Thursday, May 14, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

psych-rock

Portugal the man 5 ACL Live Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Portland act Portugal. The Man showed no creative bounds at ACL Live with La Luz

Case Cockrell 1347 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Alaska natives and Portland-based musical collective Portugal. The Man is an outfit that knows no creative bounds. Built by visionary John Gourley and rounded out by a laundry list of collaborators who have come and gone over the years, the Oregon vehicle has retained a creative streak that’s produced 10 full-length studio projects since forming in 2004. For the last stop on their run supporting new LP Shish, the Portugal company made their way to Austin’s premier venue ACL Live on Friday, December 12 for a headlining extravaganza that brought the new and old material, with a lot of new in rotation to celebrate the latest release.

Read More
Big Bill BBB 8 6 Radio East Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Big Bill Ball 8 at Radio East offered accurate snapshot of Austin music scene

Case Cockrell 1526 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The eighth annual Big Bill Ball at Radio East in the Southeast part of town, marked another celebration of the Austin scene, offering a snapshot of local music in 2025 with a six-band bill featuring some of the best active acts in the Austindie sphere. For this year’s installment, the philosophical art punk mainstays celebrated the release of their new studio LP, Sick Myth. Continuing the Big Bill way of inclusive activism through comedic lyrical punchlines and a variety of punk rock angles, the one-day event gave attendees one of the most coveted evenings of live music in 2025 during Saturday night’s (November 22) gig at the southeast Austin backyard venue. The mini-fest was co-sponsored by famed photographer and show promoter, Pooneh Ghana for the annual showcase.

Read More
Los Blenders 2025 foto PR
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Mexico City rockers Los Blenders set to play 13th Floor on Saturday with Hidden Ritual

Greg Ackerman 1556 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

You may be too young to remember the first wave of Rock en Espagnol that spread across North America in the 90s. Bands like Caifanes, Mana, Maldita Vecindad and countless others were heard across airwaves in the U.S. and across Latin America. For this writer, it was the first time we’d heard Spanish language music that rocked like the bands we loved to discover on college radio and cool stations like L.A.’s KROQ. We even attended a concert where Spanish and English-speaking rock bands shared a bill at Universal Amphitheater the oddly indoor venue at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The possibilities seemed endless. Fast forward to 2025 and Rock en Espagnol seems to have returned en force. Latin music is one of the fastest growing sectors in American music sales. Bad Bunny is slated to play the Super Bowl and killer garage-psych band, Los Blenders are coming to the 13th Floor in downtown Austin on Saturday. Tickets are still available for this underplay at the intimate Red River District venue.

Read More
Acid Mothers Temple 2 29th St Ballroom Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple at 29th Street Ballroom with The Macks and ST-37

Case Cockrell 1405 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple returned to Austin for their fourth local appearance in two years at the 29th Street Ballroom in the University of Texas campus area on Sunday, marking another stopover for the band’s constant touring schedule that often has seven shows in seven cities per week. Acid Mothers Temple is a prolific force in the world of psychedelia, bringing their noise-infused brand of the genre through the crossbreeding of progressive rock, drone, and krautrock. For this stop, Acid Mothers Temple enlisted the help of Portland, Oregon garage rock outfit The Macks and local Austin psychedelic institution ST-37. 

Read More
Porcelain 3 Halloween Freakend Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Levitation Halloween Freakend day two got weird

Case Cockrell 1088 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The second day of Levitation’s Halloween Freakend at the Far Out Lounge & Stage showcased the more experimental side of the current indie music landscape, marking the third installment of Austin festival programming in 2025. With the Rob Fitzpatrick and The Black Angels-run music celebration entering its second decade, the Halloween two-day mini fest served as an optimal finale to a year of buzzing amps, underground artists, and legacy acts. Following a long-awaited headlining performance from Swedish dance punk stars Viagra Boys on Halloween night, the second day tapped into something a little different for the music fans who scour the internet for the weird and nothing but. 

