His new album Pure Comedy may be in stores now, but Father John Misty hasn't stopped sharing new music. FJM (real name: Josh Tillman) covers the Velvet Underground classic "Who Loves the Sun" off their 1970 LP Loaded for the Mondo Boys score to Shangri-La Suite, a feature-length film from Los Ange…
Playing while it's raining at a festival is always a gamble. Lots of people who would have otherwise wandered over out of curiosity are hiding out in every covered nook and cranny imaginable, so it was only the diehards waiting in the drizzle for The Julie Ruin's mid-afternoon set. But, to be hones…
So deep is the pool of local talent these days, there was sparsely room for out-of-town acts on the KEXP Gathering Space stage this weekend. One worthwhile exception was shoegaze four-piece Froth, who traveled from Los Angeles to pay a visit to the crowd at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival…
Even with a full band backing her on stage at the KEXP Gathering Space Stage on the second day of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, it seemed like Seattle singer songwriter Shelby Earl hardly needed a mic. Her voice rang clear, powerful, and true even when she stepped back from her mic to …
Expansions began in late 1995 as the brainchild of Riz Rollins as a response to the burgeoning acid jazz scene that was enjoying popularity in local clubs but underexposed on the local airwaves. Even at its inception, it has always been important that the show not be commanded by any monolithic sty…
Sounds of Survivance, spanning the globe with sounds from people whose connection to a land goes back before colonization, and in most cases as far back as time itself. Rotating hosts Tory J (Quinault) and Kevin Sur (Kānaka Maoli) will feature global indigenous music from a variety of genres. From …
It's been an incredibly rough week, but music always has the power to heal. This morning was the 12th anniversary of the “Mom Show,” a beautiful four-hour program of remembrance and reflection hosted by DJ John Richards on The Morning Show on KEXP. The show began as a memorial for his own mother af…
Danny Newcomb, a long-time fixture of the Seattle music scene, returns with a new album tomorrow, Friday, August 11th. All the Way is the second release for the project Danny Newcomb & the Sugarmakers, but is just another addition to a lengthy discography for Newcomb who previously played in lo…
Shelby Earl's voice is a coveted gift. Google her name plus the word "heartbreaking" and you'll get endless results. With her mournful vibrato and aching howls, it's no wonder she's an artist many turn to in their most aching moments. However, that's just one facet of what Earl's capable of. On her…
"Seattle owns the future and they don't know it," composer Ron Jones tells a crowd at WaMu Theater during the second day keynote of the Upstream Music Fest + Summit. There's a bite to his words, feeling like equal parts admiration and condemnation. A native to the Northwest who relocated to Los Ang…
For the past 15 years, Dungen has been creating a unique blend of expansive psychedelic jazz prog rock that has made them an important and influential band not only in their native Sweden but around the world. With their latest album, Allas Sak, frontman Gustav Ejstes took a more concerted effort t…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Mid…
With a healthy dose of cool Britannia, Oxford’s Swervedriver take the KEXP audience on a melodic joyride through a collection of new spins from their long awaited comeback release, I Wasn't Born To Lose You. Enhancing their legacy seventeen years after their last LP, Sweredriver are still the multi…
The wait is finally over! Frank Ocean has officially announced his plans to release a follow up to the critically acclaimed channel Orange. According to Ocean's rep, we can expect Boys Don't Cry in July. Music video director Nabil, who has worked frequently with Ocean, said of the album: “Everyone…
"Utterly enchanting." That's how DJ Cheryl Waters described our recent in-studio session with the lovely Jessica Pratt, who was on tour in support of her sophomore release On Your Own Love Again, out now on Drag City. This young singer/songwriter emerged from the Bay Area's garage scene with an alb…
Seattle's own THEESatisfaction return with their first new album in almost three years: EarthEE. The sophomore full-length was co-produced by Erik Blood, who also makes a guest appearance, along with Shabazz Palaces, Porter Ray, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Taylor Brown. Check out the first single “Re…
One snare hit. That's all the notice the audience received that the curtain around the stage was opening and Jack White was beginning the second of his two nights at the Paramount Theatre with "Fell in Love With A Girl". Just under two minutes later, he was playing the unmistakable riff to another …
The wildly talented guitar player, Jessica Dobson, who fronts the band, Deep Sea Diver, has also played extensively with bands like Beck, The Shins and Conor Oberst. Jessica knows the guitar inside and out and is a master of tones and composition. KEXP caught up with her to ask her about her favori…
This Saturday, April 5th, both The Recording Academy: Pacific Northwest Chapter and the EMP Museum are collaborating to create a symposium of regionally-specific songwriters in an event titled, The Second Annual Songwriter's Summit. According to their website, the Summit will "bring together a dive…
We're sad to report that local rising surf band La Luz were in a severe accident that totaled their van, destroyed their gear, and incurred injuries to the band members. For those who feel compelled to help the band get back on their feet, their label Hardly Art has set up a Paypal account for lal…