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…
Timber! Outdoor Music Festival, happening July 26 and 27 in Carnation, WA, is a mini-festival out in the wilderness, off the beaten path, and tickets are selling out fast. There are so many draws to this event--bands, camping, hiking, mountain biking, stargazing with a UW astrophysics professor, op…
RNDM - the side project of Joseph Arthur, Richard Stuverud, and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament - performed their song "Disappearing Acts" on Conan last night. Their performance felt like it was straight out of the 50s, complete with doowop hairstyles (wigs?) and very dapper suits. It was even filmed…
The eternally sarcastic Father John Misty has created a country version of the title track off his latest album Pure Comedy. Clearly intentioned as parody, Josh Tillman puts on a country accent and changes the instrumentation, adding the exclaim: "That's right boys, bring it on home!" He even accid…
They're wearing clothes and are normally sized (at least in this session), but make no mistake - Naked Giants rip and roar as powerfully as they would even if they were the unclothed titans their name implies. The Seattle trio enter the KEXP studio, plug in, and charge ahead so hard that two …
The most anticipated performance of the weekend was also the most divisive, and as the biggest audience of the weekend walked away from the Gorge one last time, everyone had something to say about Kendrick Lamar's closing set. As the first show played since the release of his instant classic To Pim…
"Good evening" or "we're Iceage from Copenhagan, Denmark" wasn't the first thing that Iceage frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt said when the Danish four-piece arrived onstage. It wasn't even a simple "hello". It was a startling, guttural grunt that soared over the opening chords of "On My Fingers". …
Although it was their third time at the festival, Tame Impala's Sasquatch 2015 set was their first appearance at the Gorge that was both planned and executed smoothly. They were a last minute replacement in 2010 and an airline misplacing their gig forced the band to play the far-too-small Yeti stag…
Although there was plenty of star power on the final day of Sasquatch, there was a clear standout during the early afternoon on Monday, and it wasn't just because brought a Godzilla figurine onstage with her. When an assured Natalie Prass opened with an electric version of "Bird Of Prey", it was cl…
Just before a pair of sold-out shows at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Greg Vandy, host of The Roadhouse on KEXP, sat down with Jack White to discuss his new album, Lazaretto, his label, Third Man Records, vintage recordings, the Paramount reissues and even his sprained ankle.
This Saturday’s Record Store Day will be kind of like the Easter egg hunt for me and my fellow music lovers and record collecting geeks. We’ll gleefully race down the aisles in search of that colorful surprise and treat. And, this year there are plenty of goodies — rarities, long out-of-print re-is…
Even on its way out, 2016 continues to take from us the things we love. Yesterday, we lost George Michael. The 53-year old pop singer reportedly "passed away peacefully at home" and "in bed", in Oxfordshire, England, leaving behind a catalog of songs that inspired as much movement on the dance floo…
Every year, the holiday season seems to inspire some of our favorite bands to write new music. KEXP has rounded up some of our favorites below. Need even more songs for rockin' around your Christmas tree? Be sure to check out previous round-ups for 2015 and 2014. Happy holidays from everyone at KEX…
Every once in a while in this series, I like to take a break from posting albums by bands I'm embarrassed not to know more about, in order to post an album by a band that there's pretty much no way I could ever have heard of - unless I was born a decade earlier in the midwest, or was a college radi…
Amidst massive popularity, U2 has always been a misunderstood band. From theatrical bombast to musical pivots, the band has often followed its own muse as opposed to succumbing to critical constraints, but their artistry may get lost amidst the theatrics. Even now, one may wonder why 30-years later…
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, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the …
With a wash of funky synth and a splash of dancey pop, Seattle's Pillar Point is making waves on the electronic scene. Having transitioned from indie rock to indie synthpop, Scott Reitherman has just released his one-man project's sophomore album, Marble Mouth, on Polyvinyl Record Co. In-studio at …
On August 23rd, Seattle musicians Mike McCready, Duff McKagan, Barrett Martin, and Mark Arm ascended the roof of Pike Place Market for Raw Power KEXP, a historical evening of Iggy & the Stooges covers. But they weren't the only local legends on stage. Off to the side, quietly stood world-renown…
White Men Are Black Men Too - Young Fathers' inclusiveness extends beyond the title of their latest LP. The adventurous followup to their Mercury Prize winning debut expands upon their already unconventional hip-hop-infused art pop toward an even wider spanning blend of gospel, soul, psych, prog an…
No, we haven't time-warped to twenty years ago: on this holiday week, the reissues and anniversary editions dominate the new release list. One of the highlights is the reissue of Flake Music's 1997 debut (and sole release) When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return. Flake Music was an early incarnatio…
