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Upstream Music Fest + Summit Local Music

Upstream Music Fest + Summit, Day 1: The Fabulous Downey Brothers

To state the obvious, The Fabulous Downey Brothers know how to put on a hell of a show. The sextet's costume changes, frenetic dual vocals, prop comedy (industrial shrub material; see below), and themes of extraterrestrial body modification killed at the Vera Project-curated Buttnick Building space…


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Upstream Music Fest + Summit Local Music

Upstream Music Fest + Summit 2017: Our Scene Can Be Your Life

"Seattle owns the future and they don't know it," composer Ron Jones tells a crowd at WaMu Theater during the second day keynote of the Upstream Music Fest + Summit. There's a bite to his words, feeling like equal parts admiration and condemnation. A native to the Northwest who relocated to Los Ang…


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Upstream Music Fest + Summit

Upstream Music Fest + Summit, Day 2: Polyrhythmics

With eight members, it's no surprise that the afro-funk of Seattle's own Polyrhythmics packs a mean punch of energy. Beyond the vibrant wall of sound that struck audience members of our Occidental Park at Upstream, festival-goers were also hit with a massive dose of sheer joy. The highly-danceable …


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Upstream Music Fest + Summit

Upstream Music Fest + Summit, Day 3: Gazebos

It's hard to think of a band more fitting than Gazebos to close out KEXP's Broadcast from Little London Plane, and nearly impossible to pick one who would have more fun doing so. The Hardly Art darlings' four-song session brought out the most entertaining qualities of the band's oddball pop.


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Upstream Music Fest + Summit

Upstream Music Fest + Summit, Day 3: Versing

On the last day of KEXP's broadcast from Upstream, local four-piece Versing filled Little London Plane to the brim with post-punk perfection. Whether channeling the layered guitars of Built to Spill or the raw emotionalism of Modest Mouse, there was also something quintessentially Northwest about t…


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Upstream Music Fest + Summit

Upstream Music Fest + Summit 2017, Day 3: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

On Saturday afternoon, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio debuted three new songs to a capacity crowd at Little London Plane in Pioneer Square. Though the trio finished some of new tunes, including the ironically named "I Don't Want to Play This," as recently as Monday afternoon, there was no way that anyone…


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Upstream Music Fest + Summit

Upstream Music Fest + Summit 2017, Day 2: DoNormaal

Though at this point a remarkable DoNormaal performance is no unusual occurrence, Friday's set from the artist (as part of the 2017 Upstream Music Fest + Summit) found DoNormaal in quite good form, the artist's enthusiasm returned by a sizable audience in the Court in the Square venue. Since before…


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From the Archives:

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Sub Pop 30th Anniversary Count-Up

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.


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