Levitation 2021 Day One Recap

Kicking off The Black Angels-founded Levitation, previously known as Psych Fest, was a pre-party on Wednesday night at Empire Control Room. ...
Levitation 2021 Day One Recap
Levitation 2021 Day One Recap

Levitation 2021 was more than just a multi-sensory five-day music festival in downtown Austin on Halloween weekend; it was a vibe. It was an energy. Above all, it was a return to some normalcies. Beautiful layers of music and complex, awe-inspiring projections intertwined into the oak and cedar trees of various music venues in the Red River District. Haunting souls of humans looking for complete immersion in the incredible experience that Levitation always provides.



Nothing

Kicking off The Black Angels-founded music festival, previously known as Psych Fest, was a pre-party on Wednesday night at Empire Control Room. Early evening saw Philadelphia shoegaze band Nothing soak in the liquid lights and strobes – they slowly built up their songs before crashing down like distorted thunder. Meanwhile, inside the venue, a darker mood emerged with the metal sludge band Here Lies the Man returning to the festival for a second time.

Here Lies Man
The Sword

With the vibe set, Austin’s stoner metal trio The Sword took the stage, punctuating the sludgier and heavy offerings during the week. Gauging the crowd, Nordic-looking guitarist Kyle Shutt asked the crowd “are ya’ll levitated yet?”, before the band shredded through 13 songs and an encore. Their set leaned heavily on their 2012 hit album Apocryhpon with headbanging jams “Freya” and “Cloak of Feathers.” They also gave a nod to Texas music legends ZZ Top with their cover of “Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings.” John Cronise’s vocals were powerful and pleasantly fine-tuned after a summer of touring with Primus. Inside the venue, Former Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls Frankie Rose closed out the night to a crowd so quiet, she said, “Ya’ll are too quiet, let’s do DMT.”

Frankie Rose



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