Thursday, June 25, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

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The DLC stage courtesy of Concert Archives
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Five bands to see at The DLC’s first Pogo Fest

Greg Ackerman 570 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

One of the cooler spots to check out live music in Salt Lake City is The DLC, a small-capacity live music venue situated inside Quarters Arcade Bar downtown in the heart of SLC’s nascent live music corridor.  The room is intimate, cool and you can battle your homie at Mortal Kombat after the show. This Saturday, June 20 the venue is hosting their first ever Pogo Fest to highlight the great psych-rock and similar acts the venue is booking. Aside from The DLC the area includes venues; International Artists Bar, and SLC Pub . Those locations along with a an outdoor stage at Exchange Place will serve as the four stages for Pogo Fest which is highlighting psych-rock and psych adjacent acts from Salt Lake City for the most part. We picked out five bands to see from the 20-plus artists line-up for SLC concertgoers. The mini-fest is an ideal way for local fans to get to know some of the better up and coming acts playing the growing Salt Lake music scene. Advance tickets are available via 24 Tix.

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Shakey Graves by straydog media
Greg AckermanInterviewsLive Music

Interview: Austin artist Shakey Graves is coming to Utah Arts Festival with a great new record

Greg Ackerman 595 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

When The Cosmic Clash got to Salt Lake City one of the first annual events we heard about was the Utah Arts Festival. We were duly impressed that a city SLC’s size, invested so heavily in visual art, music and literature. There were panels, live music and tons of visual artists represented. It seemed like the story of Salt Lake’s Mormon monoculture was exaggerated fiction. In town, at least culturally it kind of is. The city founded by Mormons has more similarities to Austin, Texas than it does to the Vatican; Blue dot in a red sea, state capitol, big public university north of downtown? Sounds like ATX. We learned the UAF is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, doubling down on quality musical headliners including Austin’s own Shakey Graves. The singer and songwriter performs June 20 (Saturday) early on in his recently launched tour supporting his new record, Fondness, Inc.

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Crowd shot KBP 2024
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six bands to see at Kilby Block Party 2026

Greg Ackerman 1852 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Utah’s most exciting music festival, Kilby Block Party is entering its seventh year in 2026 with its most ambitious lineup to date. The fest runs May 15-17 at Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City.  It feels like this unassuming fest which began on a closed-off road behind Kilby Court, the beloved DIY venue it’s named for has become something else entirely with a lineup featuring a pop star (Lorde), a rocker turned pop star (Hayley Williams) and a melodic hardcore act (Turnstile) which shows just how far this independent music fest has come in a relatively short time. Rather than focus on the obvious headlining sets to profile, we’ve selected seven bands to see at KBP 2026. Before we dive in, fans should know some ticket options are already sold-out or nearing sold-out. If you’re considering attending, grab tickets here.

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CultureLivePreview

Live event preview: Fairy Fest 420 or No Tech Bros at the Altar of Frankie G

Robert Dean 1059 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

And at the altar of groove, with her candles burning bright, is Frankie G, Austin’s Grand Madame of the Night. She’s a little bit Elysium — our beloved goth institution — but also lurid, international, mysterious, and a girl’s girl who wants to upend the system. Her parties go viral because she curates them for energy, for women to feel like goddesses and the algorithm is noticing. Monday’s upcoming Fairy Fest at Pease Park is a good example. The 420 themed party has this description on their ticketing page:

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Killer Kaya Free Week 26 Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six SXSW 2026 day parties music fans should show up for

Case Cockrell 2226 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

What’s South By Southwest (SXSW) without daytime shenanigans? For each year’s SXSW installment, different activations pop up all over the city to bring SX-goers daytime programming before things switch over to an all-official format. These “Day Parties” mostly feature cover-free programming, sometimes featuring official SXSW artists who give non-credentialed music fans opportunities to join in the festivities during the week. All listed events occur between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m., are free for attendees, require no badge, and are subject to capacity. Make sure to RSVP for seamless entry to the events. For a larger list of SXSW day parties, head to our curated list of the best events to hit up. 

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Nug the band PDX
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six more buzz bands to see at SXSW 2026

Case Cockrell 2570 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The 2026 South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival is days away. The roster of music festival artists can seem overwhelming at first glance. With a lineup that can satisfy every kind of music lover, The Cosmic Clash is bringing you six more buzz bands you should put on your list for the upcoming long week of music in Austin. All set times, along with venues, can be found on the SXSW website and the SXSW GO mobile application.

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SoundMass overhead shot
Greg AckermanPremiereSong

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

Greg Ackerman 1542 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.”

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26_SXSW_Flatstock_1080x566
CultureGreg AckermanPreview

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

Greg Ackerman 2263 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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. 

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APF 2025 day 3 Oscar Moreno
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Austin Psych Fest returns to Far Out May 8 with stacked lineup

Case Cockrell 1239 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Austin Psych Fest returns this Spring on May 8 – May 10 to the Far Out Lounge & Stage, bringing yet another Spring festival edition to South Austin and a stacked three-day lineup. The 3-day festival will feature APF legacy acts and underground picks that showcase yet another year of reverberation appreciation from the Austin homegrown festival. The lineup features acts from all over the world to commemorate its fourth Spring edition since the return to an annual Springtime, one-location, two-stages, no-overlap festival experience. This one is a music fan’s dream format. All tickets can be purchased on the Levitation website.

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Megafauna 2026 Michael Worchel
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

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

Greg Ackerman 1272 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

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Matt Pryor courtesy of Matt Pryor
Live MusicPreviewRobert Dean

Live music preview: Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids is coming to 13th Floor

Greg Ackerman 1744 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

I have a deep love for The Get Up Kids. Their 1999 classic Something to Write Home About is an all-timer for me—one of those records that somehow still hits the same decades later. (I’ve been caught hoarse-singing along to “Action-Action” more than once in my life.) So when word came down that frontman Matt Pryor is dropping back into town, armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar, I was immediately in.

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