Flying Lotus, Ty Segall, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Beach Fossils and More to Play Austin’s Levitation Festival

Levitation music festival organizers unveiled the first wave of a mind-melting lineup earlier this week, ahead of the event formerly known as Austin Psych Fest returning to the Lone Star State capitol on Halloween weekend, Oct. 26-29.

“Eclectic” is one of few words rangy enough to wrap its arms around Levitation: The four-day festival’s 2023 iteration will feature headliners Unwound, Oneohtrix Point Never, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, BADBADNOTGOOD and, of course, fest founders The Black Angels. All sounds psychedelic are represented, from guitar-rock mainstays Ty Segall & Freedom Band, Blonde Redhead, Death From Above 1979 and The Church to electro-innovators Panda Bear + Sonic Boom, Alan Palomo (Neon Indian), Jockstrap and Yeule.

Elsewhere on the poster are acclaimed indie acts Water From Your Eyes, Bully, Beach Fossils, Crack Cloud, Speedy Ortiz, Palehound, Allah-Las, Tanukichan, Slow Pulp and Ganser, among others. Throw a dart and you’ll hit something interesting: Dandy Warhols’ bright-eyed alt-rock; newly solo soul man Durand Jones; the caustic punk of Amyl & The Sniffers; Militarie Gun’s post-hardcore laden with pop hooks; Armand Hammer’s gritty and hypnotic hip-hop; Altin Gün’s ocean of Anatolian grooves. (On second thought, “kaleidoscopic” might be the better term.)

Those are just the “standard” sets—Levitation 2023 will also feature a number of special ones, such as the 15-year anniversary of Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, set to feature Hannibal Buress’ Eshu Tune, Salami Rose Joe Louis and more, not to mention FlyLo himself. Indie label Numero Group will celebrate 20 years with help from the aforementioned Unwound, as well as slowcore kings Codeine, and reunited rockers Karate and Chisel. Grammy-winning metal veterans High On Fire mark their 25th anniversary as a band, while Mercury Rev’s Clear Light Ensemble will perform the score of 1932 horror classic Vampyr, for added spookiness.

In addition to its usual downtown, Red River and East Side haunts, this year’s Levitation will expand to airport-adjacent electronic music space The Concourse Project and South Austin outdoor venue The Far Out Lounge. Further lineup additions are also in the works, but in the meantime, four-day passes and single-show tickets are available now. You’ll find Levitation 2023’s full first wave below.

Tickets