Closing out the KEXP stage on Sunday night, you couldn't have asked for a better send off than Smokey Brights. The Seattle rock outfit wasted no time jumping right into what they do best: blaring killer guitar riffs and belting out infectious melodies that are sure to get people up and moving. This…
Even with a full band backing her on stage at the KEXP Gathering Space Stage on the second day of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, it seemed like Seattle singer songwriter Shelby Earl hardly needed a mic. Her voice rang clear, powerful, and true even when she stepped back from her mic to …
Crater's afternoon set on the KEXP stage was an act of perseverance. The Seattle electronic act had a few technical difficulties midway through their set, delaying the track "Crater Head." Some well-played banter about vampires by lead vocalist Ceci Gomez kept the audience rapt and at attention unt…
In the lead up to Dave Depper's performance at the KEXP stage, we mentioned quite a few times on this blog how he's known to be a utility player for a number of bands -- most notably joining Death Cab for Cutie as a full-time member. However, his performance at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Fest…
Stas THEE Boss lives up to her name. When she's on the stage, she's in total control. It'd been awhile since I'd seen the former THEESatisfaction MC hop on the mic, but seeing her DJ around town (and on KEXP's Street Sounds) has continued to prove that she has impeccable taste and style.
Aminéisn't just up-and-coming anymore -- he's arrived. The Portland rapper made his Seattle debut in probably the biggest way possible -- playing to a packed out crowd at Key Arena at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Walking on to the beastly, hyphy-like beat of "Red Mercedes," Aminé kept…
At a festival, it's rare to get a performance that feels "intimate." It's something most fans reconcile with before they ever enter the gates and scan their wristbands. So walking into the KEXP Gathering Space on Saturday afternoon at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival and finding the crowd …
Earlier on into Ruler's afternoon set at Memorial Stadium, lead vocalist and songwriter Matt Batey asked the crowd who they were camped out for, greeted with an almost unanimous scream of "LORDE!" Batey and co. welcomed the reaction, seemingly reveling in the idea that they were playing on such a l…
Seattle duo The Spider Ferns don't make music, they create worlds. Each of their songs is like a new landscape. You may have heard the sounds before -- drums that seem to echo into infinity, bass lines that throb and pulse like they have lives of their own, electronic sounds that shimmer like a cre…
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.
