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…
It's an unlikely cover, but they make it work: downtempo duo Darkside (electronic producer Nicolas Jaar and guitarist Dave Harrington) take on the 1972 Nick Drake track “Things Behind The Sun,” from his classic Pink Moon album. The cover was recorded for Modular’s Modcast podcast: stream their hou…
HAIM introduced themselves to Seattle Wednesday night with a show at Neumos, and if you’ve been following anything about this band for the last year, you know that’s no small event. The sold out gig had lines starting up outside in the cold more than an hour before doors (that’s pretty much unheard…
Recently, Seattle songwriter Shelby Earl, fresh off releasing her new album, Swift Arrows, stopped by KEXP for a live in-studio to play four new tracks off the record. Produced by Seattle folk hero Damien Jurado, Swift Arrows is a mix of piano ballads and guitar rock in the lineage of Seattle songw…
On any given weekend in Seattle there are a million amazing shows - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. And maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, folk, g…
As was made our way to the mainstage for Built to Spill, slow drops of rain began to fall. The rain would never become hard or steady, instead lending the stage a golden glitter - the sun setting came in beams across the stage as Doug Martsch carefully but effortlessly lead the way through classic …
It's hard to believe that the Capitol Hill Block Party is on its 17th year, but it's no surprise that it keeps getting better each year. Now a premiere Northwest festival, the Capitol Hill Block Party has announced a stellar lineup for 2013. On July 26th through 28th, you'll be able to see The Flam…
