Review and photos by Belicia Luevano – September 30th 2025

It’s safe to say Levitation’s 3-day festival at Palmer Event Center was a success. The festival has gone through a few iterations over the years and has had many different looks, but I think everyone who was there can agree the space and the fest were perfect for each other. The Howdy Gal’s had the best of times and here to share our experience with yall.

The Music

It’s almost impossible to narrow down the top sets, the festival booking team brought in heavy hitters and exciting up and comers, but there are definitely a handful of performances that stood out.

Model/Actriz

90 degrees and in direct sun? It never stood a chance quelling the energy that was to be released. Model/Actriz may be intended for dark clubs but they still brought the dark and sultry warehouse vibes to their set. When vocalist, Cole Haden, strutted on stage donned in fabulous shredded monochromatic black layers, matrix sunglasses, and made a show smearing blood red lipstick, I knew we were in for a treat. Haden tested the mic cable length and gave the crowd an up close and personal performance, energizing the crowd to forget about the early hour and heat and just dance and move. Just when you thought the set couldn’t be more fabulous, we were graced with an outfit change in now a monochromatic white fit with a swinging bunny ears hat, everyone was buzzing by the end.

Frankie and The Witch Fingers

Speaking of energy, that is what was summoned with Frankie and The Witch Fingers. The frantic energy is reigned in the perfect amount to let you know they could get completely unhinged and feral if they completely let go. The crowd was like a buzzing hive, working perfectly to support the sea of crowd-surfers. FATWF are loud with their music and louder with their beliefs when Dylan Sizemore proclaimed “free Palestine, fuck ice, fuck cops” before asking everyone to “Put their hands in the air, this is a stick up” then aimed their guitar handle at the crowd, crouching low and continuing their set with a bang and frenzy.

Yin Yin

It was an honor to see the Dutch band’s American debut set, and even tho it was early and they were kicking off the outdoor stage, Austin showed up and gave them an attentive and kinetic welcome. They brought with them eclectic and rhythmic sounds with global inspiration, if you listened closely you can piece together a map of influences. They riled up the early crowd and grooved so hard to their own music, you had no choice but to join them. I know the rest of America will be falling in love with them.

The Armed

My dogs were barking on day 1 and I desperately wanted to go home, my forgotten mask was helpless at home and my asthma was feeling the dust — I’m so thankful I stuck around and caught The Armed. The entire set was pure rage unleashed and brought me back to life. They played, screamed, saxophones with frightening intensity and couldn’t keep it all on the stage and kept making their way to climb over the crowd. I’m still impressed with guitarist, Max Frank, and his trust in the crowd to hold him up cheerleader style so he was standing on top of the crowd while his band mates were surfing around him. Their name is perfect, they’re armed with powerful music and not afraid to use it.

Acid Bath

We all bathed together in the glory that is the freshly-united Acid Bath. It’s been decades since their last performance and everyone was doing their best to soak in every minute of the legendary set. The whole crowd was entranced, you could wave your hand in front of people’s eyes but they would see you. I almost felt bad saying excuse me as I weaved through, how dare I interrupt this moment even for a half second. They washed the crowd in waves of doom and sludge, cleansing and preparing everyone for Mastodon coming up next and closing the night.

Pavement

Pavement is for the people, everyone was in attendance from your barista to your friend’s dad. The set was pure joy and I don’t know who was having a better experience, the fans or the band. It is so heartwarming to see people doing what they love. I could have watched Bob Nastanovich hop around the stage with his tambourine clearly having the time of his life. He shared the delight in many ways, throwing guitar picks and tiny misc instruments like candy at a parade. It was one of those moments where you were so appreciative of the moment and happy to be alive.

The Vibes

We already know the music lineup was top notch, but the festival team went the extra mile in the details. The Palmer Event Center proved to be an amazing choice with the small details that really add up like affordable parking, easy ride-share access, and being so close to downtown, you could easily hop on over to the after shows without missing the festival’s headliners. The bigger details that really drove it home for an exceptional fest was an indoor stage and chill zone that was air-conditioned that provided much-appreciated relief from the Texas sun, clean and ample bathrooms that did not make anyone miss port-a-potty days and it was all tied nicely with a view of the Austin skyline.

If you wanted to take a break from the music, there were dozens of light up hammock’s that gave the effect of glowing moons around the pool so you could enjoy the music but stay in your own calm zone. Cowboy Pools provided their stock tanks to keep cool but you could stop by Montucky’s Yeehaw In to grab a drink and recycle your can to win a chance at another free one. Need a pick me up? Yerba Madre had everyone covered and sent you off with a limited edition LEVITATION swag bag.

All in all, the ability to see each band on the lineup with two non-overlapping stages, great festival ground vibes, a respite from the Texas sun and fun activities for everyone’s interests (like free haircuts thanks to Bird’s Barbershop!), the crowd’s vibes seemed at ease and everyone was just happy to be there. It was truly a levitating experience.