Now in its 12th year, the OFF Music Festival in Katowice, Poland has established a place as one of the most unique and enjoyable in Europe. Established in 2006 by renowned Polish musician and self-proclaimed music fan, Artur Rojek, it has grown into a destination for over 15,000 music fans per day …
On Saturday, July 16, our friends at KEX Hostel in Reykjavik are throwing the 5th annual KEXPort, a one-day festival of great Icelandic music in collaboration with KEXP. From noon until midnight, 12 bands will perform in 12 hours, proving once again that Iceland is one of the most creative and musi…
There's some pretty great releases for a holiday weekend, like the third LP from Dev Hynes — a.k.a. Blood Orange. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the album "another masterful set of expansive, moody R&B blended with funk, synth-pop and other styles, combining a diverse sound and a variety o…
Next on KEXP live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was the first non-Icelandic band of this year's broadcast. Operators is the new synth-pop project from Canadian musician Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade/Divine Fits/Handsome Furs). A ray of sun after the bright but melancholy cloud of D…
The 2015 Concerts at the Mural series kicked off with record-breaking attendance last Friday, August 1st at Seattle Center's Mural Amphitheater. It helped that, not only was the weather beautiful, but the line-up was just as hot. Families, friends, and fans gathered on the lawn, enjoying ice cream …
Hey, are you going to be in Austin, TX, during SXSW next week? If you are, come join KEXP at Mellow Johnny's Bike shop for three days of free music. During the 2014 South by Southwest Music Conference, KEXP is teaming up with our friends Distiller Promo, Sub Pop + Hardly Art, and Merge Records for …
UK trio The xx continue to pound the pavement in support of their most recent release, I See You, including a Thursday night stop to Jimmy Kimmel Live. Watch the band perform the track "Dangerous" and the web-exclusive "Say Something Loving" below. [ Under the Radar]
Antisocialites, the second album from Toronto's Alvvays, takes all of the charms of their stellar 2014 debut and sharpens them - the songs are catchier, the band's interplay is more sleek, and Molly Rankin's hooks are the kind of emotional echoes that cut deeper than their gauzy swe…
When Sera Cahoone moved to Seattle, forcing herself to play open mic nights at the (now-defunct venue) OK Hotel was only the beginning of a career that would lead her to literally play on top of the Space Needle. In her far-closer-to-the-ground return to the KEXP Live Room, Cahoone joins John Ri…
Cherry Glazerr's rip-roaring rock and roll documents, to paraphrase band leader Clementine Creevy, “the struggles of a 17 year-old”, at the only volume that makes sense for that age - loud. Cherry Glazerr's latest album, 2017's perfectly-named Apocalipstick, is loaded with guitar-heavy jams that c…
Twelve solo albums into his career, Bob Mould's "Patch The Sky" captures the Minnesota songwriter at his darkest and most reflective. His emotional and sonic fury remains just as impactful – and loud – in this blistering live session where Mould discusses "the darkness behind the su…
Any major dude will tell you that Canadian crooner Mac DeMarco knows how to get a laugh, but don't let the oversized t-shirts and backwards-facing baseball caps fool you - behind the humorous antics and normcore fashion, Mac delivers an impressive blend of dynamic pop melodies and smartly crafted,…
Cambridge's WMBR, in addition to being key to the development of my musical tastes in general, is a big part of my fascination with these old records and what a bunch of college DJs thought of them. There was (and I'm sure still is) a lot to love about the station, but Pipeline!, their weekly local…
You might never expect this to happen to you: strolling through the woods, lulled by an enchanting melody, sorrowful yet sweet, and finding not some wandering minstrel strumming in a sun-dappled clearing but a 5-member band set up with an organ, an upright bass, and a full-sized harp. That's the sc…
Shabazz Palaces sound like no one else. Whether you call it "sci-fi", "way-out", "weirdo" or even "planetarium" rap, the Seattle duo's music might as well be in outer space considering how far off they sound from their contemporaries. But it's not like they don't want anyone else to follow. In its …
For those lamenting beloved NYC band The Walkmen's indefinite hiatus, rejoice in the band's bassist Peter Matthew Bauer's solo album, Liberation!. Don't be offended by the title, it's not an enthusiastic goodbye to the band Bauer has dedicated 13 years of his life to. The album marks an opportune m…
Whether it be creating a playlist for the long haul over to the Gorge on our Music That Matters Podcast, or keeping you in the know with the inside details, over here at KEXP, we're preparing you to enjoy each and every moment at Sasquatch! Festival as best you can. Sure, there are inevitable glitc…
Rounding out a stunning second day of the KEXP Broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music festival are the incomparable Kronos Quartet. The San Francisco-based string quartet has been around for over 40 years, with a roster of rotating musicians, currently comprised of David Harringto…
KEXP's stellar lineup at Bumbershoot continues with festival heavy-hitter Michael Franti & Spearhead live on the Secret Stage. Franti has his fingers in many pots. He’s a poet, rapper, and singer-songwriter, who has been spreading positivity all over the world since 1994 with his current projec…
Our long-time musician friend, David Bazan, stopped by the KEXP studios the other day to play synth-ethereal songs off his new album, Blanco, which he so Bazanly described before the session as "basically electronic music with sadness." No surprise there! If you know anything about the man you know…
