What the hell? Are the planets aligned? Did they work this out in advance? Because today, we have a slew of new releases to share. First up, a new solo album from Thurston Moore. We had a hunch it was coming after he shared the stand-alone track "Cease Fire." Now you can check out the track "Smoke…
Over the weekend, elderly folks everywhere were introduced to well-tressed Philly rocker Kurt Vile as he was spotlighted on Saturday's CBS This Morning (a show whose key demographic tends to skew older). Watch Vile perform "I’m An Outlaw," "Dust Bunnies," and "Pretty Pimpin," as well as chat with …
Back in 2010, KEXP was broadcasting from the Ace Hotel in New York City during the CMJ Music Festival, and we were lucky to score not one, but two guest DJ sets from The Roots drummer Questlove. Apparently the guy had so much fun the first time, he returned to the decks the following day! As the be…
Former Fiery Furnaces frontwoman Eleanor Friedberger returns next year with her third solo full-length, New View, out January 22nd on Frenchkiss Records. The album was recorded "live to tape" with her backing band, Icewater, and producer Clemens Knieper in a converted barn studio in Germantown, Ne…
It seems the thing people at KCMU most wanted to talk about regarding this 12" single by the Northern Irish band (with an American singer) That Petrol Emotion was the graphic statement on the back of the record regarding the strip searching of female prisoners at Armagh Prison in Northern Ireland. …
Filling the KEXP studio with his breezy pop/rock tunes, Nic Hessler flawlessly paints a picture of summer by the shore with a sound that is unmistakably Californian. Originally signed to Captured Records under the name Catwalk, he halted his career when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with an autoimm…
Portland awoke to the resounding hiss-and-crack of PBR tallboys and the camp-tastic house party vibes of local band Wampire Sunday afternoon at Project Pabst. Their hazy psych rock medley was followed by charmingly twee local pop group Wild Ones, who delivered meticulously jammy indie pop. Lead sin…
Matt Johnson's The The is yet another band (or musical project, if you prefer, since it seems to have been Johnson and whatever troupe of brilliant musicians he could round up when it came time to make a record) that I never listened to in their heyday/my youth, and I can't quite figure out why. Ma…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of 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. This week, we’ll be featuring song…
Few groups span the ages like Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Though not nearly as old as they music they play, the New Orleans ensemble first formed in the early 60's to renew interest in traditional jazz. Over the past five decades, many of the Crescent City's finest musicians have performed for vis…
This summer, Florence and the Machine will release their long-awaited third full-length How Big How Blue How Beautiful, and today they share the truly beautiful track "Ship to Wreck." In a press release, Florence Welch states, "I was thinking about my own self destructive side, and how you can mak…
Generous musicians and Seattleites came together on Saturday night for the third year in a row to raise money for sick kids and their families. Health care can be intensely expensive, and no family should have to struggle to pay for the lifesaving care their infants and children need. That's why th…
Our second Iceland Airwaves band of the day live from Kex Hostel in downtown Reykjavik was Icelandic trip hop and electro pop group Young Karin, played Bumbershoot in Seattle this year. They are a new band, having formed just last year. But they are already garnering attention at home and abroad. T…
Morrissey revealed yesterday the source of his ongoing health problems, which have led to tour date cancellations in the past two years: he was being treated for cancer. Moz told Spanish-language newspaper El Mundo that he currently feels "good" but also stated "If I die, then I die. And if not, t…
This weekend was without a doubt the best music festival I’ve ever been to. I still haven’t been to the greats like SXSW or Primavera Sound, but All Tomorrow’s Parties Iceland went above and beyond your run-of-the-mill weekend festivals like Coachella, Sasquatch, Outside Lands, and Lollapalooza. Th…
As Jimi Hendrix's hometown, Seattle was fortunate to get a sneak peek at his biopic, Jimi: All Is By My Side, earlier this year during the Seattle International Film Festival. (Read more about that Opening Night Gala here.) Today we have the film's first official trailer to share below. Outkast's …
There's not much information out there about the '80s Seattle band Mondo Vita. Their leader Eric "Travis" Wilson (who has been working as a musician in Las Vegas for the past decade) claims on his own web site that the band "appeared on every TV station Seattle had to offer. They also populated th…
It's said the brightest flame casts the darkest shadow, but in the case of Brooklyn's Twin Shadow, that there's plenty of light there too. On his past two albums, filled with 80's synths, danceable rhythms and crunchy hooks, Brooklyn's George Lewis Jr. crooned stories of grief and heartbreak. Live …
Recently, Alec Ounsworth, frontman of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, happened to be in the vicinity of the KEXP studio. He wasn't scheduled, and we only learned he was in town the same day, but we grabbed him anyway, sat him down, and asked him to play a few songs on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters. …
La Luz has been through a lot since their debut EP Damp Face hit the airwaves and internets. From a U.S. tour, to playing with Of Montreal and The Head and the Heart, to sustaining serious injuries after getting hit by a semi while on the road, to releasing their new LP, It's Alive, to replacing th…