Read More
Clown Core Halloween Freakend Troy Gonzales
April DawneLive MusicReview

Live music review: Everyday Isn’t Halloween, But it Was Levitation’s Freakend

April Dawne 1402 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

I love The Far Out Lounge (FOL), I love the people who book the shows, bartend, run the door, and clean up after all of us. This spot opened up safely, from a distance, during the lockdown to give live-music hungry people a safe place to see a show. We were like Footloose and unable to dance, and we had to remain socially distant, but we could feel a sense of normalcy that was sorely missed. All this to say, I love that The Far Out Lounge gets to host Levitation events like Halloween Freakend. Two, easy-to-get-to stages, with zero band overlap, in a large gravel yard in far South Austin with food trucks, bars, merch area, poster museum, and more to keep you entertained between sets.

Read More
Boris Mohawk Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Boris brought metal shapeshifting to Mohawk

Case Cockrell 1638 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Heavy metal in 2025 is in a healthy, hell-charged state. Bands are experimenting with the genre like Deafheaven, Full of Hell, Sunn O))), and even Austin acts like Portrayal of Guilt. For Tokyo, Japan’s Boris, a wave of extreme metal shapeshifting has paved the way for an everlasting gauntlet that’s redefining heavy music for 2025. With releases that dabble in drone metal, doom metal, and noise/experimental rock, Boris arrived for a Tuesday night gig in downtown Austin that came as a stop on their US tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark tenth studio album Pink. For their third local appearance in two years, the Japanese berserkers stormed the stage at Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District yet again to astronomical results. 

Read More
Osees 2 Hotel Vegas Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: garage rock behemoths Osees played Hotel Vegas residency

Case Cockrell 1663 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Los Angeles garage rock behemoths Osees returned to Austin for their annual, (sometimes bi-annual) residency at Eastside live music stronghold Hotel Vegas over the last weekend. Continuing their regular Austin tour stop tradition with a discography that gets bigger with every calendar rotation. With a solidified lineup defining the current iteration of esteemed bandleader John Dwyer’s everlasting rein, the Osees delivered another weekend of the eclectic paradigm that set the standard for the dozens of psych punk groups that make the Dwyer-led company a source of everlasting influence. Despite being on the road to promote their latest release Abomination Revealed At Last, the West Coast berserkers only performed one song from the new release and ventured into a rare, deep cuts, setlist territory. 

Read More
Halloween Freakend 2025 Levitation banner image
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Halloween Freakend by Levitation is coming to Far Out Lounge

Case Cockrell 1761 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Levitation and Resound Presents have teamed up again for a Halloween weekend two-day festival in South Austin. The mini-fest will take place at The Far Out Lounge & Stage on October 31 and November 1, the current site of the Spring edition of Austin Psych Fest. The Freakend lineup kicks off on Halloween night with Bitchin Bajas, J’Cuuzi, Stereolab, Black Lips, and Viagra Boys arriving for their first Austin headlining excursion.

Read More
TV on the Radio Daniel Cavazos
April DawneLive MusicReview

Live music review:  A Funky Levitation Full of Surprises or How April Spent the Fest

April Dawne 2337 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Adulting is mostly a bummer, and Levitation weekend (September 26-28) coincided with a very important work event happening all day Saturday. Thankfully, the big boss sent an email to the team instructing us to do what we needed to do for self-care, leading up to Saturday. Perfect! I consider live music to be something that can soothe the beast, and from Tuesday through Sunday, I got my fill. It was a funky Levitation that was full of surprises.

Read More
ACL Festival skyline
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six must see bands at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2025

Case Cockrell 2322 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual music extravaganza that takes place in the heart of Austin every Fall, and the curated talent ranges from worthy up-and-coming artists and legacy acts to round out its eclectic, genre-spanning array of music. For this year’s installment, The Cosmic Clash has put together a list of six must-sees you need to put on your list for the first weekend at Zilker Park which begins October 3. Tickets and set times can be found via the ACL website or through recommended resellers.

Read More