This week we celebrate the 15th year of one of Seattle’s favorite hometown labels: Barsuk Records! Since its birth in 1998, Barsuk has helped create a platform for dozens of great bands, from the Pacific Northwest and otherwise, to get off the ground and put forth incredible music. Even in the deca…
Brooklyn punk rockers Parquet Courts have debuted a fresh, new single off their upcoming EP, Tally All The Things That You Broke. Within the first few seconds, "You've Got Me Wonderin' Now" explodes with an amazing guitar rift and Andrew Savage's unmistakable voice. Look for the five-track EP to d…
Timber! Outdoor Music Festival, happening July 26 and 27 in Carnation, WA, is a mini-festival out in the wilderness, off the beaten path, and tickets are selling out fast. There are so many draws to this event--bands, camping, hiking, mountain biking, stargazing with a UW astrophysics professor, op…
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 DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured song, selected by…
Happy Valentine's Day! This morning, we shared a some of our favorite V-Day videos with you, but here are some other new videos that you're sure to love. First up, we have this clip for Passion Pit's "Carried Away" off their latest album, Gossamer. Sophia Bush and lead singer Michael Angelakos star…
Fresh off her tour with Radiolab, Thao Nguyen and The Get Down Stay Down are streaming their new album We The Common. Featuring a collaboration song with Joanna Newsom, "Kindness Be Conceived", the album is catchy but surprising - Thao can easily move from sweetness to roaring in a jump and a skip.…
The eternally sarcastic Father John Misty has created a country version of the title track off his latest album Pure Comedy. Clearly intentioned as parody, Josh Tillman puts on a country accent and changes the instrumentation, adding the exclaim: "That's right boys, bring it on home!" He even accid…
Singer/songwriter Billy Bragg is known for never shying away from political content in his songs. (As he sings on the track "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards", musing about music journalists who ask, "Mixing pop and politics he asks me what the use is / I offer him embarrassment and my usual ex…
How often have you heard about this idea of the "Seattle Freeze?" It's a concept that suggests that Seattle and the people in it have trouble connecting. People who transplant to the city are most often to point it out and quickly complain about how hard it is to make friends in a city where people…
Wo' Pop host Darek Mazzone presents new Polish music to make you fat and happy, inspired by the OFF Festival in Katowice, Poland, and featuring nu-folk, electro-acoustic improvisation, cranking garage and gritty urban hip hop, and so much more! 1. Sutari - Kupalnocka 2. Galus - Theearth 3. Kr…
Midday show host Cheryl Waters brings you a new mix stacked with Pacific Northwest artists and more. 1. Chris Staples - Cheap Shades 2. Pete Quirk - Desert Eagle 3. Shana Cleveland & The Sandcastles - Holy Rollers 4. Sharon Van Etten - Just Like Blood 5. Widowspeak - All Yours 6. Ultimate Pa…
Afternoon show host Kevin Cole folds and sculpts sounds into a stunning musical mix featuring brand new tracks from Courtney Barnett, Pond, JD McPherson and more! Let the good times fold! 1. JD McPherson - Let The Good Times Roll 2. Stag - She + Me 3. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best 4. Pon…
There's a wave of fantastic music coming out of Sydney at the moment, but Australia's Middle Kids never get overshadowed by their scene siblings. The silvery rock trio's knack for steely hooks and gleaming tones made them a breakout artist in summer 2016, and nine months later, the…
Bumbershoot 2016's middle day was an interesting one. With a line management fiasco at the Key Arena the day before, police ran the line down the main drag, roping off necessary crosswalks and rerouting people trying to get their chicken burrito on at Chipotle into tree beds and bushes. And while s…
On this week’s episode, we’ll explore Ishmael Butler’s journey from the West Coast to the East Coast and back again. Through all his stylistic reinventions and his current artistic life as lynchpin of Shabazz Palaces, son of the Central District and under-heralded hip-hop visionary.
Among the Polish artists we discovered during the recordings KEXP captured while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, Poland, perhaps none better exemplifies the country's musical diversity as Olo Walicki. The Gdansk-born composer, performer and bass player has recorded many albums of his own throughou…
Black Francis makes his video directorial debut today with the clip for "Um Chagga Lagga," off the latest Pixies LP, Head Carrier. Francis (er, "Mr. Black"?) wrote, storyboarded, produced, and directed the clip in Toulouse, France, and the video features scenes of the countryside there, alongside…
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…
KEXP's Day 2 coverage at Upstream Music Fest + Summit closed off with John Roderick's Seattle institution The Long Winters, who performed highlights spanning their three full-length albums in a memorable performance. Roderick was joined by Sean Nelson (KEXP, Harvey Danger), former Long Winters drum…
Mavis Staples releases another teaser off of her February 19th album, Livin' on a High Note, the Nick Cave written "Jesus Lay Down Beside Me" which is available below. The album, produced by M. Ward, features songs written by a variety of artists specifically for the 76-year-old R&B titan-esse,…