Although it might shift to include Sasquatch and Governor’s Ball next year, there are essentially four music festivals that form the festival season narrative in 2013. Typically, Coachella sets the bar for the rest of the year in April, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza try and outdo it through sheer size …
Robert Glasper was exposed to music at a young age. His mother brought him as a boy out to her jazz and blues gigs, and he also learned much about music in church, where he began to sing and mix gospel and jazz harmonies. Since those humble but enriching beginnings, Glasper has built a strong caree…
<pOn any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - 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. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic…
It's been, like, eleven months -- we're overdue for a new Ty Segall album! All kidding aside, the prolific artist has announced a new self-titled LP coming out January 27th via Drag City. Check out the first single, "Orange Color Queen," below. The track is quite a departure from January's Emotion…
The acoustic, rainy-day ballads of Ghosts I've Met, fronted by Seattle's Sam Watts, are minimal in structure, soothing in spirit, sotto voce in tone, and come with a heavy sense of hope and fleeting moments. Having just released a new body of songs for his 2016 album, Night Repairs, Watts continues…
Composing great dance music is more than just choosing the right beats per minute and finding a catchy synth patch. It's about capturing an emotional impulse in the groove – that indescribable, wordless "something" that resonates beyond how it booms out the speakers. It's an idea that Seattle produ…
Are you a fan of breezy, lush symphonic indie rock? What about high-end modern furniture? Then boy do we have a show for you! In conjunction with VuHaus, a non-profit digital video service, West Elm in Westlake will host a FREE performance by Hey Marseilles on June 15 at 7PM. It's a great chance to…
I assumed when I pulled out this record by 17 Pygmies that this would be one of those bands who released a DJ-beloved album or two in the '80s and then quietly dissolved, leaving almost no trace to survive into this Internet age of ours. How wrong I was! It turns out this band - originally a Savage…
It's morbid, but you're probably thinking it, too: after losing so many musical icons in 2016 (see here and here), I felt it was important to see Brian Wilson in concert. Now 74 years old, the brilliant but troubled songwriter celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys' landmark album Pet So…
While local dream-pop project Lemolo is often talked about as a Seattle band, its roots stretch across Elliott Bay to Poulsbo, WA. Songwriter Meagan Grandall's affection for her hometown is on full display in Lemolo's new video for "One to Love", the opening track to her 2015 LP, Red Right Return. …
Dazzling D.C. duo GEMS stopped by KEXP’s new home, filling our cavernous live room with their spacious and glimmering dream pop. Singer/keyboardist Lindsay Pitts and singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Clifford John Usher released their debut LP, Kill the One You Love, after writing together for …
Summing a two-song barrage in the KEXP studio by New Zealand's Salad Boys, DJ Kevin Cole exclaimed that they sound like "the best of The Feelies, Velvet Underground and Yo La Tengo in one song". While they certainly make a lovable racket channeling those and other legendary bands from their hometow…
Dream-pop quartet Enchanted Hunters was formed in Gdańsk, in north Poland, by Małgorzata Penkalla. What originally started as a solo project truly flourished with the addition of new band members: in 2012, they released their debut Peoria, followed by the Little Crushes EP last year. Their music ha…
As DJ Cheryl Waters points out, Surfer Blood may not be the same "pen of puppies" they were in 2009, but on their newest release, 1000 Palms, they go back to their DIY roots. No longer with a major label looking over their shoulder and now with years of touring experience under their belt, the Flor…
Little Big Show was back in full force last week, with Cloud Nothings, Tacocat and Chastity Belt all delivering stellar sets. Best of all, Little Big Show #12 raised $11,000 for Teen Tix, a local non-profit empowering young people to take an active role in shaping their arts community as audience m…
Legendary blues musician B.B. King has passed away at age 89. Late last year, King has to cancel several tour dates due to dehydration, and was receiving hospice care for the condition at the time of his death. After serving in World War II, King started his music career as a Memphis disc jockey a…
I love this record. Barna Howard is my new favorite artist. His previous, acoustic self-titled debut, which I played some last year, only hinted at this Missouri native, now Portland based artist's easy songwriting skills. His latest, Quite A Feelin', is already in the running for my album of the y…
If you weren't one of the lucky few to get into Tuesday's Death Cab for Cutie show, you can now watch videos of the legendary locals performing three new tracks below, via Revolt.tv. The not-so-secret show at The Crocodile sold out in 15 seconds, and was the band's first public performance without…
Not surprisingly, a country known for its epic landscapes like Iceland also produces similarly cinematic music, like that of Kiasmos. The breathtaking sound of this new duo, featuring composer Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen (also of Bloodgroup), was the perfect intro for the first day of KEXP's…
Holy hell, what an epic finish! Legendary Icelandic band HAM took over Kex Hostel for our final show of the day from Iceland Airwaves. And when we say took over, we really mean it. These heavy rockers formed in 1984, but it was a series of opening gigs for The Sugarcubes in 1988 that began to garne…
