Monday, April 27, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

live music

Greg AckermanReview

Live music review and photos: Walker Lukens at Antone’s Nightclub

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All photos: Brandon Sandler

Following a week-long taping of his Song Confessional series, Walker Lukens spearheaded with a variety of local acts including Hard Proof and Croy and the Boys at Native Hostel, the upstart indie musician played to a nearly full house at the legendary blues emporium,  Antone’s Nightclub in downtown Austin.

Lukens dropped his sophomore record, “Tell It To the Judge” to wide acclaim, getting name-checked at NPR and ABC News among other places. The singer collaborated with Spoon drummer and acclaimed producer Jim Eno at his Public Hi-Fi Studios. The album was also listed by our own editor as one of the best local albums of the year. Walker Lukens has got some serious momentum going. 

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Live music preview: Rival Waves to drop debut album Friday at Empire Control Room

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Austin rock band Rival Waves are dropping their first full-length album, Transducer this Friday, August 10 at Empire Control Room. The group was voted Artist of the Month by The Deli Austin readers in July. The band recently provided support for Young Rising Sons at 3TEN Austin at ACL Live. Cosmic Clash Presents even had the Joel De La Garza-led act on one of our bills before they unfortunately had to bow out last minute. We’re happy to have a hand in announcing their record release this week as a consolation prize. As a bonus, one of our local favorites, Darkbird perform with Midcentury rounding out the bill. It’ll be an energizing night of rock n roll for local music fans. 

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Live music review: Austin rockers Graveltooth introduced new album at Continental Club

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Story: Reed Brownlow & Greg Ackerman

Last month Austin rock and roll outfit Graveltooth, featuring former members of The Wheeler Brothers, The Madisons and Moving Matter took the stage at South Congress Avenue live music mainstay, Continental Club to a good-sized crowd for a mid-week, midnight set time. Right out of the gate, the group proved whether it be two or two hundred fans, that they were going to deliver a good time for fans. Brothers Evan and Dustin Bozarth are capable musicians joined by Curtis Pierce, Cameron Cummings and Keith Laudieri to form a rock and roll act with a hint of psychedelia thrown in.

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Greg AckermanReview

Live music review: Jawbreaker returned to Austin over 20 years later

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On Friday at the Long Center’s Skyline Theater, Jawbreaker played their only Texas show on the seminal Emo-punk band’s current tour and first performance in Austin in over 20 years. The venue which holds over 7,000 fans came close to selling out which says a lot about how this fringe but influential punk band from California garnered so much attention when they reformed last year. 

Jawbreaker is often cited as a precursor to more popular Emo bands Dashboard Confessional, Fallout Boy and Face to Face. The latter two often cite Jawbreaker as an influence. The group is perhaps the most influential band most people haven’t heard of. Yet, the Blake Schwartzenbach-led act is much more than just an Emo punk originator.

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Live music review: Jared Leto’s Thirty Seconds To Mars landed at COTA Saturday

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Saturday actor and musician Jared Leto’s band Thirty Seconds To Mars landed at the Circuit of the Americas’ Austin 360 Amphitheater (COTA) with Walk The Moon. K. Flay and Welshly Arms opened the performance. One might be skeptical about an Academy-award winning actor making popular music but Leto has been at it 16 years selling over 15 million records in the process.

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Greg AckermanReview

Live music review: Brit Floyd exceeded expectations at ACL Live last week

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Tribute bands are a strange phenomena. Of course we love Pink Floyd. Their pioneering psych-rock musical style pairs well with our own home-bred original Cosmic Cowboy, Roxy Erickson. But a group of talented musicians recreating Floyd’s Division Bell tour like Brit Floyd? Despite the success of the group which tours worldwide, we had our doubts about how the show would play out. In retrospect, our hesitation was unwarranted. The show was a smashing success. The music, lights and visuals were spectacular. As were the musicians who performed. If you have the chance to catch this production when it rolls through your town, you should. It’s worth the ticket price. 

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Live music review: Lee Fields and Tameca Jones put soul in Austin Ice Cream Fest After Dark party

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Hosting an ice cream-centered event during the unbearable hot months of summer here in Austin is a great idea. Complimenting the family-friendly daytime event with an After Dark program featuring soul singer Lee Fields & the Expressions with Austin’s reigning Queen of Soul Tameca Jones brought the popular fest to  a whole, new level as the Austin Ice Cream Festival did on Saturday at Fiesta Gardens in East Austin.

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