Sunday, May 25, 2025
The Cosmic Clash

rock n roll

Deafheaven 4 emos Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: experimental metal act Deafheaven at Emo’s

Case Cockrell 171 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Now 12 years removed from its release, Deafheaven has morphed back to peak form with 2025’s Lonely People With Power. At Austin venue Emo’s on Wednesday night, an action-packed bill helped pave the way for the screaming spectacle that didn’t let up until the last note. Upon arriving at the Riverside venue, metalheads of all ages were spotted in the audience, showing the generational appeal of fury that still holds on the masses. 

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The Damned Radio East Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: London punk legends The Damned sold-out Radio East

Case Cockrell 278 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Punk rock is an ageless art form. Whether you’re 16 or pushing 70, the act of rebellion is best vented through a massive concussion of rock and roll. For London legends The Damned, a decades-long existence without a disbandment is an utmost rarity in the books. On Saturday night in the southeast industrial area of Austin at Radio/East, a sold-out crowd was treated to a history lesson over 50 years in the making. When entering the new Austin music hotspot for the evening, fans were greeted with the return of the venue’s mainstage. Supposedly, the large stand was sidelined given some permitting issues, but the party was back on for the onslaught about to commence. 

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Kilby Block Party 2024
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six bands to see at Kilby Block Party 2025

Greg Ackerman 537 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

he DIY spirit of Kilby Court runs through the heart of the SLC music scene culminating each May with Kilby Block Party at the Utah State Fairpark. This year’s edition has expanded to a fourth evening on Thursday, May 15. The fest runs through Sunday, May 18 with a lineup of bands that stands out among American music festivals this year. The added day was to accommodate the schedule of New Order who haven’t played Utah in 35 years. The rest of the lineup is mind blowing with acts like Beach House, Weezer and Justice who will perform in Salt Lake for the first time. Four-day passes and single day tickets are still available here. Read on to learn more about six bands to see at Kilby Block Party in 2025. 

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Kim Gordon APF 2025 Troy Gonzales
Brian HillsmanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Kim Gordon Nailed It at Austin Psych Fest at Far Out Lounge

Brian Hillsman 573 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

On Saturday, April 26, a spry Kim Gordon (age 71) stepped on stage at South Austin’s Far Out Lounge and Stage in boy-shorts bikini bottoms and a white, long-sleeved t-shirt by brand Old Baby  with “Gulf Of Mexico” in red, bold font on the front, and the still quiet crowd erupted. We would be negligent not to proclaim Kim Gordon nailed it at Austin Psych Fest 2025.

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Austin Psych Fest Experience by Renee Dominguez for APF25--5
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

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

Case Cockrell 634 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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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Kruangbin Moody Amp Drew Doggett
Drew DoggettLive MusicReview

Live music review: Khruangbin Spins a World of Their Own at Moody Amphitheater

Drew Doggett 716 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Tuesday, April 22 at Austin’s Moody Amphitheater felt like it would never dry out. A curtain of rain blanketed the city in the early evening, forcing fans to huddle under trees and the few dry patches the venue had to offer. I, running from improv class on the other side of town, took respite under a bridge for 15 minutes before the rain subsided. By the time Khruangbin finally took the stage after a brief delay, the air was so heavy with humidity that it clung to your skin, like you could reach out and grab it. But the moment the band walked out, framed by three glowing window panels inspired by their newest album, A La Sala, the crowd roared like the sun had risen through the parted clouds, 9 p.m. in the evening.

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Austin Psych Fest 2025 Travis Trautt
April DawneLive MusicReview

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

April Dawne 799 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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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Prison Affair Mohawk Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Barcelona act Prison Affair at Mohawk with Mujeres Podridas and Gus Baldwin

Case Cockrell 675 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Barcelona’s Prison Affair made their way to Austin to deliver a sparse yet potent dose of their overseas caffeinated “Egg Punk,” a genre gaining steam as a leading force in the crate-digging, vinyl-obsessed underground. For a Monday night at Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District, a homegrown bill took the opening reins for the international touring act, all bringing their highest octane for the blistering fury the Spanish trio brings to the stage.

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Meshuggah ACL Live Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Swedish metal legends Meshuggah packed ACL Live with Cannibal Corpse and Carcass

Case Cockrell 900 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Heavy metal music doesn’t get the spotlight as much as it should in Austin. Multiple stacked tours skip Austin and opt for San Antonio and Houston. For a near-sold-out crowd that flocked to downtown Austin to see legendary Swedish players Meshuggah, the metal gods made an exception for the live music capital. For Tuesday night at Austin’s premiere venue, ACL Live, the unbridled barrage of extreme metal didn’t let up across all three performing acts

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APF 2024 - photo by Sheva Kafai
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

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

Case Cockrell 1020 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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 music week began with a wide range of musical styles

Case Cockrell 1209 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The 2025 South By Southwest music festival kicked off on Monday and Tuesday this week, featuring artists from around the Austin music scene and worldwide. Each day of music starts at noon and usually continues until the 2 a.m. closing time for each day of programming. For the first two days of the SXSW music showcases, we rounded up some of our favorite acts that started off our music festival coverage with stops at Hotel Vegas, 13th Floor and Stubb’s BBQ to see bands with a wide range of musical styles from the hardcore noise punk of Exotic Fruitica to experimental act Skloss to legendary songwriter John Fogerty and back to the heavy psych rock of Frankie and the Witch Fingers. SXSW runs the musical genre gamut as our coverage attests.

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