Monday, September 14, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

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Levitation 2023 Daniel Cavazos
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven more bands to see at Levitation 2026

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Levitation 2026 is coming up fast, and with programming scattered across Austin, a tight plan is a necessity if you want to catch everything worth catching. The festival will take place over a four day stretch on September 10 – 13, bringing a wide variety of bands to build a packed fest experience. The festival traces back to The Black Angels and founder Rob Fitzpatrick, who’s kept the lineups deep and eclectic year after year. Here’s another round of seven bands curated by The Cosmic Clash team worth building your schedule around. Set times and tickets are on the Levitation website.

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Frankie-poonehghana-3 54839662528_fcbae8aa44_k (1)
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six bands to see as Levitation returns to multi-venue format

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Levitation returns to Austin September 10-13. Founded by members of The Black Angels and rooted in the city’s psych scene, the fest outgrew that single genre label a long time ago, with lineups running doom metal, darkwave, punk, and electronic acts alongside the psychedelic elements. After centering 2025 at Palmer Event Center, it’s back to the multi-venue format that’s anchored the fest since 2018. The Far Out Lounge & Stage on South Congress carries 2026’s main programming, with showcases scattered across downtown filling out the rest. Here’s who’s worth building your schedule around curated by The Cosmic Clash team. 

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Erykah Badu and The Alchemist PR photo
AlbumBrian HillsmanPreview

Album preview: Erykah Badu and The Alchemist to release collab album, “Sorry, we don’t have an album title yet.”

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On Friday, August 28, famed singer and performer Erykah Badu and legendary DJ and producer The Alchemist will release their highly anticipated collaborative album, currently titled, Sorry, we don’t have an album title yet. The LP marks the first full-length release from Badu in 16 years.

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annabellecharilegs4 APF 2026 Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music preview: Hot Summer Nights promises Austin music discovery this weekend

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The annual Hot Summer Nights in the Red River Cultural District of Austin is a RRCD-sponsored event that features hundreds

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Bong Wizard band photo 2026
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Stoner metal act Bong Wizard comes to Aces High Saloon Wednesday

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This Wednesday, July 1, Houston stoner metal act Bong Wizard comes to Salt Lake City metal haven Ace’s High Saloon. The power trio will bring new music from their latest, Transylvanian Munchies which was just released four days ago. The group is essentially a parody band, taking black metal classics and making them their own with sludgy, doom metal treatments to the songs. The thing is, despite Bong Wizard’s irreverence, their music is perfect for fans of crushing, downtrend riffs. Tickets for their show with Simian and GRGL are available directly from Ace’s website.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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