A "rain plan" is practically unknown in the Northwest. It rains here too frequently, but rarely fervently, for anyone to need that kind of contingency. Instead, for us rain plans are active ones, scenarios for doing and being. Maybe that's why Israel Nash's 2014 album, Rain Plans, gripped us so fir…
A true dynamic duo, Montreal’s King Khan and BBQ Show dropped by the KEXP live room to flaunt their tasty brand of retro garage and doo wop ditties. Marinated in all types of awesome sauce, this gruesome twosome wet our palates with a preview of succulent songs off their upcoming We Are The Champio…
Usually, you'd want to hustle the riff raff out, but when it comes to the New Orleans band Hurray for the Riff Raff, you want them to stick around. That's why we featured them three times this year: in our studio, at our SXSW showcase at Mellow Johnny's, and during our broadcast over Labor Day week…
Between his bluegrass voice, genuine love for performance, and one-man-band resilience, there's just something so authentic about Scott H. Biram. If that weren't enough, in 2004, Biram was involved in a near-fatal car crash, requiring him to have his bones re-connected with metal rods and even nec…
From late night TV to KEXP: Swedish songstress Lykke Li took to Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to perform a track from her latest album, I Never Learn, as well as her contribution to the soundtrack for the film The Fault in Our Stars. Watch her perform the single "No Rest For The Wicked" below, and…
Amazingly, Bear Hands have been around since 2006, but haven't gained the recognition they deserve until relatively recently. Before re-locating to Brooklyn's lush music scene, the band suffered through a falling-out and the loss of their first manager. But, despite their ups and downs, their singl…
It's fitting that the Arts in Nature Festival is where Cloud Cult planted the seed. Their concert last summer inside the Lodge at Seattle's Camp Long marked the first time the the Minnesota band went fully acoustic. They had recently rearranged songs spanning their entire catalog for what would bec…
There's another all-brother southern rock band who might not be filling big stadiums and singing about sex on fire but could tear the roof off any coliseum with their arena-sized riffs. Hailing from rural Virginia, the Carney brothers — Van, Jennings and Lain — have produced something like ten well…
"Sin Fang in a box", Cheryl Waters called it. It's how Sindri Már Sigfússon solved the problem of taking his Sin Fang project on the road, especially outside of his native Iceland, when he couldn't manage to bring a full band with him. But more importantly, it's also a creative interpretation of hi…
This past August, Cloud Cult took the stage at scenic Camp Long in West Seattle for the 15th annual Arts in Nature Festival, presented by Nature Consortium. Usually, the native Minnesotans are known for their dynamic live shows with a variety of electric and acoustic instruments, they decided to ma…
If Charms’ Facebook and Bandcamp pages are any indication, the Seattle band LOVES candy and chips. Perhaps as a result, the trio play driving rock and roll songs that feel like a sugar rush mixed with a touch of Cool Ranch. Big, boisterous songs come from this group, which has only been together fo…
Fearlessly dabbling in the gaudy with their electro pop sound, Future Bible Heroes began as a project of The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and DJ Christopher Ewen, but gradually evolved into a substantial group of talented musicians. Eleven years after the release of their sophomore album, Etern…
While many have visited Seattle's iconic landmark, the Space Needle, and even braved the 604 foot height to take in the view from the top, only a select few can say that they've stepped onto that 604th foot of the Needle. On July 11th, in celebration of Sub Pop's 25th anniversary, KEXP and Sub Pop'…
After years of extensive touring, Seattle band Ivan & Alyosha released a new album called All the Times We Had. The group celebrated its release by hanging with DJ Cheryl Waters earlier this year and playing a live set at the KEXP studios. “I want to be the man who understands his woman and you…
When I first heard of Chastity Belt, it was through word of mouth. My friends highly endorsed this band from Walla Walla, WA. They had just moved here and were playing some shows around town. Their song titles kinda freaked me out in the beginning, but that quickly changed when I got the chance to …
Divine Fits tore it up on late night TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live! with their own "Like Ice Cream" and a cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky". Even though Britt Daniel seemed like he was forgetting the words at one point, the performance is the kind of powerhouse one, complete with a creative cover (whi…
Noise-rock duo Stagnant Pools have been compared to the likes of Sonic Youth and Disappears, but they truly have a flavor all their own. Bryan and Douglass Enas are recent graduates of Indiana University that are using this exciting time in their lives to make a dream a reality. The brothers have t…
Can we say "finally!"? After nearly two years since their first KEXP performance, Pickwick will release their full-length debut on March 12. The beloved Seattle soul rockers have introduced R&B to a whole new generation with the Myths 7-inch series, including listener favorites like "Window Sil…
All day tomorrow, we'll be counting down KEXP listeners' Top Albums of 2012 all day, and there's no doubt that local band The Helio Sequence will have a strong showing. That it took four years to release Negotiations isn't too surprising, considering the Portland duo usually take their time perfect…
For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson attempts to condense the massive life and career of Southern rocker Jason Isbell.
