psych-rock – Page 3 – The Cosmic Clash

Live music preview: Seven more must see bands at Levitation 2025

September 18, 2025 Case Cockrell 2286 Views festival, Kula Shaker, Levitation, live music, Model/Actriz, mohawk, must see bands, Nolan Potter, Population II, post hardcore, post-punk, preview, psych punk, psych-rock, rock n roll, Skloss, The Armed, The Black Angels, The Dandy Warhols, Wednesday

The 2025 edition of Levitation is coming up fast. Each year, Austin’s The Black Angels and trusted booking powerhouse Rob Fitzpatrick cast star-studded lineups that never disappoint the local and out-of-town music fans traveling to Austin for the annual multi-venue programming. The Cosmic Clash team is here to provide another list of bands you need to see during the festival takeover at Palmer Events Center and venues throughout the Austin area. Set times and tickets can be found at the Levitation website for fans to plan their schedule to see all the music they can throughout the weekend.

Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Seven must see bands at Levitation Festival 2025

September 17, 2025 Case Cockrell 3681 Views Blood Incantation, Boy Harsher, Castle Rat, DAIISTAR, death metal, doom metal, festival, garage punk, Hooveriii, Levitation, live music, Martin Rev, must see bands, preview, prog metal, psych-rock, punk rock, Suicide, The Black Angels, The Ravonettes, The Velvet Underground, Upchuck

Levitation Festival 2025 kicks off next week (September 25-28), with a new and improved location in tow and an array of artists to make this year’s installment one of the best yet. Festival organizers The Black Angels and famed booker and promoter Rob Fitzpatrick have chosen none other than Palmer Event Center to showcase the main festival programming, complete with two stages for the weekend of all-star cast performances. The festival will also feature late-night shows throughout the Austin area, including all the Red River Cultural District venues that have been part of the festival since transitioning to a multivenue format in 2018. The Cosmic Clash will be attending for the long weekend and has curated a list of must-sees for the weekend’s multi-genre music happenings. Night shows are sold separately, so move fast to avoid getting shut out of the post-Palmer programming. Set times can be found via the Levitation website. Hit the link at the top of the story to grab tickets. VIP passes are sold-out. There are still some GA tickets available.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs delivered bone crushing riffs

August 28, 2025 Case Cockrell 3656 Views 29th Street Ballroom, alternative metal, doom metal, heavy metal, live music, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Pigs x7, psych-rock, Review, rock n roll, sludge metal, Waxed

Newcastle’s Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (or Pigs x7 to make things easier) has been on a steady barrage of bone-crushing riffs, a consistent stream of records, and travels throughout the world to deliver their flammable methodology of sludge metal to the masses. Fresh off the release of their 2025 full-length Death Hilarious, the Pigs quintet covers all their bases with down-tuned guitar strikes and relentless, raw vocal aggression. With Nashville alternative metal act Waxed in tow on this run of shows, the double bill wrapped their tour in Austin at the under-new-management 29th St. Ballroom, sending things off with a deafening display of power on Wednesday, August 27.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Review

Live music review: Psych Lake City rocked with The Groanies, Seeking the Sun and Musor

August 26, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3646 Views Cumbia, Cumbia fusion, funk, garage rock, latin rock, live music, Musor, prog rock, psych-rock, punk, Review, Seeking the Sun, terror funk, The Groanies, Urban Lounge

One of the aspects of the Salt Lake City music scene that can be appreciated is the strong foundation provided for cutting edge local acts provided by venue operators like annual Urban Lounge event Psych Lake City which took place August 15-16 at the popular downtown spot. Eleven years in, this mini-fest has consistently showcased up and coming psych-rock acts along with psych-adjacent artists. This year’s edition was a perfect example. The Cosmic Clash was on hand for the second evening of performances, as The Groanies, Seeking the Sun and headliners, Musor rocked Urban. The showcase put a spotlight on the quality of young acts SLC has to offer.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: The Levitation 2025 schedule dropped with lots more artists

August 19, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3822 Views Good Looks, Laveda, Levitation, live music, Mastodon, night shows, Palmer Events Center, Pile, post-punk, preview, psych-rock, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, schedule announce, Skloss, The Black Angels, TV on the Radio

Last Friday, the original psych-rock focused music festival, Levitation dropped their 2025 daily schedule along with a couple of additions to the bill in for the main fest programming at Palmer Events Center and 14 acts were added to the Night Show bills. Austin bands, Daiistar, Skloss, Good Looks and Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol joined the party as did Cosmic Clash show veterans Laveda (NYC). The humble Austin music fest that began as Austin Psych Fest in 2008, rebranded in 2016 as Levitation eventually expanding to four days of cutting-edge programing at venues throughout Austin.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Grandmaster Gala Two at Paramount with Nolan Potter and Urban Heat

August 6, 2025 Case Cockrell 3542 Views art rock, Grandmaster, live music, Nolan Potter, Paramount Theater, Paramount Theatre, post-punk, prog rock, psych-rock, Review, The Thing

The second annual Grandmaster Gala took place at the Paramount Theatre in Austin last Saturday, July 26 bringing the best of the local music scene, band curated visual art, and a sendoff of one of Austin’s most adored acts. The event came as the first time local mega ensemble Grandmaster took the stage at the world-famous venue, bringing a destination event for the band and their peers that have been a part of their meteoric rise in the local scene since their inception in 2023. The event was hosted by Austin show promoter Jake Ames, a task that was not taken lightly to mark a new chapter of Grandmaster and their already loyal local following.

