Austin's skies felt a little lighter — and dustier — as the alternative musical festival Levitation floated back into town over the weekend. This year, the festival had a new central location at the Palmer Events Center for daytime shows, marking a big moment in Levitation's long history, and a first for the Palmer Events Center.

Though there were a few wrinkles to iron out, for the most part, the fest went off without a hitch. Big name headliners like TV on the Radio and uber-talented local acts reminded us just how far the festival has come from its early days.

Levitation’s origins trace back to 2008, when founding members of The Black Angels and their circle launched Austin Psych Fest, a scrappy, underground homage to the city’s psychedelic roots. For years, Psych Fest took place at Carson Creek Ranch, was eventually rebranded to "Levitation" as a nod to Austin psych band the 13th Floor Elevators, and was canceled in 2016 due to weather.

Since the cancelation, it has since been scattered, spread out among various venues in the Red River District. This year, for the first time in nearly 10 years, Levitation returned to a single daytime spot, with nighttime shows still on Red River.

The Palmer Events Center is not traditionally home to music, let alone a psych music fest. Photo by Cerrus Builders

Though festival director Rob Fitzpatrick said in an earlier press release that Palmer afforded the team a "huge upgrade in production," there was a certain oddness about watching a metal show at 2 pm inside the usually florescent-lit indoor convention space. To be fair, festival organizers did an excellent job transforming the space: the entire inside of Palmer was dark as night and psychedelic projections crawled across the ceiling and walls indoors. A giant stage illuminated one end and vendors sold merch and black light posters along another wall.

Outdoors, with skyline as a backdrop harkening back to the days of Fun Fun Fun Fest, another, smaller stage was set up on the building's west side. There were also tons of vendors selling everything from clothes to hand-drawn portraits, food trucks, bars, a few lounge areas, and a DJ booth. But even with the attempt at utter transformation, there was a niggling feeling of "I am at the convention center."

This somewhat disorienting feeling of being out of place quickly disappeared, though, once the bands started playing. Here are our 10 top acts at Levitation 2025.

Friday

Rickshaw Billies Burger Patrol
Austin’s own Rickshaw Billies Burger Patrol once again proved why they’ve become a Levitation staple. The trio’s low, sludgy riffs and slow-grind bass shook the Palmer grounds, while frontman Sean St. Germain’s higher-pitched, almost Beastie Boys-esque vocals set them apart from standard doom metal. “You better put ’em in a body bag,” he howled during their second song, only to sign off with a sweet, off-kilter “I love you.” By the third or fourth track, a small mosh pit had opened up, and the growing crowd —many of whom had clearly arrived just for this set — leaned into the strange mix of heaviness and playfulness.

Rickshaw Billies Burger Patrol was just a warm-up at Levitation, yet the energy was already this high.Photo by Oscar Moreno

The Sword
The Sword is arguably Austin's biggest metal export, and perhaps one of Austin's biggest musical exports, period. They've toured with the likes of Metallica, Lamb of God, and Clutch. Despite a crackling speaker and some awkwardly bright white lights (“Turn these white lights down, bro, you’re killing me,” the singer pleaded), the band delivered their signature slow, sludgy, and very Texas-sounding metal. That even included an unexpected metal cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."

Acid Bath
Acid Bath was a big deal back in the '90s and they only reunited this past year, with their first show back in April. Their opening crawl felt almost narcotic with the bass vibrating through crowd members' skin, before swelling into heavier chaos. Frontman Dax Riggs alternated between growling and melodic emo vocals, at one point dedicating a song to mushrooms. Like a mushroom trip, the song was meandering and could have lasted three or 12 minutes; we're not really sure when it ended. At the end of the set, Riggs called out, "Thank you so much for remembering" to the roar of the crowd.

Saturday

Yīn Yīn
Dutch band Yīn Yīn brought a much-needed dance-floor shakeup on Saturday, with a heady blend of Thai-influenced psych rock, jazz-inflected drum breaks, and pulsing disco. “We’ve played in a lot of places across the world, but this is the first time we’ve played on American soil,” their bassist Remy Scheren announced, beaming. By the time the band broke into their more vocal-driven chants and moved into the final song, the bouncing crowd and seemingly ready to join them in the "party after" Scheren hinted at.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Veteran psych outfit the Brian Jonestown Massacre filled the inside of Palmer with their signature hazy, stoner-friendly, and at times hypnotic sounds. The visuals were in full effect for this band, with drippy, trippy images floating behind the seven members on stage, though this music is honestly best for lying down and staring at the ceiling. The band said little to the crowd or each other; they simply got out and delivered a sleepy set, and people seemed to love it.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre didn't need to create a spectacle; they just played.Photo by Oscar Moreno

La Femme
This French group brought a little bit of everything to Levitation, starting their set out with a sort of spaghetti Western twang, moving into eerie synths, and even busting out the theremin. The two female vocalists traded off with their male bandmates, mixing ethereal harmonies into more dancey disco psych that moved from moody to playful in seconds. At one point the keyboardist flipped his rig Jimi Hendrix-style. Equal parts fun, strange, and elegant, La Femme was a surprising highlight of the weekend.

Photos from La Femme's set look like they come from a fashion magazine.Photo by Travis Trautt

TV on the Radio
This Saturday night headliner, despite not being stereotypically "psychedelic," was by far the biggest act of the weekend, packing the room from back to front. While Brian Jonestown leaned inward, TV on the Radio did the opposite; from the beginning they offered an abundance of energy and crowd connection. The band mixed up new songs and old, with tunes like "Young Liars," a kinetic and amped up version of "Wolf Like Me," and at one point, "Could You," which guitarist Kyp Malone introduced passionately: "I just wanna say, f*** Steven Miller and all of his fascist friends. F*** ICE... From the bottom of my heart…love songs, love songs, love songs, are by their very nature songs against genocide. Free Palestine, free Palestine, free Palestine, free America!" Malone screamed, to the roar of the crowd.

Sunday

Daiistar
Opening Sunday was Austin’s own Daiistar, who brought about a sunny and exuberant glee to the slowly-gathering crowd inside the dark auditorium. This four-piece band (for the day, expanded to six) played songs from their debut album, Good Time, as well as some others represented on their latest live album, Fuzz Club Session. Their neo-psych rock sound couldn't help but evoke coming-of-age road trip vibes balanced with 90s shoegaze textures. The group didn't talk much — just a simple “one more song” before closing — but their positivity was a welcome intro to Sunday.

A Place to Bury Strangers
While earplugs may have been optional for a group like Daiistar, for A Place to Bury Strangers, they were essential. Their music is often described as a "wall of sound," and it feels like exactly that: an affront to the senses, pairing disorienting strobe lights, massive amounts of fog, and an onslaught of sound from each instrument, all the time. Frontman Oliver Ackermann smashed, threw, and balanced his guitar like a violent juggler, even dipping it into the crowd during an extended noise break. It was one of the most unforgettable — and physically overwhelming — sets of the weekend.

Let's call A Place To Bury Strangers' set "interactive."Photo by Pooneh Ghana

Being Dead
Austin trio Being Dead leaned into their surreal surf-garage chaos with playfulness and ease, as the sun dipped down outside of the Events Center. The group casually switched up instruments mid-set, harmonized in styles that ranged from Cranberries-esque lilting to more rowdy shouting, and at one point even invited a curly-haired "Tony" onto the stage by chanting, "Tony! Tony! Tony!" (It seemed like Tony's job was primarily to clap a lot during one song.) All of this perfectly embodied this Austin band's weird DIY spirit, even as Being Dead's popularity has skyrocketed.