Can you believe it's been eight years since DJ Cheryl Waters first kicked off her now-annual Canada Day show? Even our friends at the Canadian consulate are tuning in, like Consulate General James K. Hill (right) who stopped by the station to chat with Cheryl about the Great White North! “There is …
If you're my age and MTV was a huge part of your musical awakening, this album (or really its hit single "Goody Two-Shoes") was your first exposure to the artist known as Adam Ant. And you probably thought it was pretty cool. But if you were a college radio DJ at the time, and had been enjoying the…
There's a deceptive appeal to Hinds. At first listen to their buoyant jangle pop, and even at first glance at their fresh faces, the young Madrid garage rockers might be taken less seriously than they deserve. No doubt, they perform to have fun, but it's exactly their carefree attitude, slightly of…
American treasure Willie Dixon would have turned 100 this year. As it seems must be the case with even the most revered and successful blues musicians, his life had its highs and lows; sometimes those were two sides of the same coin, from having his songs covered by some of the most popular bands i…
If you caught the Father John Misty video for "The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment," you might've marveled at the technology that allowed Josh Tillman to pick himself up at a bar and take himself home for a romantic evening. Today, Sub Pop reveals a behind-the-scenes look at how they made…
Even after releasing a pair of EP's, Wolf Alice has yet to show their teeth. The young London four-piece have grown from a folky duo into a gnashing, shoegazy, guitar-heavy band steeped in 90's alternative rock but with a freshly energized take. But their past singles “Fluffy” and “Moaning Lisa Smi…
Who said the Northwest can't get funky? The eight members of local group Cascadia ’10 play afro-funk music together using a variety of horns, electric guitars, percussion instruments and a sense of slow-burning soul. Formed in 2010, as their name might suggest, the members of Cascadia ’10 also play…
Listening to The Lonely Forest is like looking up at the Northern Lights. On a crisp evening, a river rushing behind you, pine trees spotting the landscape, the shimmering aurora borealis hypnotizes. This is what it’s like taking in the grand, pleasantly wavering vocals of Lonely Forest lead singer…
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…
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…
This week we celebrate the 15th year of one of Seattle’s favorite hometown labels: Barsuk! 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 decade and a…
Few Seattle bands put on as energetic and frenetic of a live show as Kithkin. In keeping with the fantastical woodland creatures they're named for (from Magic: The Gathering), the group is even known to decorate the stages they play with fir trees and other forest paraphernalia. They are slated to …
History seems to have mostly forgotten the London band Birdhouse - or The Birdhouse, depending on whom you consult - with references to their work turning up at baseline music information sites such as Allmusic and Discogs, but not much analysis or information beyond that. The only way I even found…
It's hard to believe that there can be room for improvement when it comes to James Blake's music. Apparently Blake himself wasn't 100 percent sold on his song "Life Round Here" and he said, “I never really felt the track was finished, even when it went on the album, I just felt there was this spac…
His posse was on Broadway last night. In what became the worst kept secret appearance in Seattle, local hip-hop stars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis took over the intersection of Broadway and Olive Way in Capitol Hill yesterday to film a video for their song "White Walls", referencing the singer's suped…
Happy Weed Day, everyone! Though the origins of "420" aren't quite the stuff of legend (it was not actually police code for marijuana use in progress), it certainly has become the rallying cry of pot smokers and is celebrated daily without anyone's help. But the day 4/20 is likely to raise more blu…
This past weekend in Portland, a benefit concert was held for beloved local artist Scott McCaughey, who suffered a stroke back in November. As we mentioned last month here on the KEXP Blog, the two nights (Friday at the Star Theater, Saturday at the Wonder Ballroom) featured an all-star bill includ…
Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole proves that the world is a beautiful musical place with a diverse set of new sounds that span the globe, including music from Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Australia, Sweden, Scotland, Niger, and Connecticut's The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Af…
Sometimes, you don't know how good you have it in Seattle. Just last month, Sheffield garage rock duo Drenge packed the John Peel stage tent so full at Glastonbury that you'd have to fight your way through about 10,000 bodies to get even a reasonable view of the band. This past Monday, you could ca…
2011's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming didn't just turn M83 into a triple-A critical darling and unexpected commercial success, it pushed the band to become one of the biggest and outright best acts on the live circuit. Taking their records' widescreen ambitions and bringing them to life with a huge, bord…