It was a quarter past 12 a.m. on a particularly lively Friday night when I made my way to downtown Austin. Last weekend, the second consecutive year of Levitation was in full swing and I was nothing short of ecstatic to experience a piece of the niche festival’s hypnagogic lineup. The edgy fuzz sounds of the band BRONCHO drew me to Barracuda’s outdoor stage for a moody psych-rock performance. 

Levitation 2019 was incomparable. Underground metal, electronic and rock genres, hypnotic visuals and enough secondhand smoke to hotbox multiple outdoor venues; that’s just a snapshot of the festival.

As a first-time attendee, I swiftly came to understand how Levitation found its name —  each performance was an idiosyncratic, transcendent experience. I might think the entire night had been a dream, had my ears not rang with surreal echoes for hours after I made my way home. 

On November 7, Levitation returns to downtown Austin for the second year in a row. Featuring pioneers of the underground psych-rock and goth scene, like Angel Olsen and Deafheaven, the four-day festival illuminates the vitality and diversity of the live music capital.