Twenty freaking years. That's how long this ridiculous party has been going on in Capitol Hill. Every July, we all march up the hill and pack out the block for a madcap weekend of music and festivities at the Capitol Hill Block Party. $1 Rainiers at Sam's, free snacks everywhere, the Bus trying to …
It's that magical time of year again -- Sufjan Stevens has been releasing and presenting his usual barrage of bizarrely sweet Christmas cheer, and there have been plenty of other excellent holidays-themed releases and performances. For your holiday listening pleasure, we've compiled a list of the b…
"Sweep" - that's the command that Parquet Courts give us over and over again on their new single "Dust". In the context of the tune, it's about the dust that accumulates, sitting on everything that doesn't move, marking the time we've spent without motion, watching the wheels go round. The irony of…
Earlier this year, KEXP premiered the title track from David Bowie's 25th studio album ★ (pronounced "Blackstar"). Today, we've got another single to share, "Lazarus," which appears in Bowie’s off-Broadway play of the same name. (Tune in tonight to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert as the cast pe…
The 2017 Mercury Prize shortlist was announced today. Nominees include alt-J's Relaxer (who previously won the award in 2012 for An Awesome Wave), Glass Animals' How to Be a Human Being, Sampha's Process, Kate Tempest's Let Them Eat Chaos, and The xx's I See You. The prize celebrates the best Briti…
Over the weekend we got the unfortunate news that Greg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band died at 69. A number of artists have been paying their respects via covers of Allman Brothers Band tracks and Scottish band the Afghan Whigs did just that on Sunday night at a show in Dublin, with the track "M…
Love & Hate, the sophomore release from soulful UK artist Michael Kiwanuka was a fave for many KEXP DJs last year. (It was even a nominee for the prestigious Mercury Award in 2016.) Kiwanuka revisits the release with a video for the track "Cold Little Heart" -- watch below. The video was direc…
The nominees are in for this year's prestigious Mercury Prize, unfortunately now known as the "Hyundai" Mercury Prize. Heavy hitters David Bowie and Radiohead lead the shortlist, alongside Michael Kiwanuka (above), Anohni, Savages, and more. Not only has the name slightly changed, but so has votin…
Who could forget that impassioned performance from Future Islands on the Late Show with David Letterman last year? (Watch it again here.) Letterman was so wow'ed, he brought the guys back last night where they performed their single "The Chase," just released the other week for Record Store Day. A…
Almost exactly two years after the release of his last album, 2011's Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam has announced the details of his next album. Entitled Ghost on Ghost, the 12-track effort will be released on April 16th via Nonesuch. Beam said the Brian Deck-produced set moves a…
It's hard to imagine a better indie pop dream team than this – a multi-Grammy winning producer Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) and a beloved singer-songwriter James Mercer (of the Shins), each responsible for some of the most infectious songs you've heard in the past ten years, joining to create…
Among the many great new releases out this week is our own annual benefit collection, Live at KEXP Volume Nine. Featuring 18 stellar tracks culled from the over 500 amazing live sessions we recorded in the past year, Volume Nine contains some serious heavy hitters like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis a…
I might not have gotten on the Odd Future bandwagon back when it began, but that doesn't mean I was going to miss Earl Sweatshirt this year at Sasquatch. He took stage simply - his black Supreme sweatshirt (hood up of course), OF DJ Syd backing him up close behind. Lucky for the audience ("Hey Coac…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part 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. This week, we are featuring Christmas…
A lot has happened in the five years since Yoni Wolf (of WHY? fame) and Chicago rapper Serengeti last collaborated. That last time was on Serengeti's statement of an LP Family & Friends, produced entirely by Wolf and Owen Ashworth (of Advance Base and Casiotune for the Painfully Alone). Between…
To call James Blake's second LP "greatly anticipated" may be a bit of an overstatement, but only because it's been hardly two months that we've even known that a new album would be available some time this year. Despite the short time to process the news, fans certainly were eager to hear what the …
Making a truly timeless record is really, really hard. Without the ability to look into the future and see what sounds and styles are going to fall out of fashion, artists often just have to take the gamble and see what happens. With all the knowledge and ability you have as an artist, you need to …
Minneapolis MC, community activist, and KEXP favorite Brother Ali has been a fixture within the hip-hop community for the past 17 years. He debuted on his long-time label Rhymesayers in the year 2000 with Rites Of Passage, the first of six studio albums that have showcased his deeply personal, soci…
Chromatics have shared "Shadow," their contribution to the Adult Swim Singles series (it's available for free here). The song will also be featured on their upcoming album, Dear Tommy. In a statement, Johnny Jewel described the album as "the most rebellious record I've made." Although the LP does…
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 song, featured on the Afte…
