On Sprinter, the latest album by TORRES, Mackenzie Scott does not run away from the big issues. The 24-year old Brooklyn-based artist has clearly grown from her Southern Baptist upbringing, outpacing the usual "country girl meets big city" timeline but not so quickly that she dodges heavy themes of…
Spaced out indie psych at its finest, Dreamsalon’s Soft Stab is another piercing offering from the misty shores of the Pacific Northwest. Consisting of members Min Yee, Craig Chambers and Matthew Ford, the Seattle band crafts original and honest songs stewed in complex chord progressions, melodic b…
From pin dropping to firewatching, Brandi Carlile has lately shown a lot of range. On the heels of her unamplified Pin Drop Tour, the Northwest roots rock troubadour has released her fifth and and most rocking LP. The Firewatcher's Daughter is the first since the birth of her own daughter, but this…
Last month, we shared the first wave of bands playing the 2015 Treefort Music Fest, March 25th - 29th, 2015 in downtown Boise, Idaho. Today, we've got the next batch to share, and it's a doozy! Hometown heroes Built to Spill will take the stage, as well as Syrian artist Omar Souleyman. Both of Mont…
Following up from her stunning debut, Toronto’s Cold Specks drops by the live room to give us a crucial shot of excitement by sharing a sprinkling of sultry and sincere tunes from her new sophomore longplay Neuroplasticity. Helping to embellish Al Spx's powerful and magnetic voice is her minimal bu…
When Sólstafir plays for KEXP, the gods take notice. Two years ago, during KEXP's broadcast at Iceland Airwaves, hurricane-level gales swept across Reykjavik as the hard rocking band brewed up their own storm inside Kex Hostel. Last month, on their first tour of the West Coast, heavy winds followed…
Videos views, that is! KEXP's YouTube channel just surpassed 300,000,000 video views of our own in-house produced content. With a very small team of dedicated producers and volunteers, we uploaded over 350 individual sessions in 2014 alone and are still working on more that we've filmed! Among them…
We just can't get enough of shoegazey band Oyama, who we featured this morning for our Song of the Day podcast. Later this month, the young Icelandic group is about to release their full-length debut, recorded with friend of KEXP Pétur Ben at Sigur Rós' Sundlaugin studio. And also today, they share…
Our third Iceland Airwaves performance at Kex Hostel was Uni Stefson, who shortened his name Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson for his first solo outing earlier this year. This solo project is a marked departure from his past eight years fronting electro pop band Retro Stefson. His new album, Enginn Græt…
The lore of Seattle's Motopony begins not in a dense, leafy forest in the rainy Pacific Northwest (a scene which heavily inspires their music), but in a warehouse in Tacoma. Frontman Daniel Blue set the story of the now acclaimed band in motion when, at 27, he picked up his ten year-old guitar. Wit…
Well, that's a wrap on another year! Bumbershoot 2014 closed out with yet another incredible day on Monday, seeing the last good weather before a big rain and the last tour appearance by several bands before heading back to the studio. But the farewells were all in great spirits - fantastic sets ab…
Despite the miles between songwriters Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp, The Rosebuds continue to bloom on their sixth full-length album, Sand + Silence. Crisp currently resides in New York as Howard continues to live in North Carolina, but the two met up in the woods of Wisconsin to record with their fr…
Fresh off releasing their new album, Rituals,Trances & Ecstasies For Humans in Face of The Collapse, and their recent energized performance at Sasquatch Music Festival, Kithkin are continuing their reign as the Cascadian Princes of Forest Rock. The first single off their new record, "Altered Be…
I last wrote about founding grungefathers Green River in this space over six years ago, if you can believe that. At the time Seattle was buzzing with gossip that they might be playing the Sub Pop 20th birthday celebrations that summer. I can now tell you that they did indeed play that weekend, and …
The 40th Annual Seattle International Film Festival is upon us, and this year's SIFF is probably the best one for fans of the KEXP-sponsored Face The Music series. Seriously, if you’ve found the festival has been a little light on the music movies before, this year will change your head. In the off…
When a crowd is truly, ruthlessly in love with the band they are about to see, you can tell from the moment they walk in the room. You don’t see it often, but when it happens, it’s a spectacle that you wouldn’t trade the world for. Friday night’s show with Warpaint at Neumos had one of those crowds…
By taking their name from the annual festival held in Pamplona, Spain, San Fermin presents their musical philosophy outright. Like the running of the bulls, San Fermin's music bewilders, delights, and intimidates. Surprisingly, the Brookyln-based Baroque-poppers have only released one album, San Fe…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song is featured during th…
iTunes Radio is now streaming Real Estate's brand new album Atlas a full week before its official release. This is the New Jersey outfit's first new collection in three years. Listen HERE. And don't forget: Real Estate will be the next band featured on KEXP's Live Video Stream on Thursday, March 6…
The guys in Iska Dhaaf are overachievers. Not only do they write and record music together with a meticulous eye for detail, but they both maintain separate projects besides. Seattleites will recognize guitarist/vocalist Nathan Quiroga from his word slinging antics as Buffalo Madonna from Mad Rad a…
