LEVITATION 2026 | Day One: Arlo Parks and Gurriers
Levitation, Austin’s multi-genre music festival returned Thursday, September 10 with an expanded map and a “choose your own adventure” style for 2026.
Last year’s festival was centered around the Palmer Events Center. This year the festival spread out across several venues in the city, with a main hub at the Far Out Lounge in South Austin for the weekend shows with additional events taking place at Red River venues and the 29th Street Ballroom.
Thursday’s lineup ran in two waves. Two showcases went head to head with doors at 7pm, then three late shows took over until 2am. Here are the two we covered!
ARLO PARKS & BAIRD | MOHAWK
Levitation started with a sold-out show by English singer, songwriter, and poet Arlo Parks. Unlike the usual swirling, colorful visuals at Levitation and Psych Fest shows at Mohawk, this performance kept the lights low and focused on the music.
The set felt soulful and dreamy, taking the audience to another place. I’m used to seeing high-energy rock and punk shows at Mohawk, often with mosh pits and crowd surfing, so the more thoughtful dance vibe was a nice change.
Arlo Parks was joined by Baird, a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He performed a set that was a mix of indie pop and electronic, accompanied by a drummer. I was unfamiliar with Baird before the show, but I will definitely be following his project - fans of bands like This is Lorilei or Angus & Julia Stone, you should check out his new single “Dogpile”.
GURRIERS & RADIUM DOLLS | 29TH STREET BALLROOM
After the Mohawk show, fans gathered outside 29th Street Ballroom for the festival’s first late-night event featuring Gurriers and Radium Dolls. While energy levels typically dip as the night goes on, the move from Arlo Parks to Gurriers was the opposite.
The Australian punk band Radium Dolls kicked off the showcase with a blistering set of punk storytelling that revived anyone with waning energy.
Next, the Irish post-punk band Gurriers took over and stepped up the energy- starting with the fiery, building new single “Nobody’s Coming to Save You”. Singer Dan Hoff quickly connected with the crowd, leaving the stage to sing among the fans and later crowd surfing.
The wraparound stage at 29th Street worked perfectly for this kind of show, where the line between band and audience disappears. It was one of the best sets I’ve seen this year and a great way to kick off the four-day Levitation Festival!
LEVITATION 2026 | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
One day down, three to go! Follow along for RØKKR’s full coverage of Levitation!
