Levitation Fest – The Friday Preview

levitationThis year’s festival boasts a lot of great acts, especially on the headlining front (though can they top JaMC?). But, with the fest starting off this Friday, there are some undercard acts that really deserve our attention. I went ahead an picked out a couple of my favorites for you to focus on for Friday’s line-up. You can still grab tickets HERE.

Okay…it’s a given, Slowdive and Flying Lotus are the big draws. Christian Bland sorts of helps hold this thing together. Put that aside for a second and look at some of the other acts.

Klaus Johann Grobe – This is the reason you should start your day early, with the band playing at 2:30 on the Elevation Ampitheater. For my two cents, this band reminds me of the perfect connection between psychedelic music and the house-pop jams of bands like Air. There’s a natural groove to the music, which enables moderate feet shuffling, or an all out freak out if that’s your thing. The band are touring the country, with their Spagat der Liebe LP coming out in the first week of May via Trouble in Mind Records.

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La Luz – Probably the easiest way to convince you to check out La Luz is to let you know that their last effort, Weirdo Shrine, was produced by Ty Segall; it has his stamp of approval. But, don’t expect some noise explosion, as these four ladies have a tendency to spin their psychedelic touches around a more R&B focus. There’s a little bit of shimmying in the guitar riffs, ultimately giving you the more pop-centric spin on the genre, making them all the more memorable in the end.

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Boogarins – It looks like we’re spending a good portion of our day checking out the touring acts from outside of the States, like this Brazilian group. They’ve already established themselves as an ATH favorite, but the release of last year’s Manual definitely solidified my adoration. There’s always been some inherent pop sensibility within the confines of their songs, but they also leave plenty of room for sonic exploration…and isn’t that one of the great draws about the modern psychedelia? The band plays at 6:50 on the Reverberation Stage.

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The dude from the Black Keys is playing at 9:55, so that’s a good time to get a beer. Just saying.

 

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