Thursday, May 14, 2026

psych-rock

Case CockrellLive MusicReview

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

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

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Amanda QuraishiLive MusicReview

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

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. 

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Greg AckermanLive MusicPhotos

Live music photos: Third annual Big Dumb Fest by Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol at Mohawk

Austin hard rock band, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol hosted their third annual Big Dumb Fest June 14 at legendary Red River Cultural District venue, Mohawk. The self-styled Doom Wop band curates the lineup themselves, hand-picking each local act invited. This year’s roster included Bat Lips, Gus Baldwin and the Sketch, Glime, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Subpar Snatch and Gran Moreno for an all night affair. BDF included food pop-ups from Bad Larry’s Burgers, Grandpa’s Glizzy’s and Sucio Boy Burgers to feed the hungry hard rock fans attending.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: L.A. psych punk act Hooveriii at 13th Floor

Los Angeles psychedelic rock collective Hooveriii made a not-so-rare Austin appearance at The 13th Floor in the Red River Cultural District on Monday, June 2, bringing an intimate experience ahead of their planned 2025 Levitation Festival appearance. The cross-country tour comes in support of 2025 LP Manhunter, a ripper packed with supercharged tracks that shows the Bert Hoover-led outfit staying the course as one of the indie rock underground’s most exciting acts

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Levitation drops 2025 genre spanning lineup today with new location

evitation Festival returns on September 25-28 this Fall, bringing another masterfully curated lineup by famed booker Rob Fitzpatrick and co-producers Resound Presents. This year’s setup will change from its regular format, featuring a new central home of the Palmer Events Center in downtown Austin while retaining late-night programming in the Red River Cultural District. The 2025 festival lineup is an eclectic, genre-spanning showcase of psych rock, metal, punk, electronica, indie rock, and everything in between – a celebration of independent music in the live music capital.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: White Denim returns to Austin for Hot Luck Fest with Nolan Potter

Austin to Pasadena indie outfit White Denim, the musical fusion of chief songwriter James Petralli has seen many forms. Since making the West Coast his home, the Austin-bred group has undergone a creative shift, no longer a vehicle of constant members and making Petralli’s name synonymous with the consistent stream of records released amid numerous lineup changes throughout the years. On Saturday night (May 24) at Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District as a part of the annual Hot Luck Festival culinary celebration, White Denim fed their hometown once again, their third stop in Central Texas in 18 months.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Austin Psych Fest brought eclectic talent from across the psych spectrum

The Spring installment of Austin Psych Fest returned last weekend to The Far Out Lounge & Stage for a three-day, two-stage, no-overlap experience that brought over 30 acts to Austin for an eclectic weekend of music from all across the trippy psychedelic spectrum. For 2025, the billed talent stretched its boundaries by bringing a diverse array of artists that catered to fans of Psych Fest past and present. Here’s what stood out to us over the weekend-long stand in South Austin. 

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April DawneLive MusicReview

Live music review: Friday at Austin Psych Fest with Explosions in the Sky, Octopus Project and Godspeed You Black Emperor

Austin has no shortage of music festivals and while most of them are amazing in some way, my favorite is Austin Psych Fest. This year, I caught Texas act, Explosions in the Sky, Austin’s The Octopus Project and Godspeed You! Black Emperor as well as some other worthwhile bands. This gem of a festival melted into Levitation (close second fave) and then split back into two different but equal festivals in 2023. APF is held at The Far Out Lounge, one of my favorite venues in Austin since the apocalypse.

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Brian HillsmanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Geordie Greep delivered memorable set at Austin Psych Fest

Accompanied with an ensemble band of instrumentalists, London’s Geordie Greep delivered a memorable set orbiting his solo LP debut The New Sound —released in October 2024— at South Austin’s Far Out Lounge on April 26 as part of Levitation and Resound’s Austin Psych Fest 2025. 

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six bands to watch at Austin Psych Fest 2025

Levitation’s Austin Psych Fest will return to Far Out Lounge and Stage in 2025, coming with a stacked lineup that features acts from all over the world to commemorate its third Spring edition since the return to an annual Springtime, one-location, two-stages, no-overlap festival experience. The three-day festival will feature legacy acts and underground picks that showcase yet another year of reverberation appreciation from the homegrown Austin festival. To help audiences prepare for the event, the team at The Cosmic Clash has curated six bands to watch for the festival during the last weekend of April (25-27), including the kickoff and late-night shows after each day of music

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: SXSW 2025 finished with Space Agency Booking, Webberville Block Party

Austin’s South by Southwest finished things up with countless showcases that made the last two days of the music festival a pick-and-choose affair that didn’t let up until the crack of 2 a.m. on Saturday night. For most festival goers, energy can run slim on these last two days, and seeing what you can before the festival’s end is essential to closing the book on yet another March festival edition. Here’s who we closed out our SXSW with on the final two days of our festival experience at Hotel Vegas for Space Agency Booking’s annual showcase along with a closing festival celebration at the Webberville Block Party followed by a return to Hotel Vegas to close out SXSW 2025.

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