It is likely safe to say that the Fuel Sports Beer Garden has never been fueled with more grooviness than when Poliça took the stage for Upstream on Thursday night. The Minneapolis electro-pop group has their sound and aesthetic on complete lock. Their sleek, contemporary looks are in total unison …
KEXP's Day 2 coverage at Upstream Music Fest + Summit closed off with John Roderick's Seattle institution The Long Winters, who performed highlights spanning their three full-length albums in a memorable performance. Roderick was joined by Sean Nelson (KEXP, Harvey Danger), former Long Winters drum…
Tuxedo is the collaborative project between Michigan-raised, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/producer Mayer Hawthorne and veteran Seattle-based producer Jake One. Bonding over a shared love of early 1980s boogie, disco, funk, and R&B, the pair soon connected to create modern-day jams steepe…
The third set from KEXP's Day 2 coverage at Upstream Music Fest + Summit came from local glam rock outfit J GRGRY, memorably led by the eponymous Joe Gregory. Shirtless, donned with extensive pink and gold makeup, Gregory commanded KEXP's stage at Little London Plane, playing tracks from his record…
Our second live performance of the day came from Mr. Karl Blau, long a fixture of the local music scene in Anacortes, WA, who has released upwards of 30 records since the early-90s. Playing tracks from a forthcoming record, as well as his interpretations of songs from the 60s and 70s presented on 2…
Fleet Foxes have released their first video off of Crack-Up, coming out June 16 on Nonesuch. The video is for the single "Fool's Errand" and was directed by frontman Robin Pecknold's brother Sean Pecknold. Crack-Up will be their first album since 2011's Helplessness Blues and will be featuring a sl…
Check out some of the KEXP DJ’s favorite artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the world on-the-go. KEXP’s Music That Matters weekly podcast brings you an exclusive mix of new music from the world’s best independent artists.
all photos by Bebe Labree Besch (view set)
Leading up until the Upstream Music Fest + Summit, a Northwest regionally focused festival with over 300 acts, KEXP will be featuring a new local artist from the lineup with an interview and suggested tracks for where to start. Today’s post features electro-soul songwriter JusMoni, performing Frida…

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.