Maria-Elena Juarez, Christopher Garland, and Jordan Adams have been slaying Seattle clubs as Acapulco Lips with their cataclysmic six-string hurricane of a sound for a few years now, but with the release of their self-titled debut this year, they're loaded with even more tunes that highlight the…
Queens-based artist SHIRT carries many titles – rapper, conceptual artist, experimentalist. These are all titles that are easy to call yourself and harder to live up to. SHIRT, of course, rises to the occasion
They don't call it the land of fire and ice for nothing. Geographically, Iceland is a land of extremes, from its vast glaciers to its active volcanos. But there must be some space in the middle where the two meet. In Norse mythology, that space, between fiery Muspelheim and icy Niflheim, is where l…
29-year old Gary Clark Jr. may seem young to be a Grammy-nominated blues artist – and he is – but the Austin, Texas, native has been winning awards for his stellar blues guitar playing for most of his life. After all, how many teenagers have a day named after them by their city's mayor? (May 3, 200…
It's no surprise Portugal. The Man broke into "Dayman" midway into their set during their Triple Door performance for KEXP last month. Not only has the band been playing their own gorgeous rendition of the song, taken from a classic episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, during shows and hav…
There's a new pop-savvy sheriff in Sub Pop town, and he goes by the name of Cullen Omori, and instead of having to wield a Smith Western to corral a crowd's attention, all he has to do is coo his name. Omori quickly became a wunderkind as one of the instrumental brains of the Chicagoan outfit Smith…
Shamir began his set in relatively mellow fashion, dragging from a cigarette as he and his backing band began the song “Vegas.” The calm at Sasquatch! Music Festival was brief, as by their second song, the El Chupacabra tent became a full blown dance party. Shamir bares himself completely in his mu…
This week, Seattle electronic duo NAVVI returns with “In Gold”/”Polychrome”, the first new, original material we’ve seen from them since the II EP of last fall, and some of their strongest work yet. NAVVI introduced themselves to us only two short years ago with “Weekends”, and since that minimal, …
In the three hours before she sat down with KEXP for an interview at the Sasquatch! Music Festival, Courtney Barnett nailed a mainstage performance, signed a massive stack of records for fans, and posed for some portraits backstage. Despite having an incredibly busy afternoon, however, the Melbourn…
It's going to take a little practice, but you'll be saying the name Ásgeir like a true Icelander soon enough. When we first introduced the young singer-songwriter to Seattle audiences two years ago, we knew his ethereal falsetto and captivating songs would appeal to KEXP listeners even if his songs…
"Don't tell any other festivals, but this miiiiiight be my favorite festival." That's how Merrill Garbus began her campaign to win over the Gorge on Sunday afternoon at Sasquatch, and it certainly worked. tUnE-yArDs' live show has always demanded a participatory audience, if only to dance to Garbus…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz sets at coffee shops and orchestras at theaters, to a grunge shows in DIY spaces and major touring acts at any of our larger venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new; maybe you heard one song by th…
LA-natives Allah-Las are about as LA sounding as a car ride through the desert - their sound wasn't made for riding the waves, but for steaming on the beach. Beautiful guitar notes ripple out of a haze of vocal harmonies reminiscent of The Beach Boys. It's hot music for a hot day - "We're feeling k…
KEXP DJs have had nothing but soaring praise for the latest from British band Elbow, titled The Take Off and Landing of Everything. Music Director Don Yates notes their sixth album "continues in the vein of 2011’s Build A Rocket Boys! with a subdued, downbeat set of atmospheric prog-pop featuring m…
