Jenny Lewis has always been a voyager. Whether it was way back when penning heartbreak after heartbreak with Rilo Kiley or finding fresh, rocky footing on her own Rabbit Fur Coat and Acid Tongue, she's wandered around like an ongoing cameo in someone else's story. Lewis is a gifted spectator, bless…
tUnE-yArDs — even the typography of the name seems to pop off the page like the ecstatic rhythms of the band's new album. For Nikki Nack, Merrill Garbus has traveled far, sonically and literally, expanding upon the conceit of her self-recorded debut and turning tUnE-yArDs into a communal arts tribe…
British band Cheatahs sped over to the Cutting Room Studios in NYC, all the way from London, to play a raw live set just for KEXP. Well, not exactly. Last month, the UK group, consisting of Dean Reid, James Wignall, Marc Raue, and Nathan Hewitt, made a quick 7-city jaunt in the U.S. to introduce th…
In sad news, drummer Scott Asheton, a.k.a. "Rock Action" Asheton, of The Stooges passed away over the weekend at the age of 64. Along with his brother, guitarist Ron Asheton, he helped form the influential punk band in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967. In a statement on the band's Facebook page, front…
"Lovely" and "infectious" — mash those words together and it sounds something like Lucius. Watch and hear the band perform, and those words seem even more apt. Led by co-vocalists Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, the NYC-based five-piece blends gorgeous harmonies and lively percussion in girl group in…
Where does a young band go after making a name for themselves with a gorgeous album like Dye It Blonde, of Nuggets-mining jangly psych pop? They dig deeper. At least, that's what Smith Westerns did on their followup, Soft Will, as they dig deeper both into the history of rock and their own songwrit…
The band name of Lonesome Shack came from frontman Ben Todd’s experience living in, well, a lonesome shack that he built himself in New Mexico. In it, Todd learned Mississippi Fred McDowell songs and honed his facility on stringed instruments like bass, banjo and guitar. It is impossible not to not…
There's no denying Surfer Blood's love for 90's indie rock. Fragments of Pavement, Pixies and Weezer are undeniable elements in their sound, but the band made a space for themselves on their 2010 debut, Astro Coast, by adding breezy surf melodies blown off the beaches of their Florida home. Since t…
Tickets are now on sale for the annual Noise For the Needy music festival taking place in Ballard on June 20th - 23rd. Get your tickets on the festival's website, noisefortheneedy.org, and get ready to see great Seattle bands performing in favorite Ballard venues like the Tractor Tavern, the Sunse…
Thursday's weather forecast put Austin, TX, at a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but you wouldn't know it listening to the Copenhagen-via-Los Angeles trio Gliss' shimmering cool. Supplanted by multi-instrumentalist Martin Klingman and guitarist David Reiss' brooding soundscapes, vocalist Victoria Ce…
Austin was blissfully cool and breezy this morning as the floor in front of our stage at Mellow Johnny's filled - excitement for the start of our SXSW programming clear. And what better way to kick off the week than with the iconic and hilarious Robyn Hitchcock, who took stage alone but totally fil…
Join KEXP, CityArts, and Neumos in supporting the 8th edition of Dancing on the Valentine: A Cure for Leukemia — A Tribute to The Cure and Fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society . On February 9th at Neumos some of our favorite Seattle bands will be covering songs by The Cure. The line…
Crater's afternoon set on the KEXP stage was an act of perseverance. The Seattle electronic act had a few technical difficulties midway through their set, delaying the track "Crater Head." Some well-played banter about vampires by lead vocalist Ceci Gomez kept the audience rapt and at attention unt…
We shared the first wave of line-up announcements from Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, and today, they've rolled out the final list. Fufanu, Reykjavíkurdætur, Sóley, and Gangly have been added to the festival, which already boasted great guests like Fleet Foxes, Michael Kiwanuka, Àsgeir, Aldous H…
Cleveland post-punk band Cloud Nothings are following up this year's Life Without Sound with a new track, "Relief." The previously unreleased demo is a contribution to a forthcoming benefit compilation, Taking It To Heart, Volume Two, which is raising money for the Heart And Stroke Foundation. Fron…
As a born and bred Northwesterner, seeing a dual lineup of my teenage (and adult) favorites Modest Mouse and Built To Spill play at the fair I went to every single year from the time I was a child until I was a pre-teen, the Puyallup Fair (I'm sorry, but it will never be the Washington State Fair t…
Greg Vandy explores that summer feeling on this two-hour mix and nod to Barna Howard's new album, plus 18 other road trip worthy songs from up-and-comers like Banditos, Leyla McCalla, The Deslondes, Benjamin Booker, Saun & Starr, Steve Gunn, and Spirit Family Reunion, to name a few. 1. Benja…
Sometimes, random happenstance can lead to wonderful things - the entire existence of Got A Girl exists as a testament to this. While on set during the filming of the Edgar Wright film adaption of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead got a chance to meet Dan The Automator, w…
4AD has been on a roll this year with unique new signees that are bringing the atmospheric R&B game to the next level. I guess this isn't terribly surprising, considering 4AD has been on the forefront for, I don't know, 35 years. But between last month's sleeper hit Lo-Fang set and last week's …
2017 is off and running with some long-awaited LPs out now, like the latest from The xx. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says, "This London trio's excellent third album brings a brighter, more varied and pop-inflected sound to their spectral electro-pop courtesy of band member/producer Jamie xx, thou…
