mohawk with a hot dog eating contest that left no wiener untouched. The Cosmic Clash even had staff photographer and writer Drew Doggett joining the fun with our man trying to stuff as many dogs into his face as possible (evidence below) but the main event of the day party which got going at 4 p.m. was headliners, Tear Dungeon, fronted by Andrew Cashen (A Giant Dog, Andrew Cashen and the Disciples of Creation) with a bevy of well-known local players did their best ATX approximation of shock rock acts like Gwar complete with masks, spewing blood, mosh pits and stage dives. Fellow local acts, Queen Serene and Dregs joined the party.

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