Tom Krell, better known as How to Dress Well. and newcomer TĀLĀ have collaborated on a new single as part of Pitchfork's Songs From Scratch series, which gives artists only 24 hours to create and record a song. Below you can hear both artists' versions of their track "The One." [Pitchfork]
Iceland breeds some unique vocalists. One of our favorites, who we discovered a few years ago at Icelandic Airwaves Festival is Sóley, a former member of Seabear who has become an acclaimed songwriter on her own. We know we're not the only ones to fall in love with her, as Sóley's performance of "I…
Despite the surprise appearance of (perennial Bumbershoot headliner) rain on Satuday evening, the dedicated crowd of Babes in Toyland fans seemed completely indifferent to the downpur. And from Kat Bjelland's first snarling guitar chord, it was clear that she was too. In a set front-loaded with one…
Local Natives have released a new single with the help of Nico Segal, a.k.a. Donnie Trumpet, from Chance the Rapper associates The Social Experiment. Entitled "The Only Heirs", it follows the previously released track "I Saw You Close Your Eyes", which (rather creepily) forced listeners to physical…
In the Nursery must be one of the longest running and most prolific projects I've covered in this series, having released albums almost annually since 1983 (they've slowed down a bit in recent years, with only six full-length releases since 2005).
Join us for the 2025 KEXP Yule Benefit with Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples at McCaw Hall on Tuesday, December 2nd. For one night only, gather with the KEXP community for sets from singer-songwriter-producer an…
KEXP's Midday Show host Cheryl Waters presents a new mix featuring 12 tracks that she's been loving lately. Enjoy music from The Fresh & Onlys, Bleeding Rainbow, Cloud Nothings, The Hold Steady and more! What have you been loving lately? 1. The Districts - Funeral Beds 2. The Fresh & Only…
On every Wednesday this month, the Northwest Film Forum presents the Offbeat Music Films Series: five cinematic captures of the bands themselves, labels, fans, and more. All these unique films are premiering for the first time ever in Seattle, and most are one-night-only engagements, so you won't w…
There's a chill in the air, lights are adorning trees all around Seattle, and jingle bells can be faintly heard off in the distance. It can all only mean one thing: Christmas time is here again! Per tradition, KEXP has rounded up some of this year's best Christmas songs from some of our favorite ar…
No one can make a pink wig look bad ass and terrifying quite like M.I.A. can. In the video for her track, "Bring The Noize," not only does she pull of this feat' but she also strings together lightening fast flows that she punctuates with a flick of her sparkly gold talons. It's one thing to hear …
More than any other day, Saturday at Bonnaroo was filled with things that could only really happen at the Farm, among them, Björk's jellyfish facemask thing, R. Kelly entering on a boom crane, a 5k at 9 in the morning (in 80 degree heat), and a moment where Jim James, R. Kelly, Billy Idol, and John…
A "rain plan" is practically unknown in the Northwest. It rains here too frequently, but rarely fervently, for anyone to need that kind of contingency. Instead, for us rain plans are active ones, scenarios for doing and being. Maybe that's why Israel Nash's 2014 album, Rain Plans, gripped us so fir…
It is nothing short of bewildering that it took Belle and Sebastian almost twenty years before they named an album with a title as on-the-nose as Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance. As a songwriter, band leader Stuart Murdoch is famously as self aware as he is garrulous, and despite being fascinated …
Available only until the end of the year, Live at KEXP Volume Eight features one-of-a-kind, exclusive live tracks from some of the past year’s greatest artists -- some well known, others just discovered. All of the bands featured on this compilation have donated their profits to support listener-po…
Howe Gelb's multiple-decade catalog is hard to pin down, but the one current that runs through it all is the Tucson, Arizona musician's warm-burning songwriting. The sometime Giant Sand leader pares down to a piano for his latest record, Future Standards, and accompanied only by a bassist, Gelb d…
Nu-disco god Andy Butler and his Hercules and Love Affair project have been blowing our minds for years now. With the self-titled, Butler cultivated a disco masterpiece, full of slow burn and tainted love that needed to be danced to. Then, with last year's excellent Blue Songs, he moved in a slight…
When Sera Cahoone moved to Seattle, forcing herself to play open mic nights at the (now-defunct venue) OK Hotel was only the beginning of a career that would lead her to literally play on top of the Space Needle. In her far-closer-to-the-ground return to the KEXP Live Room, Cahoone joins John Ri…
While everyone else in Seattle was decked out in rain boots and all-weather jackets, the dapper Los Angeles quartet Chicano Batman returned to the KEXP studio dressed to the nines, bringing a bit of psychedelic sunshine to one of the wettest Seattle winters in recent memory. The band's ebulli…
As time goes by, it's harder than ever to determine what makes a good electronic show from a bad one. Mainstream EDM DJs can make insatiable amounts of money from a pre-mixed "just press play" setlist that they only have to half-heartedly interact with in order to pull off. And with top notch equip…
