Lou Reed, one of the most influential artists of our time, has sadly passed away today at the age of 71. Cause of death has not yet been reported, however Reed underwent a liver transplant earlier this year.
With their brand-new EP Fade Away, California band Best Coast prove they're not doing any such thing. The seven-song release just came out this past week, but we were lucky to have the band in the KEXP studios back in August for a sneak-peek at these new summery-sounding songs. You can't help smil…
If composers like Mozart and Tchaikovsky were born today, would we recognize their work? Would they create the same kind of heady and emotive symphonies and concertos as they did in the past? Or would the history of rock and electronica bend them in a new direction? Maybe only time will tell if we'…
What would a broadcast in Portland be without the city's most rocking political punk-pop band, The Thermals? Guitarist/vocalist Hutch Harris and bassist Kathy Foster have been pumping PDX audiences and fans all over the world for more than a decade with their high energy shows and thought-provoking…
There is nothing extinct about The Dodos. In fact, they've been playing music together consistently since 2005 and are continually evolving. While playing, The Dodos are always changing speeds, messing with time, all the while imbuing an unassuming – yes – confidence, as on their recent single of t…
Do you like dancing in your underwear? Yeah? Do you like dancing in public in your underwear? Well, !!!'s Nic Offer sure does. For their performance at KEXP's broadcast from Doug Fir Lounge during Musicfest NW, the frenetic frontman stripped down to his Some Girls-inspired skivvies before thrusting…
It’s a long way from Toronto, Ontario, to the Doug Fir lounge in Portland, Oregon, but any travel issues the critically-acclaimed Canadian band Austra had to endure didn’t show at their MusicFest NW performance on KEXP. The band, as usual, was composed, in control, and luminous. Throughout their em…
Formed on the campus of the University of Washington, the young men of Beat Connection play dance music infused with a bit of magical realism. With digital production, live guitar and drums, their songs slink, jump and dive. Accompanied on Portland’s MusicFest Northwest stage for a few songs by the…
Under a blue light on the Music Lounge stage, the New Zealand-born (and, now, New York native) Tamaryn sang a collection of pulsingly-mellow tunes for the Bumbershoot audience. The songs were an interesting mix, with the rhythms almost over-powering the singer’s ghostly, etherial vocals. In this wa…
In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.
