Is it weird that I actually noticed that singer Jason Bartell was wearing the same star studded shirt today at Sasquatch that he was wearing during Fang Island's session in 2010 at KEXP? I only notice because that's one way I think of their music - the sincerity of their power chord power stance pe…
KEXP is celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, and we're looking back at the last half-century of music. Each week in 2022, KEXP pays homage to a different year, and our writers are commemorating a song from that year that resonates with them. This week, KEXP's Rachel Stevens reflects on heart…
November '05 through the summertime '06, Vince Staples became a man. He was 12. By the end of the summer, he was 13. There was no celebration of manhood, no joyful birthday parties, with a sense of earned responsibility that comes with adulthood. Age wasn't gifted to Vince Staples. Instead, youth w…
Bonnaroo started its first full day on Friday, but the audience was more than warmed up from the night before. The day would mark the weekend's first headlining performance (Paul McCartney), the first you-had-to-be-there moment (Wu-Tang's surprise appearance at the hip-hop Superjam), and the weeken…
Next on KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel was Icelandic band Low Roar. Low Roar is the brainchild of American Ryan Karazija, who moved to Reykjavik from Oakland, CA in 2010. To combat the loneliness of moving to a strange new place, he recorded his self-titled debut on his lapt…
Every Saturday evening, I look forward to playing you some of my favorite songs. I remember discovering our Northwest music scene: I was lucky enough to stumble on a host opening on the local show at my college station, KGRG FM. I trained with the original hosts of the show a couple of times, and t…
Portland synth rock group STRFKR have pretty much always put on a great show. But Tuesday night's tour opener in support of new record Miracle Mile was an especially raucous occasion. As Tuesday was release day for the record, the band was a tad light on the Miracle Mile material, but with a back c…
Next on our video stream live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Colombian-Canadian musician Lido Pimienta. The queer-identified musician, visual artist, and curator blends Afro-Colombian and indigenous music with experimental electro-pop. Her first album “Color” was released in 2010 (KUDETA),…
The iconic DJ and producer was 56.
Not New York City. Not Los Angeles. Lush’s first U.S. show in 20 years was right here in Seattle. The honor was not lost on the hundreds of fans who lined up early outside the venue to get closer to the stage, and who swarmed the merchandise table immediately upon entering The Showbox, like ravenou…
Local duo Chimurenga Renaissance (aka Tendai Maraire of Shabazz Palaces and Hussein Kalonji) debut a new track today titled "Girls With Gunz," a song they say was inspired by African assassin Grace Maseva, a woman who fought in the Second Chimurenga, the war that ended white rule in Zimbabwe. Loca…
The Shins have shared a new song "So Now What," their contribution to the soundtrack for Zach Braff's upcoming film Wish I Was Here. The band's participation makes sense, because a decade ago Braff's film Garden State put The Shins on the map. A brief snippet of the song was featured in the film's…
The former member of The Walker Brothers was 76.
From the perspective of Olympia, WA comes this compression of the world as noise.
More sad news from the world of music: producer and manager George Martin passed away peacefully in his London home last night at the age of 90. Martin is often referred to as "The Fifth Beatle," as he was the one who discovered The Beatles, signing the young band to Parlophone Records in 1962, an…
Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, Jack White's keyboardist and member of the Mars Volta, has passed away. Ownes was currently touring with Jack White in Mexico. The following statement was posted on Third Man Record's website: [Pitchfork]
The Los Angeles rapper was 33 years old.
The legendary New Orleans funk musician was 77.
