“You must set an example - to be a good person, you must be a good person.” The English translation of Ladilikan, Trio Da Kali's 2017 LP, has some weight to it, but the trio of musicians from the Mande culture of Southern Mali have so much life in their music. Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo&apos…
The Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi breaks cultural and musical boundaries on her own terms, bringing in traditional Tunisian sounds with modern production and protest themes on her latest album, Ensen (English: Human.) Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop, Mathlouthi performs four songs from En…
We've got fun in the sun on this gorgeous Sunday, so join us for KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood Day at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle! There's FREE, All Ages sets from Greys, Acapulco Lips, and Porter Ray, as well as food trucks and a beer garden to keep you satisfied! Join us!
If something was happening in the Minneapolis music scene, writer Jim Walsh was there to cover it. A former City Pages music editor (think, The Stranger) and award-winning columnist for the Pioneer Press, Walsh writes about music and culture. He is the author of the oral history The Replacements: A…
The compositions of the Iraqi oud composer and performer Rahim AlHaj do not have lyrics, but the tension, force, and vitality of his songs speak volumes about the power of music in the face of terrible strife. Backed by a string quartet and bassist on Wo' Pop, AlHaj speaks boldly about valuin…
KEXP’s Dusty Henry talks about Iceland’s DIY music scene and how it’s more about doing it together than doing it yourself. A panel discusses Iceland’s music culture, music's impact on Iceland’s economy, and how Iceland helps financially support musicians. Panelists are: Sólveig Matthildur, from the…
18 year old Swedish rapper Yung Lean (Jonatan Håstad) may be one of the most polarizing, confusing faces on the independent hip-hop scene of the last few years. Pitchfork hates him. Fader loves him. The rest of us find ourselves somewhere in between, trying to balance all of the bizarre parts of th…
We often forget, but even Patti Smith -- an icon who has inspired and influenced a generation -- had her own musical idols in her youth, in this case, Bob Dylan. As you may have heard by now, Smith was invited to perform at the induction ceremony for Dylan's Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, and s…
Every year, it seems like the number of music festival in the great Pacific Northwest grows. While it's easy to get cynical about the overlap and general spectator approach to the music, there are diamonds in the rough. Of these, Pickathon, located on the beautiful Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, O…
March 8th is International Women's Day, a day to "celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women because visibility and awareness help drive positive change for women." To celebrate, today, KEXP is only playing music by women, with a packed schedule of special on-air g…
What does Iceland taste like? Cold? Salty? Perhaps a little gamey? Delicious? Do Icelanders like what we like? Find out for yourself as the Nordic country invades Seattle for Taste of Iceland, a weekend-long cultural extravaganza this Thursday, October 9th through Sunday, October 12th, featuring ta…
English singer-songwriter Johnny Marr calls out our cash-obsessed culture in his video for "Easey Money." He described the video as, "a 'high times in low rent England' kind of thing." The track is featured on his upcoming album, Playland, which will be released in the US on October 7. [Pitchfork]
One of the most prominent Romani language singers of all time, Esma Redžepova's half century-plus career has seen the Skopje, Macedonia singer preserve and promote Roma culture to a global audience with her music and humanitarian efforts. Backed by the colorful rhythms of Folk Masters, "The Q…
As we celebrated on Friday with an exclusive interview, the new Father John Misty album is out now. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it, "his finest to date, combining an orchestral folk-pop sound with self-aware, often-cutting and sometimes hilarious lyrics aimed at narcissism, hypocrisy, insta…
From trip-hop to R%26B to bossa nova - to name only a few styles incorporated in the Washington D.C. collective's music - Thievery Corporation's diverse rhythms and textures remain a vibrant touchstone to numerous styles of music 20 years after the band's formation In a career-spanning session on …
Join KEXP on Monday, September 16th as we celebrate the music of Mexico to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month and commemorate Mexican Independence Day.
Where did all these people come from?! We ain't gonna front: it's freakin' hot out here at KEXP's 2016 Hood to Hood broadcast from the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. But as local trio Acapulco Lips took the stage, the crowd came emerging from the shadows.
