Recently, David Schelzel of The Ocean Blue stopped by the KEXP studios to play a live acoustic set, which included a cover of Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without A Face.” Stripped down – accompanied only by one other guitarist for the final tune (Schelzel’s friend Michael Morris) – and in preparation for a …
Rounding out an unbelievable first day of KEXP’s Iceland Airwaves broadcast live at Kex Hostel are garage rock legends The Sonics. Formed in Tacoma in 1960, The Sonics are widely regarded as the first garage and first punk band, and have had a wide-reaching influence on the course of garage, punk, …
UK quartet Savages share a new single from their highly-anticipated sophomore release, Adore Life, out January 22nd via Matador. The album was recorded in London with producer Johnny Hostile and engineer Richard Woodcraft, and mixed in Copenhagen with Trentemøller. The video for the track "The Ans…
There have been some great team-ups in the history of popular music and rap. Recently, two of Seattle's own, Grynch & Budo, debuted a new pairing that can’t help but remind listeners of other powerful duos like Brother Ali and Jake One, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and The Black Keys, but in their…
Had they come around some 25 years ago, Nashville's Wild Cub would surely have been "pretty in pink." Formed only a year ago by singer/songwriter Keegan DeWitt and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Bullock, the Nashville group sounds less like their Music City contemporaries and more like they belong on…
Author Mark Ribowsky talks about the legacy of Little Richard, from the surprising story of his first hit single, "Tutti Frutti," to the many comebacks he had later in his career.
Thanks to everyone who joined together as a community in KEXP's Gathering Space this morning for a Bed-In for Peace. KEXP DJs John Richards and Riz hosted an inspiring hour of music featuring local artists Wimps, Tomo Nakayama, DoNormaal, Grace Love, and Gabriel Teodros, and Sean Nelson led the aud…
"Bigger, better, faster, stronger" – that's what we said of Voices, this year's release by Phantogram. The Saratoga Springs, NY duo certainly upped the ante with their anticipated second album, making the nearly five years between well worth the wait. As always, Josh Carter's dark dance hooks and S…
If you've been listening to the Morning Show with John Richards, you've probably heard a lot of up-and-comers Wild Cub, whose energetic, electronic-infused sound takes the best from 80's new wave romanticism, R&B and indie rock and makes it impossible to sit still. Back in February, the Nashvil…
KEXP's Morning Show host, John Richards, presents the first in a new series of Music That Matters podcasts, it's our Runner Powered Podcast, Volume 1. Enjoy this one hour training podcast, featuring 16 high-energy local and international artists with songs about running and songs that wi…
It used to be that every year about this time, KEXP would throw the Yule Benefit show, but it's been five years since our last one. This year, music fans were in for a treat as the show returned to Neumos to raise money for the station's new home, being built at the Seattle Center. The lineup inclu…
It seemed so daunting when Joseph Arthur first talked about The Ballad of Boogie Christ during an in-studio session two years ago. Back then, he thought it might be a potential rock musical or even a "rock opera" about a man who was either enlightened or insane, and it was either going to be about …
Anacortes: gateway to the Washington's San Juan Islands. Home to artists like Karl Blau, Phil Elverum and The Lonely Forest. Soon to be know for another new band, BellaMaine. The young indie rock group, led by married duo Nick and Julianne Thompson, immediately caught the attention of KEXP's Mornin…
The name "Baby Dayliner" may not ring a bell, but trust us, you know this song. This earworm of a track was a heavy hitter on the Morning Show in late 2000's, and was chosen as a Song of the Day by DJ John Richards. A couple of years ago, we were able to coax the NYC-based artist out of his semi-re…
Throughout the nearly five decades of his career, Aaron Neville has performed and recorded hundreds of songs in a variety of styles, from his Billboard topping 1967 solo R&B classic "Tell It Like It Is" through the creole rock of The Neville Brothers, and he's covered innumerable greats of soul…
Recently, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn declared February to be Seattle Women Who Rock Month. The announcement was spurred by a new play and history project created by Gretta Harley (Maxi Badd, Danger Dens), Sarah Rudinoff, and Elizabeth Kenny called These Streets, a fictionalized story heavily inspire…
Punk trio Dude York has made a name for themselves in Seattle for being a guarantee for at least a half hour of overflowing joy. As "America's Band," they cannot tell a lie and totally followed through on the promise on Day One of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Even when they had techni…
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…
Besides deliberate misspellings and prodigious capitalization in band names, we hope that one of the trends people will note about the music of 2013 is the ascendency of female voiced indie pop. CHVRCHES, HAERTS, HAIM (okay, a few bands fall into both categories!) as well as London Grammar, Lorde, …
