Thao Nguyen is a voice of the people. While her music leans a bit more toward peppy indie pop than hippy folk rock, Thao's songs on her fourth LP, We The Common, are about the individual experiences and personal interactions we all have. As she says about the new Thao & The Get Down Stay Down a…
Seattle super-group Walking Papers played a killer session in the KEXP studio for Audioasis, where they shared three songs off their Mike McCready (of Pearl Jam)-produced self-titled debut from October last year, released on Sunyata Records. Such an assured sound from a band that just released a d…
This summer, folk rockers The Lumineers played a special show at Barboza in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood as part of KEXP's VIP Club concert series. The band has gained major momentum in the current thirst for rootsy, soul-stirring music, and this year they're up for two Grammys -- for Best …
Last month, Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band stopped by our studio to deliver a special joint session for KEXP listeners. The Menahan Street Band -- featuring members from the NYC Daptone Records soul and funk world including the Budos Band, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and Antibalas…
Something new's going on in Seattle. Well, something new and something old. This city's musical past is already peppered with its fair share of country rock, folk, psychedelic and metal bands, but several up and coming bands are tapping into those genres and styles with renewed vigor. Ballard was a…
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, …
Brooklyn band The Antlers release their fifth album, Familiars, today, and KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it, "a gorgeous, deeply felt set of dreamy ambient-pop tinged with elements of elegiac jazz and southern soul on lengthy, slowly swelling songs featuring muted guitars, mournful trumpets, …
Forget ties or golf clubs -- for a KEXP Dad, we're celebrating Father's Day with a video roundup, featuring everything from folk to electronic. Music is one of the first ways we bond with our fathers: from listening to records together, having the radio on in the car on the way to school, or maybe …
Next on KEXP’s Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel is Icelandic indie-rock band Hjaltalín. The band formed in 2004, but didn’t release their debut record
Of all the things that characterize Mondays, high energy performances are probably last on the list. But The Districts and Sun Club both brought their music to Neumos on Monday through a explosive, sweat drenched lens. It was more than enough to shake any Monday gloom, and both sets left the Neumos…
There are very few artists who can pull off what Stephin Merritt did this night at Benaroya Hall: a 26-song set with the song titles performed alphabetically, from A ("Andrew in Drag") to Z ("Zombie Boy"). Songs were culled from his extensive catalog of not only his most well-known project, The Mag…
The last time Southern troubadour Bill Callahan came to Seattle, he played a quiet, solemn show at the Triple Door. And on Wednesday night at his sold out show at Neumos? He was dare I say, peppy? Or at least as "peppy" as the Songwriter Formerly Known as Smog can get.
KEXP was excited to present the US radio debut of Brisbane, Australia quintet Cub Sport from our CMJ Broadcast. In fact, it was the young band's first time playing in the States at all! Watch their performance below, and check out our chat with these young Aussies over jealous dogs, vengeful youth …
We knew The Baseball Project would be a hit at our MusicFestNW broadcast, especially with this line-up of ringers. Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Mike Mills, and Linda Pitmon brought their A-game to the Doug Fir Lounge with an exuberant lunchtime session.
Gorillaz is a project that was birthed from Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s long nights of subjecting themselves to MTV music videos. The idea was that the band would be a comment on the lack of substance in the videos that they repetitively sacrificed their eyes and minds to. That was in 1998, an…
Artificial intelligence is still making headlines for all the ways it can make our lives easier, taking care of tedious tasks like helping you coordinate multiple schedules and providing budgeting tips. Increasingly, though, AI is making its way into the music industry — not just through production…
After leaving your rock band and abandoning your faith, you're bound to come back with some kind of statement or not come back at all. Mikko Joensuu chose the former path, creating an ambitious trilogy of albums with songs that often live in spiritual, transcendent moments. Performing with a…
Considering the members' other projects, Filthy Friends' collective resume is completely stacked - having Corin Tucker, Peter Buck, and Scott McCaughey in your ranks will do that - but it's remarkable how loose and low-stakes this performance of ripping guitars and pounding drums so…