Levitation (formerly Austin Psych Fest) is an annual 3-day music festival developed and produced by The Reverberation Appreciation Society. Since its sixth year in 2013 it has been held at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, Texas. Inspired by the creative explosion of the 1960s, as well as by festivals such as ATP and Primavera Sound, they set out to create their vision of a music festival.
Over the years, this independent festival has grown to an internationally acclaimed, full weekend event that attracts attendees from all over the world. In 2015 Austin Psych Fest was renamed LEVITATION in honor of Austin’s legendary psychedelic rock godfathers The 13th Floor Elevators.
The Reverberation Appreciation Society is a creative collective composed of Rob Fitzpatrick, Oswald James, and Christian Bland and Alex Maas of The Black Angels. In addition to the festival in Austin, the group has branched out into other cities beginning in 2013 with Levitation France and in 2015 with Levitation Vancouver and Levitation Chicago. The group also runs The Reverberation Appreciation Society record label and presents events at Austin’s SXSW, The Netherlands’ Le Guess Who?, NYC’s CMJ and NRMAL in Mexico City.
The first annual Austin Psych Fest was held on Saturday March 8, 2008 at The Red Barn in north Austin, featuring performances by The Black Angels and Ringo Deathstarr among others.
In 2009, the festival was extended to three days and was held from March 13–15 at the Radio Room, a short lived venue on Sixth Street. The Seeds’ Sky Saxon performed with Shapes Have Fangs as his backing band and Austin psychedelic legends The Golden Dawn performed their 1968 album “Power Plant” in its entirety. The lineup included modern psychedelic heavies Dead Meadow, A Place to Bury Strangers, Wooden Shjips, The Warlocks, and The Black Angels.