Michael Benjamin Learner is the singer, songwriter and recording artist extraordinaire for the band Telekinesis - he writes all the parts, plays all the instruments and treats the project with a fatherly-like care. Learner, as Telekinesis, also has the pleasure of playing this year's inaugural Timb…
Perhaps nobody spends more time and works as closely with the artists performing in our live studio than KEXP's team of video producers. From setup, to performance, to the hours spent editing each session, KEXP video producers get to see the ins and outs of every performance, sometimes over and ove…
This week we celebrate the 15th year of one of Seattle’s favorite hometown labels: Barsuk Records! Since its birth in 1998, Barsuk has helped create a platform for dozens of great bands, from the Pacific northwest and otherwise, to get off the ground and put forth incredible music. Even in the deca…
The Head & The Heart have experienced one of the greatest Seattle success stories we've seen in recent years. Selling over 10,000 copies of their self-released self-titled debut LP by word of mouth before signing to Sub Pop to re-release it nationally in 2011, the band saw their homespun batch …
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is on a hunger strike, protesting an atmosphere of “slave labor” in her Russian prison. Today, she writes in a letter proliferated by her husband, “I am going on hunger strike and refusing to participate in colony slave labor. I will do this until the administrat…
We end our broadcast during Musicfest NW today with another great lineup at the Doug Fir in Portland. Tune in today starting at noon for four great bands performing live on air starting with New Jersey indie punks Titus Andronicus, followed by melodic Bay Area folk-pop duo The Dodos, Portland's own…
Tomorrow, Friday, October 6th, Rhino Records are releasing The Replacements For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986, a two-disc set capturing The Replacements at their mid-career best. Last month, KEXP premiered the live version of "Takin’ A Ride," and today, we share the band's ramshackle take on "Color …
Theoretically, if you asked me what show would constitute my ultimate pipedream throwdown in a basement by an active, living band, I think I'd pick METZ. The Ontario group signed to Sub Pop in 2012 and immediately took throneroom space aside some of North America's finest punk names. Two albums dee…
In March 2012, Girls mastermind Lena Dunham told NY Mag, that "[Millennial] lostness and that questioning — I wish I could say that it completely went away when you were getting to do the thing you wanted to do, but unfortunately, that’s not the truth." The most recent season of Girls featured a nu…
As we previously noted, Brooklyn band Parquet Courts make a sound whose exact genre is hard to nail down. Settling comfortably into a blend of seventies and eighties punk, avante rock, 80s pop, and no wave, their songs harken to indie rock's humble beginnings -- think Blonde Redhead but less sad, a…
Tegan and Sara have been writing beautiful, heart-breaking music for quite a few years now. Different fans swear by them for different reasons, but a common thread runs through them all: Tegan and Sara evoke the dynamic emotion of real relationship better than nearly any other band. Ever. Fans used…
On the show this time, it’s the powerful 60’s and 70’s influenced instrumentals of the mighty Budos Band.
Dusty Henry and Martin Douglas dive into the three albums by the Portland band Wipers, the band with the most entries on Kurt's list (unless you count "anything by Kleenex").
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If you call yourself an Arcade Fire fan and have seen the band at least once in the live setting, there's a good chance that you need absolutely no introduction to Will Butler. When Arcade Fire skyrocketed to the moon amongst the Reflektor hype of 2013, it was clear that the one facet of their musi…
Jessi Zazu of Those Darlins has passed away at the age of 28. As we reported back in December 2016, Zazu was diagnosed with cervical cancer just one week after finishing her final tour with Those Darlins. In a statement on the band's Facebook page, her bandmate Linwood Regensburg reports: "She mai…
Mere weeks before heading out on his Life Aquatic Tour (yes, inspired by the Wes Anderson film), west coast rapper Vince Staples shares the new single "BagBak." Listen below. Frankly, I don't remember any scenes with a bagbak, but you can definitely envision Bill Murray and his band of interns sto…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song comes from contemp…
Day 2 of Macefield Music Festival possessed a nice balance of crisp October weather, jangly jams, electrified éclat, and some bona fide rock 'n' roll - such as the rapturous return of Hazel! It's been a minute since the 90s grunge-era band has reunited to play a festival, possibly since 2012's Musi…
Following his fantastic third solo album, Singing Saw, Kevin Morby shares a digital 7” single today titled "Tiny Fires." The acoustic track was written and recorded in Morby’s bedroom in Los Angeles, and features two members of his touring band -- Meg Duffy on slide guitar and bass, and Justin Sul…
On Saturday, February 18th, musician Clyde Stubblefield passed away from kidney failure in his Madison, Wisconsin home. He was 73 years old. Stubblefield rose to prominence as the percussionist for the James Brown Band during the ’60s and ’70s. His improvised backbeat in the song "Funky Drummer" b…
