Coinciding with the rise in popularity and influence of American roots music, a new generation of songwriters has cropped up to transcend the stories and culture that inspired their predecessors and paint pictures of modern American life. At the forefront of this new chapter is Hurray For The Riff …
You're not alone if the crummy weather this season makes you wish it were a different time of year. It's what makes sharing today's exclusive video premiere even more special. For "Summer Is Almost Gone", Icelandic singer-songwriter Snorri Helgason ventures to New York City on a hot summer day, wal…
With Independence Day right around the corner, it's great to see so many new releases out this week on independent labels! Highlights include the debut album from former Late Of The Pier frontman Sam Dust (aka LA Priest). KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes it as "a fine set of eccentric, psych…
Finally! A reason to go to Spokane! This weekend, September 5th through 7th, launches the First Annual Bartfest, a music festival organized by a new all-ages venue in the small Washington town, The Bartlett. Together, with Nyne Bar located next door, they'll host a three-day indoor festival smack-d…
This weekend is your chance to score a piece of punk rock history as X's Exene Cervenka is throwing a yard sale, and you're all invited! The sale begins today in Santa Ana, California and runs for the next four days. Everything from guitars, vintage clothing, movie posters, alligator bags, and mor…
Angel Olsen excels in hitting those long, sustained notes that speak volumes, and her songwriting pairs perfectly with her rich vocals, unwinding slowly to unfurl affecting, personal narratives. Her 2016 album MY WOMAN is full of those stories - accented by plenty of those heart-shattering vocal l…
When it comes to young bands making self-assured, thoughtful and influence-referencing music, Ought already do. The Montreal-based four-piece formed just three years ago amid a burgeoning DIY scene in the city's Mile End district and, while drawing heavily from sonic inspirations like Talking Heads…
Proof that Jack White has always been inventive with his musical releases: back in 2004, White and his friend Brian Muldoon were part of a band called The Upholsterers, named for their actual day job professions. Inspired by their own name, White and Muldoon, um, upholstered 100 copies of their fi…
The Flaming Lips are offering some pretty amazing material in honor of this month's Record Store Day Back To Black Friday. One album is a complete cover of Stone Roses' debut album that features contributions from Foxygen, Poliça, Spaceface, Peaking Lights, Stardeath, and several others. The other…
It's hard to believe it's already been three years since the release of the Fleet Foxes album Helplessness Blues (voted #1 album of 2011 by KEXP listeners). Frontman Robin Pecknold took to Facebook yesterday to share an update:
For anyone who’s curious, this is a short Fleet Foxes update – been a w…
More clouds? More rain? When have these things ever mattered to Seattle? Capitol Hill Block Party 2015 ventured onwards with nothing but smiles as time for Day 2 arose. Between Jamie xx and Built to Spill yesterday, Saturday had a high bar to clamber over. But the festivities got underway very quic…
Thank you to everyone who came out Saturday night for a sold out sixth annual SMooCH: Seattle Musicians for Children’s Hospital. Those in attendance were treated to new music from headliner Father John Misty, who told the audience, the follow-up to last year's I Love You, Honeybear is done. Songs …
As if today isn't heartbreaking enough with the death of Prince, but the news also reports that Richard Lyons, founding member of Negativland, passed away earlier this week from complications due to a nodular melanoma. He had just turned 57 years old the day before. Lyons, better known to fans as …
The world is waking up to the terrible news: iconic artist David Bowie has passed away at the age of 69 after an 18-month-long battle with cancer. KEXP DJs and listeners have been sharing their stories, feelings, and memories on-air all day, and on social media, Bowie's friends and admirers have be…
Next on KEXP live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was the first non-Icelandic band of this year's broadcast. Operators is the new synth-pop project from Canadian musician Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade/Divine Fits/Handsome Furs). A ray of sun after the bright but melancholy cloud of D…
Rapper, producer, singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, electronic musician, and Stranger Genius award-nominee Katie Kate does it all. A classically-trained pianist, the adept Cornish alum is working on not only her new album Nation but also music for a fringe theater show called "Love in the Ti…
As the temperatures start to heat up, Cheryl Waters keeps your summer rolling with another flowing mix featuring new songs from Briana Marela, Songhoy Blues, and Broken Social Scene. 1. Poliça - Still Counts 2. Briana Marela - Quit 3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Anymore 4. Little Star - Ana…
First up on day three of the KEXP broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was soulful Icelandic-American blues-rock band Moji & The Midnight Sons. Conceived of in a small Reykjavik whiskey bar under the light of the midnight sun, Moji and the Midnight Sons are new face…
We can't say the song title on the air, but we sure can on the KEXP Blog! So, check out the clip for the track "Shithole" from Toronto stand-outs Weaves. Director Trevor Blumas fixes his lens on frontwoman Jasmyn Burke. In a press release, Burke says, "We shot this video on a hot Summers day with …
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. If you haven’t already called in sick to work on Friday yet, then do it now and get over to Ballard for Hood-to-Hood Day…
