Detroit synth punk rockers ADULT. played third during day one of the 2013 Treasure Island Music Festival. Their industrial, crunching melodies blistered under the hot sun, as San Francisco’s infamous “Indian Summer” kept festival goers warm even in mid-October. Frontwoman Nicola Kuperos poked fun a…
Nominations were announced this morning for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, and many KEXP faves were on the list, including Kendrick Lamar, who garnered 11 nominations for his latest To Pimp A Butterfly. Courtney Barnett was nominated for Best New Artist, while local boys Death Cab for Cutie will b…
Many know Sam Anderson from the band Hey Marseilles. But most don't know him for his new solo project, Arkomo. Well, not yet, anyway. Anderson, who plays guitar, keys and stringed instruments, is a multi-talented musician working to build Arkomo into something — what that is, specifically, is not 1…
Every week, KEXP features a new local artist with an interview and suggested tracks for where to start. This week, we’re featuring Seattle folk rock outfit The Maldives, who play Concerts at the Mural this Friday, August 25, with Industrial Revelation and Emma Lee Toyoda.
Every week, KEXP features a new local artist with an interview and suggested tracks for where to start. This week, we’re featuring Vancouver BC indie rock group The Courtneys, who play Concerts at the Mural this Friday, August 18, with Thunderpussy and Dude York.
Energy. That's what a good live performance boils down to, and that's what both Diet Cig and Diplo (who have little more than the letter "D" in common) delivered at the Capitol Hill Block Party on Sunday night. Performing in completely different genres to completely different audiences, they both p…
KEXP's broadcast from Pioneer Square as part of Upstream Music Fest + Summit continues with Seattle-based group MASZER, who brought a expansive, droning set to our stage at Little London Plane. Built on the propulsive dual percussion of Joseph Braley and Emilio Muniz, resonant guitar from Tomer-Dav…
Last night, during a performance at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, The National debuted a new song called "Prom Song 13th Century (Frankie and Johnny)". Joining them onstage was Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, who added a unique element to the moody track. They ended the performance with an im…
The lively 1984 discussion that took place among the KCMU DJ-erati on the cover of the first LP by Alien Sex Fiend might just take the prize for greatest number of words with the least to do with the music at hand. It definitely has the most anagrams I've ever come across in my years of doing this …
The end of the year is the slowest time for most bands to release any music, Radiohead has never been "most bands". On Christmas day, the group, who'd been quiet for a while (hopefully hunkering down on a new album), surprised fans by releasing a song they wrote this year, intended it as the theme …
Named after one of the most feared diseases that travelers to the Far East can contract, Dengue Fever is responsible for rekindling interest in a music that was nearly obliterated by one of most maniacal regimes of the 20th century. Based in the vibrant Los Angeles music scene, touring worldwide, a…
This week in new releases, we hear from several artists who've been dormant for a while. Sufjan Stevens returns with his majestic new album, Carrie & Lowell, named after his mother and stepfather and partly inspired by his mother’s death. Several KEXP DJs have already hailed it as a contender f…
KEXP Music Director Don Yates has declared the debut release from Ibeyi as his "Pick of the Week." He notes, "the debut album from the young Paris-based French-Cuban twin-sister duo of Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Diaz (who are also both daughters of the acclaimed Cuban percussionist Miguel “Anga” Diaz) i…
In a surprising bit of serendipity, two members of musical royalty share a birthday today: Elvis Presley (1935) and David Bowie (1947). The shared date of birth is not lost on the musicians: Bowie wrote his 1975 hit "Golden Years" for Elvis, who turned it down. UK comedian/impersonator Stevie Riks …
It was the perfect way to celebrate Donor Appreciation Night: last Friday, August 1st, the 2014 Concerts at the Mural series kicked off in a BIG way, with record-breaking attendance at the Seattle Center's Mural Amphitheatre lawn. Donors were invited to wear their KEXP t-shirts, and it was absolute…
Looking at the lineup of Bonnaroo over the past few years, it seems as if the organizers booked their roster by throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. Well, this year, everything stuck. On the top two lines of the bill, there’s a Beatle, an Icelandic electronic music goddess, the gu…
Wasn't I just talking about my childhood love of The Charlatans UK? Indeed I was. So it seemed like a fine time to take a moment to check out the debut album from these lovable Mancunians - who, it must be said, are still going strong, having released their 11th studio album in 2010 and rumored to …
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week we are featuring all holida…
A cinematic labor of love that captured a quiet revolution for American country music, the 1976 documentary Heartworn Highways is just like the songs that fill it. Sure, it’s scrappy, and a little rough around the edges. Yet its abundance of warmth, wit, and vitality makes it easy to understand how…
On November 5, we learned the horrible news that Mimi Parker of the band Low had lost her battle to ovarian cancer. Mimi was only 55 when she passed, but had done so much in her life as a mother, as a musician, and as a human. She was married to Alan Sparhawk, her bandmate. They met in grade school…
