During her latest session in the KEXP Live Room, Laura Marling speaks of her music in film metaphors when describing her new record, Semper Femina, to Cheryl Waters. The London songwriter's sixth LP has all the touches of a classic film, filed in with rich scenery (a tight, expansive band) an…
Listening to In A Dream, the new LP from DFA powerhouse The Juan MacLean, we're reminded that it's been a long five years since John MacLean dropped his last proper record, The Future Will Come, back in 2009. That fantastic dance record was laden with Human League-esque back and forth narration bet…
The world is never ready for a new Jamie Lidell album. Jamie Lidell is his fourth record following his work as Super Collider with Cristian Vogel, and ever since Multiply, his 2005 return to solo work, Lidell has been pushing the envelope of his music landscape further and further into oblivion. At…
From a patio overlooking the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth, WA, Seattle musician, Josh Rawlings, prepares himself for a month-long writing session with famed Seattle music producer, Ryan Lewis. Rawlings, who has toured with the golden-voiced Allen Stone and is one-fourth of th…
Beck has shared a new (but not first) cover of The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting For The Man," off The Velvet Underground and Nico. The song is for Spotify's "Music Happens Here" series, which has previously included songs from Local Natives, Twin Peaks, and Allen Stone. Beck previously recorde…
If everything else in the world seems to be going crazy at the moment, take solace knowing that The Joy Formidable still shamelessly tour with a gong. The Welsh trio's stage presence has always been one that's far larger than whatever venue they're playing in – inside or outside – and the gong that…
As Cheryl Waters jokes, it's taken over ten years to get Trevor Powers' band Youth Lagoon in the KEXP studio. Really, the band has only been around since 2010 - it just feels like we've all been waiting that long. We were all happy finally to have wrangled Youth Lagoon come grace us, and the timing…
Recently, Wo' Pop favorites Tinariwen played a live set for KEXP while moving through Seattle on their sold-out international tour to promote their new album, Emmaar. Drawing influence from West African music, traditional Tuareg assouf stylistics, and bootlegged albums by western artists, Tinariwen…
2017 has officially come to a close, which means it's time to start looking ahead to some of the exciting new records ahead of us in 2018. We asked some of KEXP's DJs which albums they're most looking forward to in the coming year, both confirmed and alluded to by the artists themselves. From legen…
When it comes to teen films, writer/director John Hughes and actress Molly Ringwald reigned supreme throughout the '80s, and weirdly enough, they share the same birthday -- February 18th, 1950 for him and 1968 for her. In honor of their birthdays, KEXP has compiled a roundup of songs that the two p…
There's a lot more to the Ballard SeafoodFest than just salmon! Founded in 1974 to celebrate the neighborhood's Nordic roots and connection to the fishing industry, the event has since blossomed into a FREE two-day festival with arts and crafts, a beer garden, and an amazing musical line-up. (And, …
It's the Fourth of July, aka "Independence Day," and KEXP is celebrating our freedom to play all the independent music we want! This great country has inspired songwriters over the years, even ones in other countries from Sweden (First Aid Kit) to Iceland (FM Belfast). While you're firing up the BB…
Yeah, yeah, sure — The Replacements, Wu-Tang, Elvis Costello... Everyone knows how amazing this year's musical line-up is for the 2014 Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, but, Bumbershoot has always been more than just the tunes. Let's take a closer look at some of the art exhibits, lectures, an…
Since its construction in 1962 for the World's Fair, Seattle Center has been the site for many memorable music moments. With music festivals like Bumbershoot and Folklife, and venues like Key Arena and the Vera Project, some amazing bands have traveled through this local landmark... and when KEXP m…
Since its construction in 1962 for the World's Fair, Seattle Center has been the site for many memorable music moments. With music festivals like Bumbershoot and Folklife, and venues like Key Arena and the Vera Project, some amazing bands have traveled through this local landmark... and when KEXP m…
From August 16th to 17th, one of KEXP's favorite festivals, MusicfestNW, returns to Portland, Oregon. Fans will find a few changes this year, not just in the later scheduled date but also in that previously citywide festival has consolidated to overtake historic Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Unchange…
What will they come up with? That is the question on the minds of ticket holders for this weekend’s City Arts Genre Bender performances. The Seattle-based arts magazine commissioned 10 of the city’s most innovative creators – pairing them off – to put together a unique multi-disciplinary performanc…
Just like that, another year of Bumbershoot festivities has come to a close. Quite similar to Saturday and Sunday, Monday was packed to the gills with a nearly endless list of acts worth your time and attention. We braved the impossible for the third day in a row and tried to catch them all. Find p…
Once again, Capitol Hill Block Party has come to a close. In the dark of the night, the cleaning crew will hit the devastated block on Pine between 12th and Broadway and by the morning, you won’t even know there was a festival there at all. But for those of us lucky enough to make it out to Sunday’…
“You must set an example - to be a good person, you must be a good person.” The English translation of Ladilikan, Trio Da Kali's 2017 LP, has some weight to it, but the trio of musicians from the Mande culture of Southern Mali have so much life in their music. Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo&apos…
