psych-rock – The Cosmic Clash

Live music review: Ripplefest Six Goes Doom for a Weekend at Far Out Lounge

September 30, 2026 Case Cockrell 250 Views concert, doom metal, doom rock, Far Out Lounge, Friendship Commanders, Gran Moreno, Greenleaf, Howling Giant, Kal-El, Khemmis, live music, Luna Sol, music festival, psych-rock, Review, Ripplefest, rock n roll, Sagebrush, Solace, stoner rock, Unger, Witch Ripper

Ripplefest returned to South Austin’s Far Out Lounge September 17 through 20 for its sixth year of doom metal excess. The crowd came ready for all the sludgey riffs they could handle. Founded by Ryan Garney of Lick of My Spoon Productions, the festival has built a name as a family reunion for the stoner doom metal scene, pulling bands in from across the globe. The Cosmic Clash team was on the ground for all the Ripplefest action. Here’s what stuck with us.

Live Music Review Roger Stafford

Live music review: supergroup Stick Men with Oogwei at 13th Floor

September 29, 2026 Roger Stafford 284 Views 13th Floor, live music, Markus Reuter, Oogwei, Pat Mastelatto, prog rock, psych-rock, Review, rock n roll, Stick Men, supergroup, Tony Levin

What could bring out a crowd of experienced music lovers on a hot, sticky Tuesday, September 8 night? The progressive mastery of Stick Men. With Tony Levin on Chapman stick, Markus Reuter on touch guitar and Pat Mastelotto on drums, they are one of those three piece bands that somehow create a much larger sound than should be possible. The trio played a well crafted and substantial set supporting their September release of Let’s Thrak Again. This album is a direct descendant of King Crimson’s Thrak and that relationship set the musical agenda for the evening.

Cabaret Voltaire by Pooneh Ghana for Lev 26-07988

April Dawne Live Music Review

Live music review: Peter Hook, Cabaret Voltaire thrilled at Far Out Lounge for Levitation 2026

September 17, 2026 April Dawne 664 Views Cabaret Voltaire, electronic musc, Far Out Lounge, goth music, indie rock, Joy Division, Levitation, Levitation 2026, live music, music festival, New Order, Peter Hook, psych-rock, Review, rock n roll

I like to think of myself as a diehard rock and roll lover who does what she can to see and do all the things. Sometimes that’s easy and sometimes life gets in the way. Be it money problems, work schedules, personal issues, you name it, they come up as reasons not to leave the house, much less attend a music festival, but when it’s one of your favorite festivals, Levitation which took place last weekend in Austin, you find a way to rally.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live Music Review: Reverb Appreciators Survived the Heat at Levitation 2026

September 16, 2026 Case Cockrell 585 Views 13th Floor, Angine de Poitrine, Automatic, Cabaret Voltaire, darkwave, DITZ, Doom Gong, Earth Tongue, Far Out Lounge, Gus Baldwin, Iguana Death Cult, indie rock, Leviation, live music, mohawk, Molchat Doma, music festival, Peter Hook, Primitive Ring, psych-rock, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Review, shoegaze, Spacemoth, Stubb's, Temples, The Well, Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats

Levitation Festival returned to Austin this past weekend (September 10-13), bringing a stacked international lineup back to a multi-venue format for its 2026 edition, with showcases scattered across the city. The bill pulled in longtime regulars, first-time festivalgoers, and a handful of acts making their first Central Texas appearance since they formed. Oppressive heat ran through all four days as the festival’s defining backdrop, but it didn’t stop Levitation from delivering for its loyal reverb appreciators once more, extending a run that’s outlasted a wave of beloved festivals in an increasingly unstable independent music scene. The Cosmic Clash team was on the ground for all four days. Here’s part one of what stuck with us.

Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

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

September 9, 2026 Case Cockrell 688 Views 13th Floor, 29th Street Ballroom, doom metal, Earth Tongue, Far Out Lounge, Gus Baldwin, hardcore, I Speak Machine, Iguana Death Cult, Levitation, live music, metal, mohawk, Monolord, music festival, Powerplant, preview, psych-rock, Radium Dolls, Spaceflight Records, stoner rock, The Well

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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Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

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

September 3, 2026 Case Cockrell 965 Views Automatic, Die Spitz, Doom Gong, doom rock, Greenway Records, Grocery Bag, Levitation, live music, Melt Banana, music festival, Neo-psychedelia, preview, Primitive Ring, psych-rock, punk rock, Temples

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.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: King Gizzard’s Field of Vision nights two and three with no song repeats

September 1, 2026 Case Cockrell 666 Views Blood Incantation, concerrts, drag queen, drag show, Field of Vision, FOV, heavy metal, jam band, King Gizzard, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, live music, metal, music festival, Pattie Gonia, Pattie Goniia, psych-rock, Review, rock n roll

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard don’t rest. The Melbourne sextet closed out the second Field of Vision Festival with two more three-hour sets on August 15 and 16, pushing deeper into the Meadow Creek grounds in Buena Vista, Colorado they’d already claimed as their own. They’d fired the first shot on day one: a surprise drop of their 28th LP, Alien Metal, with zero warning. Then came the dare. “No song repeats,” the band promised Friday night, and fans spent the rest of the weekend hunting for new-album cuts and deep tracks to see if that promise would hold. Field of Vision was three of only seven U.S. tour dates. There was no room to coast.

April Dawne Live Music Review

Live music review: Diary of a Perimenopausal Gal at King Gizzard’s Field of Vision Festival

August 28, 2026 April Dawne 1114 Views Angine de Poitrine, concert review, Die Spitz, Electronic, Field of Vision Fest, FOV, Grateful Dead, hardcore, jam band, King Gizzard, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, metal, music festival, Pattie Gonia, Phish, psych-rock, rock n roll, Upchuck

It’s almost 1 a.m. and our ride is coming at 4:30 a.m. My chest is tight from not knowing if I have everything done at home and at work, but it is what it is. When I wake up from my short nap, it’ll be go time to head from Austin to Colorado for King Gizzard’s second Field of Vision Festival in Buena Vista August 14-16. The psych rock, metal, electronic and rock n roll band from Australia has become a touring phenomenon.

Premiere Song Troy Gonzales

Song Premiere: Austin heavy psych duo Floating Cube introduces single Canyon

July 17, 2026 Troy Gonzales 937 Views 13th Floor, album release, Billie Buck, Canyon, Corme, doom metal, Floating Cube, hard rock, Hot Summer Nights, Hotel Vegas, jazz, psych-rock, Queen Serene, Sailor Poon, single release, song premiere, stoner rock, surf rock

One of Austin‘s hottest new bands, heavy psych duo, Floating Cube, is set to release their debut self titled EP on July 25 and has asked The Cosmic Clash to preview the first single, “Canyon” ahead of the song’s official release on July 18 at their upcoming show at The 13th Floor during the annual Hot Summer Nights which offers free cover at multiple Red River venues all weekend.

annabellecharilegs4 APF 2026 Drew Doggett

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

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

July 14, 2026 Case Cockrell 1265 Views 13th Floor, Almost Heaven, Annabelle Chairlegs, Austin Music, Bat Lips, Broken Gold, Bruce, Chess Club, Commercial Breaks, Creeping Death, death metal, dream pop, Gran Moreno, hardcore, Hot Summer Nights, Jet Cemetery, Lauren Lakis, live music, metal, mohawk, Mugger, Parker Woodland, preview, psych-rock, punk rock, Queen Serene, Red River Cultural District, Redbud, rock n roll, RRCD, shoegaze, Sodomy Cop, Stubb's, Subpar Snatch, Swan Dive, vahalla, Witches Exist

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

Premiere Song Troy Gonzales

Exclusive – Song Premiere: Wild Heaven single Dust In The Night Sky officially drops June 26

June 23, 2026 Troy Gonzales 1106 Views Andi LaGrone, Asa Pollack, Austin, Blake Bowles, Laura Blewitt, new music, post-punk, premiere, psych-rock, shoegaze, Single, Wild Heaven

With extreme pleasure The Cosmic Clash has been asked and accepted to premiere and review the new single from Austin psychgaze act Wild Heaven, which is set to be released on June 26. It’s the first single from their upcoming sophomore album due in 2027 and the first to include their new guitarist Blake Bowles. The song is produced by Matt Parmenter and recorded at his Ice Cream Factory Studio.

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