It's a chilly morning in Reykjavik, and KEXP is setting up for another great day of live music at KEX Hostel. While today's performances won't be broadcast on air, there will be live video streaming all day on Facebook. First up are English dream-pop duo Let's Eat Grandma, Icelandic post-punk band …
This Saturday, March 11th, MoPOP hosts this year's finals of Sound Off!. KEXP will broadcast the competition live on air as part of Audioasis, our local music show. The pairing is perfect, as not only is Sound Off! the Northwest’s premiere 21-and-under battle of the bands, but many past artists hav…
On September 9, Local Natives will drop their third album, Sunlit Youth. Today, they've shared a dreamy lyric video for their new album track called "Coins." It's a bright and lively look at relationship struggles. There's no wonder why the band describes it as "one of their favorite songs to play…
One of the hardest working artists in the Seattle music scene, DoNormaal (the moniker of Seattle-via-California musician/poet Christianne Karefa-Johnson) burst onto the local stage in 2015 with the release of her excellent debut LP, Jump or Die. Since then, she has unfailingly proven herself as a t…
Chicago guitarist/songwriter Ryley Walker blows back into the Emerald City to bring a little Windy City whimsy into the KEXP live room. Drawing likely comparisons to Tim Buckley and Ray Lamontagne for his heartfelt folk style, Walker treats us to four fabulous cuts from his sophomore LP, Primrose G…
To call a band brimming such powerful emotion Holy Esque is like calling Scottish indie music in general "kind of sad". The Glasgow quartet has already built a ton of buzz with their 2012 EP while touring with the equally impassioned (but sadly defunct) Wu Lyf, but they took time since then to deve…
Another local favorite - the impeccable Erik Blood drops by KEXP to sink his multitalented fangs into a succulent selection of tracks from his upcoming untitled release. With help from XVIII Eyes talent Irene Barber, Blood fills the KEXP live room with warm, caressing tones that mingle freely with …
I have a confession to make: I am just now listening to Mark Lanegan's solo debut, The Winding Sheet, for the first time. I know, I should probably turn in my Seattle Rock Card (where did I put that damn thing, anyway?). I'm 38, I've lived here for 13 years; I have no excuse. Of course I've heard a…
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. Today’s song, featured on the Morning…
For as good natured a duo as you're like to find, Cary Ann Heart and Michael Trent can get darker and more dangerous than you can imagine. As Shovels & Rope, they play gritty boot-stompin' roots-rock that spans between rousing sing-alongs, heartwarming ballads and harrowing tales of vengeance. …
This upcoming Record Store Day, April 19th, Jack White will be recording, pressing and releasing the limited edition version of his next single, a live rendition of the title track from his upcoming LP Lazaretto. The entire process will take place at Third Man Records, White's own independent recor…
Who said the Northwest can't get funky? The eight members of local group Cascadia ’10 play afro-funk music together using a variety of horns, electric guitars, percussion instruments and a sense of slow-burning soul. Formed in 2010, as their name might suggest, the members of Cascadia ’10 also play…
Listening to The Lonely Forest is like looking up at the Northern Lights. On a crisp evening, a river rushing behind you, pine trees spotting the landscape, the shimmering aurora borealis hypnotizes. This is what it’s like taking in the grand, pleasantly wavering vocals of Lonely Forest lead singer…
If surf rock is making a comeback with the rise of bands like Seattle’s La Luz, then Portland-based band The Shivas may well be ahead of the curve. Their head-bobbing rhythms and cute, airy background vocals envelope the ears like a warm tropical day. The band can rock, too, like on their song “Sta…
Understandably, Vancouver band Weed often has difficulty crossing the border. In fact, KEXP's John Richards had to write a letter so they could travel from Canada to perform live with him on the Morning Show last month. But it's really not the sticky green stuff border guards try to sniff out that …
Montreal trio Paupière was the only Francophone artist that we filmed during our time at Breakglass Studios and Pop Montreal. Québec is a Francophone province with a vast majority of the population speaking French as their primary language. I spoke with many of the bands from Montreal about the dif…
Next on the video stream live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was Icelandic atmospheric metal band GlerAkur. The solo project of sound designer for National Theater of Iceland Elvar Geir Sævarsson, creating post-rock flavored metal. His debut record The Mountains Are Beautiful No…
