Courtney Barnett, Alvvays, Black Angels to play Austin Psych Festival at Far Out Lounge

Austin Psych Fest returns to the Far Out Lounge in South Austin for three-days of scuzzy guitars, dreamy synths and experimental groove science on April 27-28.

Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett headlines day one alongside L.A.'s psych-soul outfit Chicano Batman and fellow Aussies, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. On day two, host band, the Black Angels, takes the top spot with Nashville's All Them Witches and fellow spellbinders Frankie and the Witch Fingers also performing. Canadian dream-pop outfit Alvvays and rockers Kurt Vile and the Violators and Dehd close things out on day three.

More information at levitation.fm.

What is the Austin Psych Festival experience like?

The festival will feature two stages in the venue's sprawling backyard. Beyond the psychedelic sounds, festival organizers promise that "the trees, stage, and venue will be drenched and dripping in the liquid light and visuals of video artists Mad Alchemy, TV Eye and drip//cuts." The Black Angels plan to debut "a new visual experience" in collaboration with TV Eye at the festival.

In addition to music, there will be food trucks and vintage vendors on site.

How do I get tickets to Austin Psych Festival?

There will be a pre-sale on Thursday at 10 a.m. for fans who attended Austin Psych Festival or Levitation this year. The general public on sale is at 10 a.m. on Friday. Worth noting: Last year's event did sell out.

Wait, didn't Austin Psych Festival become Levitation?

Well, yes. Austin Psych Fest started in 2008, when the Black Angels and their friends decided to create an event that celebrated the city's history as the birthplace of psychedelic rock.

In its early years, the festival bounced between venues. For the fourth year, in 2011, they drenched the Seaholm building in downtown Austin with reverb, back when it was still an abandoned power plant and not the site of tony shops and offices and a Trader Joe's.

The event rebranded as Levitation in tribute to Austin's psych rock pioneers the 13th Floor Elevators, who reunited at the festival in 2015. The following year, the festival experienced a catastrophic wash out when heavy rains flooded the festival grounds at Carson Creek Ranch in far east Austin. Festival organizers were forced to cancel leaving fans — some of whom traveled from abroad and planned to camp at the event — stranded.

Photos: Austin Psych Fest is back: See what happened Saturday

After taking a year off in 2017, Levitation returned as a club-based event in the Red River Cultural District in the fall of 2018. Over the past few years, the event has grown into an extended Halloween-weekend bash that spreads from Downtown into other venues.

Last year, festival organizers decided to bring back Austin Psych Fest in the spring, returning the event to its original concept of a single-venue, multi-stage festival.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Courtney Barnett, Alvvays, Kurt Vile to play Austin Psych Fest 2024