At around 3 o'clock, I made my way to the fairly full audience of the Bigfoot stage to catch Cole Smith's (of Beach Fossils) project DIIV. Little did I know I was in for one of the more sun drunk performances I would see - and I mean that in the best and most innocent way. At one point guitarist An…
If KEXP had a Five-Timers Club, Low would now be one of its key members. The long-running Duluth, Minnesota trio has been a KEXP favorite for the better part of the last 15 years, and while the trio was out in the Northwest promoting their tenth (!) full-length, The Invisible Way, they stopped by …
After playing an excellent lunchtime set live on KEXP, British dub pioneer James Blake moved down to the Neptune for a sold out gig in support of new record Overgrown. Fans were lined up more than an hour before the show and the place packed out quickly once doors were open, and all for good reason…
With a list of influences that including Dire Straits, Napalm Death, Beat Happening and Ol' Dirty Bastard, it's not an easy task to define the straightforward and honest sound of indie rock four-piece Parquet Courts. Their clean and simple guitars accompanied with in-your-face and incredibly smart …
Over the past few years, we've heard an R&B and soul music revival bubbling up from within everything from electronic to rock - and on the psychedelic end of that revival comes Unknown Mortal Orchestra. First grabbing attention in 2010 with an anonymously posted track “Ffunny Ffrends” as the pr…
Now in its 15th year, Oregon music festival Pickathon has announced its lineup, dates and location for 2013 -- and it's one of their best lineups yet! On August 2-4 at the Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, OR, the festival will host Feist, Andrew Bird, Divine Fits, The Devil Makes Three, Sharon Van …
Today on the Afternoon Show, Kevin Cole will be debuting a new 78 rpm single by The Head and the Heart. Recorded using all vintage analog gear by Seattle's groove-O-matic, who operate under the premise that "Recordings made from 1953 to 1965 tend to sound better than recordings made before or since…
Perhaps no other artist has brought Eastern music to the West like sitar master Ravi Shankar. His tutelage of George Harrison in the mid-60's kicked off a lifetime of cultural exchange. While rock bands like The Beatles were incorporating Eastern sounds in their music, Shankar himself was composing…
Just off of the 99 overpass, Feed stowed themselves away in their practice space affectionately referred to as the Dank Dungeon. Armed with a Tascam 488 tape recorder, the trio of guitarist Chase Hoyt, bassist Matt Kolhede, and drummer Pat Schowe spent months crafting their self-titled debut album,…
El Sonido host DJ Chilly compiles a mixtape featuring a variety of rock ‘n' roll en Español favorites from around the globe. Ahora somos nuevos creadores de rocanrol, tranquilos, todo va a estar más o menos bien. 1. AJ Dávila - Salvajes 2. Los Punsetes - Me Gusta Que Me Pegues 3. 60 Tigres …
Portland singer Charlie Hilton and her band Blouse have consistently found themselves in KEXP's watch list for rising talent. Blouse played Iceland Airwaves back in 2012 behind their first record, then toured extensively behind Imperium, their second, including a great stint with Dum Dum Girls. Thi…
Dan Boeckner may have followed his own advice to “start again”, but even with a new moniker, a new band, and a self-released debut EP released four days after its announcement, there seems to be nothing preventing Boeckner from shining through the darkness, no matter how often he disappears back in…
KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. sat down with British band Wet Leg, and realized just how silly this band really is.
Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell talks about how the new album, titled Things Are Great, was inspired by heartache and breakups.
The Head and The Heart talk about their new record, Every Shade of Blue, and starting therapy together as a band, 12 years since they formed in Seattle.
The National gave Brussels a treat last night by performing their beloved fourth studio album Boxer in its entirety for the first time ever. The band just wrapped up a European tour behind their latest album Sleep Well Beast, with Brussels as their final stop. Boxer celebrated its 10th anniversary …
Closing out this year’s video stream live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves music festival were legendary Icelandic rock band HAM. It was with a few gigs opening for the Sugarcubes in 1988 that HAM’s popularity bloomed, especially in Nordic countries (this part of the world does love their heavy …
Vancouver, BC artist Dan Bejar -- better known as Destroyer -- returns with his 11th album, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes as "a powerful set of dark,'80s-steeped New Wave/post-punk with prominent percussive synths, gleaming guitars and occasional strings and horns accompanying his d…
