KEXP Suggests: Sub Pop Turns 28 at Barboza 4/1

There’s only about 20 birthdays you should be allowed to celebrate. And the others? You’re wasting cake and paper. Here are the 20 you can celebrate: 1 through 9, you get a birthday. Cause you’re a little kid! A little kid gets a birthday. 10, you get a birthday. Now you’re in the double digits. Something’s different. 13, you get a birthday. Now you’re a teenager. 16, you get a birthday, 'cause now you can drive. 18? Awesome birthday, 'cause you can buy a gun and vote. When you’re 19, you get a birthday, because it’s your last year as a teenager. When you’re 20, you get a birthday. Any time you enter a new set of tens: 20, 30, 40, 50, you get a birthday. 21, you get an awesome birthday. And then, THAT’S IT. A birthday every ten years. “I’m 26!” Great, go to work. Who gives a shit?

Incidentally, that piece can be found on the 2007 comedy album Werewolves and Lollipops which was released on Sub Pop Records... who celebrate their 28th birthday this Friday, April 1st with a show at Barboza. So what? You're 28 - big deal, beloved local label!But, then you look at the line-up and decide a celebration is in order, despite Oswalt's protests.

Newcomer Kyle Craft opens the show: this Portland-via-Shreveport, Louisiana artist releases his Dylan-esque debut album, Dolls of Highland, on April 29th via Sub Pop. Craft wrote, recorded, and produced the album himself, with Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel of The Helio Sequence mixing. Seattle MC Porter Ray will be up next: this young artist has been self-releasing music for years, which caught the attention of Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces who introduced him to Sub Pop. And then, former Smith Westerns vocalist Cullen Omori closes out the night with tracks from his debut solo release, New Misery, out now on (you guessed it) Sub Pop (duh). (Note: you can hear a live session from Omori on Saturday, April 9th at 1:00 PM PT, and Craft will be LIVE on KEXP Thursday, April 28th at Noon PT.)

The label will resurrect the Sub Pop Mini-Mart as a pop-up for the occasion. The first 50 people to the show get a birthday goodie bag, and the first 200 people through the door get a babycake, courtesy of Cupcake Royale. Doors are at 7:00 PM, and tickets are available online here. Show is 21+, sorry kids (but at least you get to celebrate your birthdays for now).