Latin-infused Americana band Calexico and folk singer-songwriter Sam Beam, better known as Iron & Wine, are gearing up to release their debut collaborative full-length, Years to Burn. The record comes 14 years after they released the EP In the Reins and is due for release on June 14 via Sub Pop…
It is a truly beautiful sight to see a swarm of of black t-shirts filling up the halls of an 89-year old theater. A strikingly atypical one, considering the venue's usual programming, but a beautiful one nonetheless. Mastodon's return to Seattle coincided not just with the Georgia outfit's most foc…
Audioasis is KEXP's long-running Northwest music show hosted by Kennady Quille.
Audioasis delivers three hours of local music from all pockets and genres of the Pacific Northwest. Every Saturday, we’ll dig into the history of our local music scene, share upcoming live shows, and connect the fant…
Last week, the Houston-born, Venezuelan debonair Devendra Banhart graced Showbox at the Market’s sold-out crowd with his charismatic charm, knee-weakening vibrato, and sultrily multicultural freak pop - or as his bandmate Josiah Steinbrick (one of the openers) put it, “all the best of unpopular pop…
"An encore. How predictable," said a pre-recorded video of the cover model from Belle & Sebastian's latest album right before the Glaswegian pop stalwarts returned to the stage. And she was right. Contrary to their historical tradition, encores at modern concerts are almost always planned well …
El Sonido is a three hour trip around the diverse world of Latin music and culture from South, Central and North America, as well as Spain and the rest of the globe.
The focus is on new music and the growing Latin alternative scene, but traditional styles, both old and new are also regularly spot…
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are recent legends and have become one of KEXP's core artists. The band, and the Daptones label that it represents, were the main force behind the soul funk revival of the last fifteen years, the stylistic rebirth that bands ranging from The Alabama Shakes to The Bu…
Well, that was a sure way to wake up the neighborhood! Kicking off KEXP's 2013 CMJ broadcast was New York's own Bear Ceuse, a band whose pounding drums, searing guitars, and loud, belted vocals definitely woke up the group of caffeinated New Yorkers who gathered at Judson Memorial Church for their …
If you haven't seen it yet, Icelandic superstars Of Monsters and Men just released the first official video from their upcoming album, Beneath The Skin. As you await the full-length, due June 9th, you can watch the surreal and frosty wonder of "Crystals":
The guy from The Long Winters, and the guy from The Decemberists... when you put it like that, it's not exactly the most attractive double-bill during an already-cold, dark season in the Pacific Northwest. Were Coldplay, Snow Patrol, or Iceage not available? They should have billed it "The Seasonal…
You know when Hamilton Leithauser is about to hit a key vocal line. Like Arjen Robben dropping his shoulder before shooting on goal or Michael Jordan sticking his tongue out before driving to the hoop, Leithauser pulls the mic away from his face, tightens his shoulders, and then nails it - whether …
And so we witnessed another amazing music festival! This time it was the 4th annual Macefield Music Festival that took place this weekend across Conor Byrne, Tractor Tavern, The Sunset Tavern, and the charmingly bricked streets of Ballard Ave. Macefield Music Festival was named after Edith Macefiel…
It’s a rare opportunity to see a band as hyped as Whitney at a venue as intimate as the Sunset Tavern. Or as frontman Julien Ehrlich noted with an off-the-cuff affect he deploys for most his on stage thoughts, “This show’s been sold out a long time.” No surprise there. With the June release of thei…
If everything else in the world seems to be going crazy at the moment, take solace knowing that The Joy Formidable still shamelessly tour with a gong. The Welsh trio's stage presence has always been one that's far larger than whatever venue they're playing in – inside or outside – and the gong that…
Beck has shared a new (but not first) cover of The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting For The Man," off The Velvet Underground and Nico. The song is for Spotify's "Music Happens Here" series, which has previously included songs from Local Natives, Twin Peaks, and Allen Stone. Beck previously recorde…
The Roadhouse is a roots program emphasizing the blues and other traditional styles of American music. The show presents the wide and wonderful spectrum of our musical legacy - the roots of today's popular music and culture. The show explores regional differences in American recordings with a decid…
Today would have been David Bowie's 71st birthday and in honor of that, a previously unreleased demo of his 1983 hit "Let's Dance" has been unearthed by producer Nile Rodgers. The song was recorded in 1982 in Montreux, Switzerland and included a group of local musicians whose identities are unknown…
Eva Walker is your host for Early on KEXP! Start your early mornings with eclectic and surprising song choices whether it’s to wake you up, get you ready for your big day or, to make your segmented sleep schedule just a bit more enjoyable. Enjoy new KEXP discoveries and the classics every morning, …
Only 14 months after the release of their sixth album, Valtari, Sigur Ros have announced details about their seventh. Entitled Kveikur (which roughly translate to "priming" in English), the nine track effort will arrive on June 18th via XL Recordings. Now a trio after the departure of multi-instrum…
Before most of the festival’s attendees have even arrived at Seattle Center, KEXP’s Bumbershoot was already underway. Setting a high bar right from the get-go, gospel legends Blind Boys of Alabama opened the festival with an intimate set at KEXP's Secret Stage. From their humble beginnings nearly 8…
