With a voice nurtured by her Tennessee church roots, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Valerie June skillfully combines gospel, folk, bluegrass, and a bevy of other genres in her music. Known for her distinct voice, June was determined to succeed as a solo artist and taught herself to play gu…
Yeah Yeah Yeahs' frontwoman Karen O has announced she'll be releasing a debut solo album, Crush Songs, on September 9th via Julian Casablancas' label Cult Records. In a note on her website, O shares, "When I was 27, I crushed a lot. I wasn’t sure I’d ever fall in love again. These songs were writt…
Katie Kate stormed Hilliard's Beer Taproom with a performance so stunning, even the children attending were floored. Alongside a live drummer and beat-maker, Katie Kate showed everyone in the audience what she was truly made of. Even if hard beats and surprising rhyme aren't your cup of tea, there…
Like a nomadic hunter-gatherer, DJ Kevin Cole travels the sonic sphere in search of the greatest new music. In this podcast he shares his latest favorites, including new tracks from Júníus Meyvant, The Jayhawks, Kutiman, The Coral, and more. 1. Júníus Meyvant – Beat Silent Need 2. Stephen St…
Variety Mix host DJ Shannon brings you songs from the bands she's championing on her show, including The Crookes, Sticky Fingers, Man of Moon, Oh Malô and more. 1. The Crookes - I Wanna Waste My Time on You 2. Sticky Fingers - Outcast At Last 3. Balthazar - Then What 4. Telegram - Follow 5. The …
Midday Show host Cheryl Waters recently discovered a slew of great bands that she loves -- Coals, Maszer, Plastic Pinks and more. Enjoy these discoveries along with a heavy helping of fantastic local bands. 1. Coals - Weightless 2. New Order - Restless 3. Gwenno - Patriarchaeth 4. MASZER - Fata …
So much music, so little time. Midday Show host Cheryl Waters has compiled a collection of summer songs that she loves, listen to find out why Cheryl always plays more than one Spoon song. 1. Luluc - Without A Face 2. Sharon Van Etten - Taking Chances 3. Sleepy Kitty - Don't You Start 4. Liars - …
KEXP's Midday Show host Cheryl Waters presents a new mix featuring 12 tracks that she's been loving lately. Enjoy music from The Fresh & Onlys, Bleeding Rainbow, Cloud Nothings, The Hold Steady and more! What have you been loving lately? 1. The Districts - Funeral Beds 2. The Fresh & Only…
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind, our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. Today we are kicking off the first day of our 2013 Spring Fundraising Drive here at KEXP so we are looking at songs abou…
Before legendary soul singer Sharon Jones died last year from pancreatic cancer, she recorded a final album with the Dap-Kings. Today the album has been officially announced and the lead single has been shared. The LP is called Soul Of A Woman and will be out November 17 via Daptone. The single is …
It's Friday night at the Showbox and there's a singer on stage waltzing through "My Favorite Things" from The Sound Of Music and at the end of her final stanza, the band behind her crash in and a Danny Brown verse recited by Spank Rock (perhaps one of the only rappers who could conceivably match Br…
San Francisco-based DJ/producer Jessica Phillippe, a.k.a. J.Phlip, has been a force in the underground club circuit for over a decade now, establishing herself as one of the savviest selectors and precise mixers behind the decks as well as a crafty technician as a producer. Ever since her debut sin…
Swedish singer-songwriter Alice Boman's subtle vocals and delicate instrumentals could get a response from even the chilliest of hearts. The minimalist musician, who released her second EP, EP II, this year, creates such an uncluttered sound that it disguises the fact that she is accompanied by thr…
One of the most exciting new releases of the week comes from Oakland artist Merrill Garbus, better known as tUnE-yArDs. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes her third album as "an inventive set of visceral, rhythm-driven avant-pop with consistently strong, brightly melodic songs featuring a dens…
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is on a hunger strike, protesting an atmosphere of “slave labor” in her Russian prison. Today, she writes in a letter proliferated by her husband, “I am going on hunger strike and refusing to participate in colony slave labor. I will do this until the administrat…
DJ Kevin Cole and Online Content Manager Jim Beckmann preview the 2014 Iceland Airwaves Music Festival with a diverse mix of tracks from 17 Icelandic artists including FM Belfast, Sóley, Kiasmos, and Low Roar. 1. Prins Póló - Hamstra sjarma 2. FM Belfast - Gold 3. Uni Stefson - Manuel 4. Fufanu -…
It's been over three years since Annie Clark released the last St. Vincent album but it looks like good news is on the horizon. Today she shared a new song called "New York" that many are hoping is a precursor to a new album. The song itself is far more stripped back than Clark's previous work and …
Partly-local band Widowspeak has announced the follow up 2015’s All Yours. Their new album is titled Expect The Best and will be released later this summer. Frontwoman Molly Hamilton wrote the songs while she was living in her hometown of Tacoma, Washington. The band, formed in Brooklyn, have under…
The latest full-length from Boston-based artist Marissa Nadler is hauntingly beautiful, so it's fitting she presents a video just as lovely. Watch the clip for "Janie in Love" below, directed and animated by Nadler herself. Stop-motion animation is shot in greyscale and layered with live action fo…
Holy shit. St. Vincent played a show last night at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, dressed as toilet. The evening also included performances from Father John Misty and Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Joan As Police Woman, and more, although none of them dressed as a sanitation fixture. Proceeds…