Friday, March 6, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

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Reviews

Blackwater Holylight Radio East Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Blackwater Holylight drew diehards in droves to Radio East Tuesday

Case Cockrell

The industrial area of southeast Austin carries a unique vibe. With no gentrification within yelling distance (or amplified music distance) in our case, there’s not much worry about noise complaints and the fuzz coming with the decibel reader to dock the venue for “Rock and roll mischief.” For Los Angeles-based via Portland shoegaze outfit Blackwater Holylight, an early-week bill on Tuesday evening at Radio East drew Austin diehards in droves to experience the Austin Psych Fest alums alongside local favorites, Glassing and The Well. With new LP Not Here Not Gone showcasing their multi-layered brand of luscious psych-infused soundscapes, the Blackwater quintet accounts for all the sounds that make up their dreamy biome.

atmosphere 3 acl live drew doggett
Brian HillsmanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Atmosphere Winter Carnival at Moody Theater ACL Live was a hip hop showcase

Brian Hillsman
Orchid Mohawk Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Screamo legends Orchid led stacked bill at Mohawk

Case Cockrell
Live music review: legendary Austin act Soulhat played holiday show at Continental Club
Brian HillsmanLive MusicReview

Live music review: legendary Austin act Soulhat played holiday show at Continental Club

Brian Hillsman
Swans Mohawk Troy Gonzales
Live MusicReviewTroy Gonzales

Live music review: Swans played final big sound performance at Mohawk

Troy Gonzales 2728 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Legendary experimental rock band Swans returned to Austin on September 10 to play Mohawk for what is being touted as the group’s final full band tour.  in support of Birthing, their 17th studio album. Bandleader, Michael Gira has stated that the record would be the last “big sound” Swans album, with future releases from the band being “significantly pared down” and that it would mark his last album as the main producer of Swans. For music fans who made it to Mohawk earlier this month, it was a bittersweet moment from artists who have deeply influenced various experimental music genres since their inception in 1981. 

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Lola Tried PR photo
Becky RodriguezReviewSong

Song review: Austin act Lola Tried released single off new EP, Hot Shot Barbie

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“And just like that…” Austin’s rock four-piece, Lola Tried released the latest single on September 8 for their EP, Feast which dropped four days later. As this is the fourth EP release for the long-running local act, “Hot Shot Barbie” is clear in its effort to build upon their power pop, garage, and indie rock background and make giant leaps toward revamping and further evolving their sound with the upcoming record.

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LEV18 Roger Ho
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven more must see bands at Levitation 2025

Case Cockrell 2165 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The 2025 edition of Levitation is coming up fast. Each year, Austin’s The Black Angels and trusted booking powerhouse Rob Fitzpatrick cast star-studded lineups that never disappoint the 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 during the festival takeover at Palmer Events Center and venues throughout the Austin area. Set times and tickets can be found at the Levitation website for fans to plan their schedule to see all the music they can throughout the weekend. 

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Levitation The Black Angels Roger Ho
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven must see bands at Levitation Festival 2025

Case Cockrell 3468 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Levitation Festival 2025 kicks off next week (September 25-28), with a new and improved location in tow and an array of artists to make this year’s installment one of the best yet. Festival organizers The Black Angels and famed booker and promoter Rob Fitzpatrick have chosen none other than Palmer Event Center to showcase the main festival programming, complete with two stages for the weekend of all-star cast performances. The festival will also feature late-night shows throughout the Austin area, including all the Red River Cultural District venues that have been part of the festival since transitioning to a multivenue format in 2018. The Cosmic Clash will be attending for the long weekend and has curated a list of must-sees for the weekend’s multi-genre music happenings. Night shows are sold separately, so move fast to avoid getting shut out of the post-Palmer programming. Set times can be found via the Levitation website. Hit the link at the top of the story to grab tickets. VIP passes are sold-out. There are still some GA tickets available.

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Xqtevasfinals-1983 Andrea Escobar
Greg AckermanPremiereSong

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

Greg Ackerman 2332 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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. 

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Ranking Joe
Brian HillsmanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: upstart Remo Fest to feature reggae acts from Texas and beyond

Brian Hillsman 2815 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Upstart reggae music event, Remo Fest ‘25 will take place at Hill Country Caribbean Vybez on Saturday, September 20, in Blanco, Texas.  Doors at the second-year reggae festival open at noon, with music kicking off at 2 p.m. The Caribbean music vibes continue until 11 p.m. 

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Acid Bath PR photo
Live MusicPreviewRobert Dean

Live music preview: Levitation Can’t Miss with Acid Bath

Robert Dean 2958 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

One of the biggest draws to this year’s Levitation Festival in Austin this month is New Orleans’ swamp weirdos, Acid Bath. If you’re reading this and underground metal with a Louisiana flair ain’t in your wheelhouse, lemme get you right: this is the band everyone at the festival can’t miss.

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DAWA 6 PNG landscape poster
Brian HillsmanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: DAWA benefit to feature Killer Mike of Run the Jewels at Radio/East

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There is some big news for Austin music fans this weekend. This Friday, September 12, Atlanta-based MC, Killer Mike (Run the Jewels), will headline Radio/East as part of the first DAWA fest. DAWA (Diversity Awareness and Wellness in Action) is celebrating their sixth anniversary is an Austin-based non-profit dedicated to providing opportunity to historically marginalized, underserved creative communities. Riders Against the Storm bandleader and former city Music Commission Chair Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone conceived the organization to directly fund BIPOC community frontliners via direct giving and thoughtful projects like DAWA Studios which provides a place for creatives to film and record with equipment provided by the upstart NPO which was founded in 2019.

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Spoon-landscape- 4 Moody Amp Angela Betancourt
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Indie rock legends Pixies and Spoon played Moody Amphitheater

Case Cockrell 3203 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Indie rock legends come in many forms. Whether you’re discussing the likes of Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, or Guided By Voices, someone in the room is going to eventually bring up The Pixies. Hailing from Boston and now entering their 40th year, the prolific songwriting of singer and guitarist Black Francis remains influential. For their 2025 North American tour, the Northeastern outfit enlisted the help of hometown heroes Spoon, making a sensible pairing of two leading musical entities in their respective birthplaces. For the Austin stop on the run, the double-headline bill made its way to Moody Amphitheater on Saturday, September 6, a sweaty occasion that made it all about the music. 

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King Yosef 29th St Ballroom Justin Clark
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: King Yosef with Street Sects or How TikTok kids found real Industrial music

Robert Dean 3765 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The kids are all right. For a while there, it seemed like the industrial scene was dead as disco, but after catching Austin’s Street Sects open for King Yosef and Youth Brigade at the 29th Street Ballroom Wednesday night, it’s a fair take to conclude that something’s bubbling up in the industrial scene like it did with hardcore and punk, with waves of new, young fans finding the music, in part to being chronically online. The underground is finding its way, even if it’s via TikToks and Instagram blowing bands up – whatever, it’s better than Sabrina Carpenter

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Mark Lanegan via ML
OpinionRobert Deansongwriter

Opinion: Mark Lanegan should be in same conversation as our greatest songwriters

Robert Dean 3784 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

I get that Jeff Buckley is beloved. I know people with tattoos of his lyrics. Listening to it, I was taken to a place of feeling like, it was too dated for me, that I felt like people loved this record for its mythology of Buckley dying young and tragically more than the actual musical weight of the record, that his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” made him so deep. It got me thinking about hype, legacy, and ultimately, Mark Lanegan.

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