Nikkita Oliver is an educator, attorney, poet, and musician, who also ran for mayor of Seattle in the 2017 election. She was kind enough to come into our studios and talk about what Black History Month means to her.
Seattle hip-hop artist Draze has been influenced by both the Seattle music scene and his Zimbabwean roots. He was kind enough to share his thoughts on Afrofuturism and some of his musical influences, and the power music has to change communities and each other.
Following a carefree, celebratory set at the Sasquatch! Music Festival as Big Grams, Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter strip back down to Phantogram for their forthcoming full-length, Three. Get a taste with a video for the first single "You Don’t Get Me High Anymore," directed by Grant Singer (the We…
To name her newest record, Halo, Argentina's Juana Molina sorted through her lyrics word by word before deciding “halo” was the correct way to describe this collection of rhythmic, kinetic electronic music. Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop, Molina and her band return to KEXP to perform …
I remember the first time I heard "Swim" by Surfer Blood - it was summer, I was looking for the kind of joyous surf rock that would reflect the hot/cold feelings of a northern summer. They might be from Florida, but their music has the touch of the East Coast that I needed that summer, and apparent…
Available only until the end of the year, Live at KEXP Volume Eight features one-of-a-kind, exclusive live tracks from some of the past year’s greatest artists -- some well known, others just discovered. All of the bands featured on this compilation have donated their profits to support listener-po…
After leaving your rock band and abandoning your faith, you're bound to come back with some kind of statement or not come back at all. Mikko Joensuu chose the former path, creating an ambitious trilogy of albums with songs that often live in spiritual, transcendent moments. Performing with a…
It’s relatively uncommon for contemporary artists to perform entire albums live from start to finish, and it’s even less common for them to play their new albums in their entirety. It takes a certain kind of audacity, one which Feist embodied wholly Wednesday night, as she played her Pleasure album…
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…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kennady Quille as part of KEXP's Pride celebration, is "BIG AND KIND" by Nonbinary Girlfriend, from the 2023 self-released album BIG AND KIND.
It's important to note that The Replacements reunion could've been a disaster, and not the kind of shambolic splendor that the Minnesota legends used to thrive off of. When they were perpetually drunk underdogs tossing out half-assed covers and barely recognizable versions of their own material, th…
The latest mix from Cheryl Waters comes from all kinds of places and artists, featuring new songs from Zola Jesus, Ty Segall, and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. 1. Kevin Morby - City Music 2. Django Django - Tic Tac Toe 3. Widowspeak - When I Tried 4. Dream Wife - Somebody 5. Sharon Jones &…
Snuggle your fur babies close: it's National Pet Day, a celebration founded in 2006 "to celebrate the joy pets bring to our lives and to create public awareness about the plight of many different kinds of animals awaiting a forever home in shelters and rescues all around the globe." You can celebra…
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 DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Mor…
English singer-songwriter Johnny Marr calls out our cash-obsessed culture in his video for "Easey Money." He described the video as, "a 'high times in low rent England' kind of thing." The track is featured on his upcoming album, Playland, which will be released in the US on October 7. [Pitchfork]
Nothing Feels Natural, Priests' stunning 2017 LP, pulls no punches with its shapeshifting punk-damaged songs about fighting against the oppressive forces around you. It's the kind of record that makes the most sense in a sweaty small venue, but a small radio station studio comes pretty c…
Street Sounds is Seattle's longest running mixshow. You'll hear the hottest hip hop first along with classics and local music. We're known for breaking the new music first. Street Sounds plays all kinds of hip hop and appeals to a wide audience. Fast forward to 2008 and you have one of the best hip…
The UK electronic dance music scene is just divine this fall. I know, I know, you can pretty much say that year round any year and it would be at least partially true, but this is especially true right now. Just last month, we got a full length masterpiece by up-and-coming Glasgow pioneer Rustie. T…
I could have sworn I had covered an album by Pacific NW industrial (Or are they? More on that below.) legends Skinny Puppy in this space before, but unless Google is lying to me, I have not. (And if Google is lying to us now, we have bigger problems than whether or not I'm writing about Skinny Pupp…
R.E.M., who released Reckoning, their second album, almost exactly 31 years ago, were a band for 31 years. They began as a quirky group of Athens weirdos beloved by college radio DJs, and became one of the biggest rock bands in the world, and then they decided to stop being a band, which you have t…
