Wow, another year of Bumbershoot action already over, and what a ride it was! This year's festival was truly a different beast. With the new overhead having a full year to strategize and plan logistics, it seemed like by day 3, a lot of these were starting to go out the window. Crowd rushing in the…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "New Mexico" by La Fonda, from the 2023 self-released album We Are Infinite.
It's another chilly morning in Reykjavík, with the sun shining on the iconic snow-capped Mt. Esja, and the KEXP road crew is here at Kex Hostel getting ready for another great day of live music at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. We'll be starting the day with exquisite Finnish singer-songwriter Mi…
Phantogram can't help but fire up your passion. The upstate New York electro pop duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter came on strong with their seductive self-titled EP back in 2009, which they followed with two increasingly alluring LPs quickly in the next two years, but then left us hot and bothe…
Last month, KEXP officially opened the doors to our new home. To celebrate, we invited all our friends. Thousands of listeners and supporters showed up to our all-day party, featuring many of our favorite artists performing. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Bob Mould and Deep Sea Diver wowed the c…
While many people are compiling their year-end lists and shopping for gift-worthy deluxe reissues for the upcoming holidays, some bands are still releasing excellent new albums that you'll want to hear before you make any final decisions. A few of this week's releases see some KEXP favorites making…
KEXP has been incredibly fortunate to return to Iceland these past six years, not only to discover new artists to share with our listeners, but also to witness the astounding growth of bands like Vök. When we first heard them in 2013, Vök had recently formed, starting as a duo and winning Músíktilr…
Timely does not even begin to describe the new record from NYC rappers Heems and Riz MC, a.k.a. Swet Shop Boys. While it's depressing as hell, these two dudes seriously could not have picked a better week to drop an album about basic human rights being put up into contention. As the race towards Vo…
Hip hop greats De La Soul have a pretty cool roster of guest musicians on their forthcoming full-length, and the Anonymous Nobody…. The list includes David Byrne, Snoop Dogg, Pete Rock, 2 Chainz, Usher, Jill Scott, Roc Marciano, Little Dragon, and, of course, Damon Albarn. To return the favor, it'…
Five and a half weeks and thirty one dates later, Telekinesis and Say Hi return to Seattle. These two local veterans embarked on an epic co-headlining tour back at the beginning of October, and Saturday night, they wrapped it up with an unforgettable stop at Neumos. Both of their new records droppe…
It's uncanny that yesterday just happened to be Australia Day, and the highlights of this week's new releases are dominated by the down under! Merge Records release the latest from Melbourne pop quartet Twerps, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes is, "a masterful album of jangly indie-pop rem…
In Icelandic their name means "seasons", but the warm, acoustic chamberpop songs of Árstíðir are particularly comforting on these cold days of winter. Recently, the group has been busy recording and crowd funding their third LP, Hvel (due February 2015), but they took time to share a handful of gor…
Silver, sweet, and spectral tones fill Cheryl Waters' latest mix, with new songs from Chastity Belt, Palm, and Waxahatchee coloring in a vibrant soundtrack to the early summer. 1. Chastity Belt - Different Now 2. Dave Depper - Your Voice on the Radio 3. Maiah Manser - Sweet Hell 4. Lambchop - Re…
Today is May 4th, or as its known in the pop culture world, Star Wars Day. This year's "holiday" is significant for two reasons: it's our first without actress Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leia, who passed away late last year, and secondly, May 25th marks the 40th anniversary of the first film, Star…
In honor of Record Store Day (April 18), Blitzen Trapper are putting out a special live cover album of Neil Young's 1972 classic Harvest. They've shared "Heart of Gold," the first single off the clevery titled, Live Harvest. Listen below. [Stereogum]
Those Pretty Wrongs frontman Jody Stephens was a key member of the seminal Memphis band Big Star, but while he was behind the drum kit in that outfit, he's front and center on his new project with Luther Russell (The Freewheelers). In this acoustic performance, Stephens and Russell's so…
Okay, this is going to seem kind of weird. It's late March now - Spring is finally upon us - and here we are presenting Courtney Barnett and her band decked out in costume. There's actually a pretty good reason for it. When the Australian indie sensation stopped by the KEXP studio last Halloween to…
We've been teasing tracks from the upcoming Courtney Barnett album on the air, and now UK listeners can hear the whole dang album. Listeners overseas can stream the Australian singer/songwriter's debut album Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit below, which hits stores on March 24th…
