5 must see acts at the 2014 Austin Psych Festival

When Austin music festivals come up in conversation most folks want to talk about South by Southwest (SXSW) or Austin City Limits Music Festival and that is expected. But one of our favorite local music festivals is the internationally attended Austin Psych Festival. The festival fits the River City because psych-rock has roots here in the early days of the genre when Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators released "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators."

Last year Erickson was invited back to the festival to perform. This year may be the best lineup yet for this young festival located just outside downtown at Carson Creek Ranch with bands like... Continue reading at Examiner.com

Top 5 Austin City Limits 2014 headliners from just announced lineup

Early Tuesday (6 a.m. CST) Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL Festival) announced the 2014 lineup for the 13th edition of the fest named for the iconic PBS television show. Last year the festival changed formats, moving to consecutive weekends a la Coachella Festival. Marquee names on the just released bill include Eminem, Outkast, Pearl Jam, Beck, Skrillex and Lorde. Below you will find our top five headliners and... Continue reading at Examiner.com

Live music review: Jones Family Singers album release party at Threagill's

When folks think of gospel music often it is dismissed as “church music” and not taken seriously by music fans. Last year’s Oscar winning documentary, “20 Feet From Stardom” pointed out that for a significant period in time nearly every successful rock and roll artist has used backup singers who were trained in gospel choirs to record and perform. The Jones Family Singers brought the notion that gospel is integral to ... Continue reading at Examiner.com

Live music review: Arcade Fire - Austin360 Amp vs Phi Slamma Jamma - Continental

Photo: Ashley Cass via Instagram

The Arcade Fire stopped in Austin yesterday at the Austin360 Amphitheater as the high-flying rockers from Montreal continued their endless tour supporting last year's acclaimed "Reflektor" album. The band also booked a "secret" after show at Continental Club under the name Phi Slamma Jamma. That show began after midnight and included DJ sets by frontman, Win Butler listed as DJ Windows 98 on the Continental's web site. Both performances were impressive but... Continue reading at Examiner.com

Live music review: White Denim are ready to be Austin's next big thing

Austin writers have a penchant for prematurely announcing the "next big thing" in regards to local bands, however, there is nothing premature in claiming White Denim is an act that is going places. We knew it from the first time we saw the band several years ago at the old Emo's downtown. Last Thursday the band displayed a maturity in their live performance at Stubb's BBQ that indicated theJames Petralli-led group has already jumped from buzz act to national recognition. The jammy, psych-rock infused set the foursome played featured almost no... Continue reading at Examiner.com