Saturday has turned out to be a spectacularly sunny day at the Gorge - not a rain cloud all day long! The line up Saturday of Sasquatch was absolutely stacked (as are the other 2 days, of course). But Saturday was chalk full of bands that lots of different people were excited about, bands from Seat…
With eight members, it's no surprise that the afro-funk of Seattle's own Polyrhythmics packs a mean punch of energy. Beyond the vibrant wall of sound that struck audience members of our Occidental Park at Upstream, festival-goers were also hit with a massive dose of sheer joy. The highly-danceable …
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…
We were excited when we heard legendary singer/songwriter Paul Weller would stop by the KEXP studios for an acoustic session, but little did we know, he'd be bringing his five-piece band with him for this very special unplugged set. The intimate performance spotlighted his twelfth solo release Satu…
Hey, guess who I'm going to see next week in Seattle? Just guess! You'll never - oh, wait, you totally guessed My Bloody Valentine, didn't you? Dang it. Well, it's true. Some might say I'm at least 20 years too late to be seeing this influential, semi-reclusive band for the very first time, but rep…
The EMP Pop Conference is back in Seattle! On Saturday, April 20th, from 9AM to 5PM, at the Experience Music Project, a whole bunch of voices will be heard in debates, five minute talks, and excited dialogues about music, music culture, art, politics, and all the other fascinating subjects that get…
Atmosphere reigns supreme on Nostalchic, the lush debut album from UK-based electronic producer Stuart Howard, a.k.a. Lapalux. Weaving elements of deconstructed R&B, soul, hip hop, and jazz with his astral, deeply textured production, Lapalux galvanizes a gorgeously infectious mood. Lopsided be…
Swingin' Doors host Don Slack brings you new music to get excited about this Spring, from power pop and garage-rock to edgy post-punk, surf, hip hop and more. 1. Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight 2. Mikal Cronin - Made My Mind Up 3. Weed - Stay in the Summer 4. Speedy Ortiz - Raising The S…
It's 37 degrees in Reykjavik, and KEXP is setting up at Kex Hostel for four days of incredible live music. Iceland Airwaves festival is just getting warmed up (it officially kicks off tomorrow), but things are already hot here at the hippest hostel in Iceland. We've brought along all the necessary …
During Decibel Festival, Optical 3: Playful Dischord took place at the Sky Church, this time featuring Berlin's Kangding Ray, Atom™ HD/AV and ending with Oneohetrix Point Never with visual artist Nate Boyce. This stacked line-up explored everything from dance to deep space. Kangding Ray, a former a…
One of the most exciting new releases of the week comes from Oakland artist Merrill Garbus, better known as tUnE-yArDs. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes her third album as "an inventive set of visceral, rhythm-driven avant-pop with consistently strong, brightly melodic songs featuring a dens…
It's exciting enough to have a new song by Feist, but add some guest vocals from Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, and it's even more amazing. Stream the single "Century" from her upcoming LP (appropriately titled) Pleasure, her follow-up to 2011’s Metals. (Note: it's meant to end like that.) The album was c…
"Cheers to evolution, cheers to knowing where you are going, cheers to the future.” Those were Trevor Power's parting words as Boise and the U.S. said goodbye to Youth Lagoon on the final night of Treefort Music Fest. It was a moment Boise was surely dreading, but after a fun day with acts such as …
Kastle is the alias of Los Angeles-based DJ/producer Barrett Richards, a constantly evolving and forward-thinking artist that also runs the hotly-tipped Symbols record label. Initially emerging onto the scene with a fresh club sound that fused house, R&B, bass, and pop in a seamless fashion, hi…
Sorry not sorry: I'll confess outright to being a huge Real Estate fan. Their previous album, Days, easily cinched the number one spot on my Top Albums of 2011 list. So, understandably, I've been excited for the follow-up, Atlas, which came out earlier this year on Domino Records, and the resulting…
One of the most exciting releases this week comes from Brooklyn-via-Jersey band Real Estate. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes their third album, Atlas, as "another masterful set of dreamy, surf-inflected indie-pop, featuring a more pristine sound this time around for their warm blend of ja…
Arguably one of the Pacific Northwest's most enigmatic and charismatic artists, Tilson XOXO has carved a singular lane within Seattle's music community with his leading role in party-starting Seattle trio The Saturday Knights and more recently emerging with new solo material that defies easy catego…
The old Ballard clock tower chimed 8 o’clock Monday night and met a persistent and meandering line of excited music fans, waiting to enter the threshold of the Tractor Tavern, for the sold-out show to benefit KEXP's new home with Lucius and NAVVI. Lagunitas was on tap, with a portion of the proceed…
"Girls to the front!" This was the mantra for feminist artist Kathleen Hanna when she fronted the influential punk band Bikini Kill in the '90s. Twenty-five years later, Hanna is on tour, presenting the lecture Riot Grrl: Then and Now, and the girls were down in front at the Neptune Theatre, excite…
