April 2016 – Page 3 – 7th Level Music

Levitation Austin artist spotlight: The Arcs

The Arcs are the psychedelic, two drummer-having side project of The Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach. Their new album, Yours, Dreamily, will be freshly out by the time Levitation Austin gets here, so I’ll be hearing the material on April 29th while it’s still fresh and unknown to most. I like what I’ve heard so far and I’m happy that Auerbach is taking his blues guitar into the land of psychedelia.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Federale

You can call Federale a supergroup, really. Consisting of members of Spindrift, The Black Angels, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Federale makes spaghetti western psychedelic rock best suited for obscure European films of the late 1960’s. Seeing them under Levitation Austin’s Levitation Tent in the Austin, Texas sun on April 29th seems like a can’t-miss show. I love spaghetti westerns so I’m sure I’ll love their set.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin spotlight: Indrajit Banerjee & Gourisankar

Masters of classical Indian music Indraji Banerjee (sitar) and Gourisankar (tabla) will open the Reverberation Stage at Levitation Austin on April 29th. I love traditional Indian ragas and music, and I’m excited to have the chance to hear these two masters of the craft. It will be a good spiritual way to start the festival.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Amerikan Bear

Hailing from California, Amerikan Bear are masters of the psychedelic 1960’s California sound. I discovered these groovy cats when they discovered me by following me on Twitter. I was soon hooked on their cool mix of psychedelia, rock, and blues. They’re opening the Elevation Amphitheater at Levitation Austin on April 29th, so they’ll be the first band I see. It should be a good start to the festival.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin spotlight: Night Beats

I will see Seattle, Washington’s Night Beats any chance I get, so I was happy to see the Empire Garage main stage on April 28th at the Levitation Austin kick-off show there.

I just saw them at Levitation Chicago, and their set was in the top three I saw there. They get better every time I see them and they’re at the top of their game right now. See them before they take off on their tour of the UK. If you’re in the UK, don’t miss them.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: The Golden Dawn

The Golden Dawn are one of those legendary bands who put out one great record and then disappeared. They formed in Austin, Texas around the same time as The 13th Floor Elevators and released their lone record, The Power Plant, before breaking up in 1968. Everything I’ve heard off The Power Plant is great, with a heavier edge than 13th Floor Elevators material. I missed these guys at Levitation Austin in 2014, so I’m keen to see them at the Thursday night pre-festival kick-off party at Empire Garage.

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North Coast Music Festival first line-up announced for 2016.

Chicago’s North Coast Music Festival has announced its first performers for 2016. The festival specializes in EDM, but it branching out this year into psychedelic and electro music. Bassnectar always brings a big crowd, but don’t miss The Claypool Lennon Delirium or Sleigh Bells either. I’m keen on seeing the full line-up in a couple months.

Keep your mind open.

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Outside Lands 2016 festival line-up announced.

San Francisco’s Outside Lands music festival has released its line-up, and it’s a good one. Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Air, and many more great acts will be there.

Located in Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands offers art, music, comedy, locally crafted beer, and “gastromagic.” It looks to be a wild time, so don’t miss it if you’re out west.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: The Blind Owls

The Blind Owls are a four-piece rock act from Corpus Christi, Texas with obvious Beatles, rockabilly, Buddy Holly, and mod-rock influences, but they certainly aren’t derivative. These four have put in their time to develop their chops and can lay down a serious groove. They’re opening the Empire Garage stage at the Thursday night pre-festival kick-off party there. Come by and get your groove on with these cool cats.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow Day 2016 event list now available.

Don’t forget that Record Store Day is April 16th. Don’t forget to visit your local wrecka stow and show them your support. There are always prime releases on Record Store Day from hundreds of artists, and many places have live performances to boot.

The list of wrecka stows hosting live events on the 16th is now available at the RSD website and will surely be updated as the date grows closer. Don’t miss the chance to see some good gigs and score great stuff for your collection.

There’s plenty of stuff I’d like to snag: the Bee Gees / Faith No More 7″ single. a double Buzzcocks album, two classic Johnny Cash records, a Dark Shadows TV film score re-release, a Flaming Lips CD I haven’t heard before, a Buddy Guy / Junior Wells re-release, a live James Brown double album re-release, new stuff from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, a Daft Punk remix of a Junior Kimbrough song, a psychedelic samba record, a live double Ravi Shankar LP, a cover of “John the Revelator” by The Sword on 7″ vinyl, a new Rhino Records psychedelic rock compilation, another psychedelic compilation (from the UK), a compilation of Cambodian 1960’s rock, a live Muddy Waters record, an Italian horror film soundtrack by Goblin, two Japanese garage / psychedelic rock compilations, and a Stooges re-release.

Keep your mind open.