April Riggs Live Music Review

Live music review: My Morning Jacket got inducted into ACL TV Hall of Fame and I missed it

August 5, 2025 April Riggs 4335 Views ACL TV, ACL TV Hall of Fame, Americana, Austin City Limits, BLues, Cameron Crowe, Jim James, live music, My Morning Jacket, psych-rock, Review, rock n roll

I sent The Cosmic Clash crew a text about the upcoming Austin City Limits taping of My Morning Jacket, when I realized the band was being inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame on Friday, August 1, by Cameron Crowe. Our editor responded to say it was all mine since I was the first to mention it. I had previous plans to see Dead cover band Deadeye play for Jerry Garcia’s birthday as well as catching the live streams for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and the 60th Anniversary of the Grateful Dead Money Grab happening at the same time, but I’m flexible and enjoy seeing MMJ and their bandleader Jim James anytime I can

Semihelix HSN 2025 13th Floor Troy Gonzales

Greg Ackerman Live Music Photos

Live music photos: Hot Summer Nights featured Andrew Cashen, Semihelix, Portrayal of Guilt and more

July 31, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3889 Views Andrew Cashen, Austin, Bruce, Como Las Movies, glam rock, gospel, hard rock, Hot Summer Nights, HSN, live music, metal, Mujeres Podridas, Pearl Z, photos, pop rock, Portrayal of Guilt, prog rock, psych-rock, Queen Serene, Red River Cultural District, rock n roll, Semihelix, Sexpop, shoegaze, Stop Motion Orchestra, Team Trust, The Bottomless, Troy Gonzales

The Red River Cultural District’s cover-free Hot Summer Nights event took place last weekend in venues all over the downtown neighborhood July 24-26. Nearly 150 primarily Austin-area artists took to the stage at Mohawk, 13th Floor, Elysium, Chess Club and a dozen other RRCD venues. This is the eighth year the neighborhood organization has organized the event which spawned from its original sister event, Free Week which takes place the first week of January each year. Resound Presents founder, Graham Williams is credited with originating that event while he was working as a talent booker at the original Emo’s on Red River and Sixth Street. featured in this photo story is Andrew Cashen and Disciples of Creation, shoegaze/psych rockers, Queen Serene, Pearl Z, Sexpop, Mujeres Podridas, Stop Motion Orchestra, Portrayal of Guilt, Semihelix and lots more.

Hawt Dawg Fest 3 2025 contestants Troy Gonzales

Greg Ackerman Live Music Photos

Live music photos: Hawk Dawg 3 with Tear Dungeon, Queen Serene and Dregs

July 17, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3995 Views Andrew Cashen, Dregs, garage punk, hard rock, Hawk Dawg 3, hot dog eating contest, live music, mohawk, photos, psych-rock, Queen Serene, shoegaze, Tear Dungeon

An ignominious event, Hawk Dawg 3 took place on a rainy July 4 at Red River Cultural District favorite Mohawk with a hot dog eating contest that left no wiener untouched. The Cosmic Clash even had staff photographer and writer Drew Doggett joining the fun with our man trying to stuff as many dogs into his face as possible (evidence below) but the main event of the day party which got going at 4 p.m. was headliners, Tear Dungeon, fronted by Andrew Cashen (A Giant Dog, Andrew Cashen and the Disciples of Creation) with a bevy of well-known local players did their best ATX approximation of shock rock acts like Gwar complete with masks, spewing blood, mosh pits and stage dives. Fellow local acts, Queen Serene and Dregs joined the party.

Tropical Fuck Storm 29th Street Ballroom Troy Gonzales

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Aussies Tropical Fuck Storm sold-out 29th Street Ballroom

July 7, 2025 Case Cockrell 3869 Views 29th Street Ballroom, art rock, concert, Gareth Liddiard, indie rock, live music, noise rock, psych-rock, Review, Tropical Fuck Storm

Melbourne’s Tropical Fuck Storm soared into Austin for a sold-out gig at the under-new-management 29th St. Ballroom in the University of Texas Campus area on a week ago Sunday night, a fitting conclusion to an action-packed concert weekend in the live music capital. The release of their latest LP, Fairyland Codex, has garnered an extensive array of praise from critics, some calling it their best to date, and has spawned a planned worldwide tour for the Aussies to promote yet another entry in the ever-growing discography

Amanda Quraishi Live Music Review

Live music review: A joyous solstice fest by The Bright Light Social Hour

June 25, 2025 Amanda Quraishi 4647 Views Curtis Roush, Endless Light Festival, funk, Grandmaster, indie rock, Jackie O'Brien, Juan Alfredo Rios, Megafauna, Mia Carruthers, mohawk, psych-rock, rock n roll, space rock, TBLSH, The Bright Light Social Hour, Zac Catanzaro

The summer solstice is upon us, and that can mean only one thing: a hometown performance by Austin’s The Bright Light Social Hour. This year, the band was joined for their one-night Endless Light Festival at Mohawk by four other outstanding Austin bands; Megafauna, Bruce, LLuvii, and Grandmaster on June 21 at the longtime downtown Red River Cultural District venue.