NTS aired an episode dedicated to the music of 13th Floor Elevators on 17 April 2020. 13th Floor Elevators has been played on NTS over 100 times, featured on 68 episodes and was first played on 12 July 2013.

Hailing from Austin, Texas, 13th Floor Elevators pioneered the psychedelic garage sound of the 60s with their debut album, 'The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators' and follow-up, 'Easter Everywhere'. They were one of the first acts to describe their music as 'psychedelic' and their lyrics and sleeve notes would openly endorse the use of drugs like LSD to alter human consciousness.

Having pleaded insanity to avoid prison time for drug possession charges, lead singer Roky Erickson spent 3 years in Rusk State Hospital and, upon release, withdrew from public life for many years. During the 2000s he re-emerged with an old backing band, The Explosives, who began to play gigs regularly including Austin City Limits & Coachella. In 2015, 13th Floor Elevators reunited to play Levitation (formerly Austin Psych Fest) with original band members present.

Erickson passed away in Austin on May 31, 2019.