We were already honored to have legendary musician John Doe of punk pioneers X joining us in the KEXP studio, so you can't imagine our surprise when he walked in with the also-legendary Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. Doe's musical partner Exene Cervenka caught a cold during the Seattle stop for the ba…
Known to many as the band who introduced the “post-dubstep” era, Mount Kimbie have always defied expectation. After meeting at college in London and bonding over a shared love of electronic music, the UK duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos explored the spaces around the popular dance music of 2008 …
KEXP's stellar lineup at Bumbershoot continues with festival heavy-hitter Michael Franti & Spearhead live on the Secret Stage. Franti has his fingers in many pots. He’s a poet, rapper, and singer-songwriter, who has been spreading positivity all over the world since 1994 with his current projec…
"Scottish people and the sun don't go well together," remarked The Twilight Sad frontman James Graham as he and his black-clad bandmates took a sunlight- and wind-drenched stage. However, perhaps the dissonance between the Scots and Vitamin D fueled Graham and his comrades because, despite the circ…
Thankfully, Failure never quite lived up to their name. Though in the 90's, they were never really allowed to sit at the cool table of grunge superstars, they found critical praise through their own inventive brand of heavy alt-rock. Record sales, unfortunately, never followed, and five years after…
Dilating their punkish pupils since their debut release Hard Life, Brooklyn’s Big Eyes set their sights on a musically matured sound for their sophomore 2013 album, Almost Famous. Ingrained within the Seattle scene in both sights and sonics, KEXP caught up with singer/songwriter Kait Eldridge to d…
Toronto’s BADBADNOTGOOD’s first headlining show in Seattle proved that they have come a long way from their viral-video rap-cover roots, as the three-piece made some serious noise tearing through several familiar covers and even more originals from their debut album, III. With only a drum kit, elec…
It took nearly six years, but the members of Tuatara finally heard the shaman's call. The members of the collaborative Seattle collective, led by drummer and producer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Walking Papers), gathered once again outside of the plain of their ordinary lives to cr…
Shabazz Palaces sound like no one else. Whether you call it "sci-fi", "way-out", "weirdo" or even "planetarium" rap, the Seattle duo's music might as well be in outer space considering how far off they sound from their contemporaries. But it's not like they don't want anyone else to follow. In its …
Okay, not "exactly" music news, but it's just been announced that none other than Stephen Colbert will take over for David Letterman as the host of CBS' The Late Show in 2015! Letterman announced his retirement earlier this month with a performance from Joseph Arthur, accompanied by R.E.M.'s Mike …
If current trends continue, Thurston Moore will evoke the true spirit of rock and roll musicianship and artistry until the day of his death. 35 years into his career, he and his band of extravagantly talented musicians in Chelsea Light Moving are making hard and heavy rock with just as edge and dem…
Tonight, KEXP will open the Gathering Space for the fourth annual Death & Music. It's a special event, hosted by The Morning Show DJ John Richards, that really goes beyond a traditional concert experience. It's a time to reflect on grief, on the people we've lost, and heal with our community. A…
Theoretically, if you asked me what show would constitute my ultimate pipedream throwdown in a basement by an active, living band, I think I'd pick METZ. The Ontario group signed to Sub Pop in 2012 and immediately took throneroom space aside some of North America's finest punk names. Two albums dee…
Okkervil River's 2005 masterpiece, Black Sheep Boy, is one of those records that grabs you wherever you're at. If you haven't gotten the divine pleasure of experiencing it yet, I promise you, it will grab you at some point soon. There's just something about the coming-of-age brilliance of its narra…
What is Iron and Wine anyway? A man? A band? A concept? A sound? For the past decade, Sam Beam has used his stage name to mean all of those things. The Southeastern raised songwriter first caught people's attention in the Northwest, actually, through a demo featured in Yeti Magazine and followed by…
Icelandic singer-songwriter Snorri Helgason is known for his gentle voice and seductive ballads, but when he returned to play live on KEXP during Iceland Airwaves this year, he went big and bold. Previously, we've featured Snorri in Iceland and even in Seattle, but for his set live at KEX hostel la…
Electronic music’s second massive wave of popularity is in full swing. For the first time since disco, Top 40 music is far more influenced by modern dance trends than traditional R&B or rock elements. By and large, the highest paid DJs do better than the highest paid rappers. After being critic…
You'd be mistaken to think that the artists at Pickathon are all a bunch of wizened fingerpickers. One of the highlights of the Portland-area festival's carefully curated lineup is the pairing of musicians new and old. On stage, you'll hear veteran songwriters with more stories to tell than songs t…
