Spiritual ascension through music and community.
The 2025 version of Levitation Festival in Austin, Texas, was epic on many levels. First of all, Austin is the perfect place for a festival like this, plenty of places to stay, great food, easy public transit, and a like-minded crowd that showed the bands and each other nothing but love. Myself and my “lawyer” Brandon Parkhurst, guitar/vocalist of SUNBENDR, have promised each other that once a year, we ditch our normal lives and disappear at one away-game-weekend, AKA, we pick one music festival a year and go all in. Last year it was Best Friends Forever Fest, this year, it was Levitation.
The lineup spoke to us, called us hither like a band of ocean nymphs singing their siren song, only we were not tied to the mast, we were free to answer the call and, boy, we answered all right.
The festival was actually a three-night affair with multiple shows the few days leading up. Brandon and I are 49 years old; three full days at a festival might have killed Sunday of Levitation, and us, so we focused on Saturday. Flying in to Austin late Friday night, was a decent idea, until we jumped the gun and stayed out till 3:30 on the night we were supposed to be sleeping and preparing. Against the odds, we woke up feeling great, geared up, jumped on some Bird scooters, and headed to the Palmer Events Center, just a few blocks from our hotel.
Check in process was quick and easy, (Thanks Bailey) and we were officially “press” at Levitation Fest. The festival was unique because the bigger bands were inside and the smaller acts were outside, which was great because you could pop back and forth, spend time outside in the heat, or chill inside in the AC. There was no sound-bleed between bands and both stages were close together so you didn’t miss any of the music as the set times were managed perfectly. First bands we saw were Listen SD favs, Hooverii, who always shred. Talked to the dudes after their set as they rushed out to grab a plane back to LA, nice fellas. Yin Yin, who is a relatively new find to me crushed their set, so much positive energy, amazing dance moves by the band, and the crowd was feeling it—highly recommend this band both live and on record. Not sure what happened, but sadly, we missed La Femme, but did catch some of Wednesday’s set, which was great. For us, Blonde Redhead and Brian Jonestown Massacre were the main event of the day, both bands put on amazing shows, Blonde Redhead was as lush and beautiful as ever, eclectic set list with some old and new songs in the mix, they sounded perfect. We ran in to our friend, Emil Nikolaisen and the illusive, Anton, before their BJM set and they were in great spirits, Anton even gave us a couple good stories and let me hug him for a picture IYKYK. Brian Jonestown Massacre was amazing, pure sound, no band fighting, and a perfectly curated setlist. Things got hazy, we ended up at a late night after party at the Mohawk watching Drugdealer, always a treat, made it home before 2:30 am, great job guys.
Woke up feeling good again, not sure how, but we made the most of it and went to the local’s section of the Barton Springs Pool and soaked in the water with some dogs and some locs. Then it was back to the festival. Sunday was stacked! Found a new band to love, Mexico City’s indie-jazz ensemble, Diles Que No Me Maten—such a great set, full of heart and soul, crowd was dancing, vibe was beautiful. We ran in to singer/saxophonist, Jonas Debrez later that night and showered him with praise, he was a wonderful, humble recipient, and I am now in love with this band (Listen SD has been on to them for years already). Upchuck smashed the outdoor stage, first full blown mosh pit of the day. Then it was back inside for A Place To Bury Strangers, who pushed the limits of what was tolerable for lights and sound, loud AF, strobe effect, smashing guitars, and major dissonance. The hits just kept on coming, Frankie And The Witch Fingers was u there in terms of top bands who blew the collective crowd’s’ minds. They played a searing set, the place was jumping. After their set, we went backstage for a breather, that’s when we met Doug Martsh from Built To Spill, who seemingly went out of his way to come and talk to Brandon And I, I guess we just have magnetic persona tiles. Doug couldn’t have been more kind, we talked music, touring, his band mates, and had a group hug before his set. Then BTS went on and literally made us cry tears of joy, this night’s rendition of “Carry The Zero” was as good as I’ve ever heard it, full emotional overload, loved every second of it. Black Angels were a bit muddy, but in the darkness of the concert hall, with the light projections and the psychedelic underpinnings, totally enjoyable. Destroyer played a beautiful set, outside, with the Austin skyline in the background and the energy was super soothing and lovely, “Savage Night At The Opera” was a highlight. Pavement was the last band we saw through our psychedelically impaired lenses and they ripped in to their set with a fun ferocity. We left the festival grounds and did our best to make it to the last after party of the weekend, but fell short of seeing Bambara by 10 minutes, just had to pull the pin and call it.
My overall score for Levitation Fest was 10-out-of-10. The lineup was stellar, the fan experience was grown-up, entry and exit seamless, and the crowd itself was full of joy, love, and positivity. We met so many new friends and came home feeling inspired and ready to play some music! Brandon and I are already making plans to go to Levitation 2026, and are hoping to be the unofficial mascots or official ambassadors for the festival, we’ll see …
